Spring in Salinas

I never got them all out. So many of them grow among the roots of rose bushes, iris, and giant bird of paradise and I either can't dig them out or don't want to disturb the other plants. Chasmanthe seems to be one of those "period" plants. I see them where houses were built in the '50s and '60s, but not in more modern places and I have never seen the bulbs for sale here. They aren't as bad as Vinca major, though. I've completely given up on that and decided that I must co-exist.

Beautiful garden weather guesser. What lovely combinations you have created.
And you are right about the Japanese anenomes. They just won't go away. I have one place that I've been trying to kill for years now. Maybe I should paint it with roundup. It's among some hostas so I am very cautious.

Our Pacific Coast Native Iris hybrids just started blooming a few days ago, and they're really going to town. These, I believe, are the 'Sea Admiral' cultivar.

And here's a nice double Daffodil called 'Extravaganza' -- these have been blooming for about a week now.

Oh, WG, I am so jealous. I love native irises.

That is one of the prettiest native irises I have seen. I'll have to look for that cultivar - thanks for supplying the name.

If you find it, please post the supplier, soilsandup.

Weatherguesser - do you remember where you got your "Sea Admiral?"

soilsandup,
I got mine at a local nursery here in Salinas (McShane's). I just bought another PCNI at another local nursery (Bokay) -- don't know the cultivar name yet. Most of them, unfortunately, don't seem to include the cultivar name on the pot label.

You might also look at Leonine Iris -- they located in WA and seem to sell online. I got that from someone else's post on PCNIs.

As far as I can tell, you can pretty much disregard all of the information that's out there on PCNI culture -- I planted mine in with my other perennials, and they get watered just the same as everything else and do just fine. They will spread over time, but it's a fairly slow process and quite manageable. They're great plants and put on a beautiful show of flowers that gets better every year.

Jim

Wow! I loved that native iris, 'Sea Admiral'. It's gorgeous!
I'm not jealous, just envious!
You've done a wonderful job working on creating a beautiful garden.
I'm looking forward to more photos as your yard continues to bloom. : - )
BTW, I loved your sweet pea bush so much I bought me one. : - )
You are such an enabler! LOL!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos and yard.
WIB!
SW

Your California Lilac ( well done getting it in that shape!) reminded me of the Jacaranda I saw growing everywhere in Santa Barbara. What doesn't grow in SB? :)

Your in a good grow zone too, no?

quiltygirl,

It's a great growing zone. Sometimes we do get some frost in the winters (a few years ago we had 6 nights in a row in the 20's, which did some nastiness), but it's generally mild. We don't get too hot, either. My only problem is finding enough sunny spots to grow all the stuff I want that needs full sun. My back yard is fairly narrow and is shaded by the house on the northeast side and a big row of hopbush and a sycamore on the SW side, so there are only a few spots that get enough sun back there for "full sun" plants. Oh, well, one can't have everything. Our lot's only about a sixth of an acre, and we have quite a few plants packed into it, so I'm a happy camper.