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grant_in_arizona

Scilla peruviana starting to bloom (plus other bloom pics)

grant_in_arizona
13 years ago

Hi everyone,

One of my several clumps of Scilla peruviana (aka "Carribean Lily") is starting to bloom so I thought I'd share a picture of it. I like this plant so much that each autumn I plant a bulb or three so have a few nice little clumps now.

They were totally unbothered by the recent cold temperatures. They emerge early each winter and then bloom in late winter/early spring and then disappear into dormancy for the long summer. They are really, really easy to keep happy. The pic is embedded below along with a couple of other things that are looking good in my small garden right now.

Scilla peruviana:

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Cape Cowslip (Lachenalia)


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"Climbing aloe", Aloe ciliaris that I started from a small cutting in the "salvage" area of the Desert Botanical Garden's spring sale three years ago:


Climbing aloe

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Grevillea rosmarinifolia

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I hope you can take a look and enjoy. The rest of the clumps are catching up to this one. What's looking good in your garden??

Take care,

Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: What's blooming in my garden Feb 2011

Comments (11)

  • piranhafem
    13 years ago

    Grant, pretty pics! There appear to be two different kinds of flowers in the first pic, the little blue star-shaped ones, and something bigger and sort of hairy. What are they?? Oh, wait, is the hairy structure just the center of a cluster of blooms, all on the same plant? If so, how interesting!

    I planted a ton of bulbs this fall, and I have some snowdrops and some grape hyacinth blooming. Oh, and my little apple tree is about to bloom! I covered it last night for fear that even a light freeze might kill the flower buds. Does anyone know how hardy apple blossoms/buds are?

    --Maureen

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Hiya Maureen and all,

    Thanks for looking and commenting, I really appreciate it. It's fun to share our gardens isn't it? The hairy structure in the center is as you guessed, MORE BUDS coming in. Yay! The flowers in the pic are just the first ones of what I hope will be a nice cluster. These plants are SO EASY to keep happy here and they just get bigger and better each year, plus they don't need to be hooked up to life support in summer, so what's not to love?

    Your bulbs sound great too. Do your grape hyacinths live year after year? Everything sounds nice. Hopefully someone can answer your question about the hardiness of apple buds/blooms. Good job covering them just in case. Keep us posted!

    Take care,
    Grant

  • piranhafem
    13 years ago

    Grant, I frankly don't remember how long the grape hyacinth is supposed to last, but I know that when I was a kid we had it come up year after year for at least 6 years, so I have high hopes!

    Today I found some beautiful purple star flowers blooming, too, more bulbs planted this past fall. Here are some pics, including the apple blossum buds.

    {{gwi:396832}}

    {{gwi:396833}}

    {{gwi:396834}}

    --Maureen

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Hiya Maureen,

    Great pics, thanks for posting them! I may have to plop some grape hyacinths around my garden too. I have crinums, rain lilies, surprise lilies, plus the Scilla and Lachenalia in my pics to keep them company. Thanks for sharing yours.

    Love the blue star (Chionodoxa???) too. What variety is your apple tree and do you reliably get fruit? The blooms are really pretty and look full of promise.

    Happy Gardening,
    Grant

  • piranhafem
    13 years ago

    Grant, I don't know the latin name of those star flowers, I'm bad that way! My mother handed me a bulb catalog (Breck's I think) and told me to pick some.

    The apple tree is an Anna. It's only been in the ground for about a year and a half. I planted it in the fall of 2009, and it did flower that spring (2010) but didn't produce any fruit. It was a really tiny little tree so I didn't expect much. It has grown a lot since I planted it but it's still quite small, so I won't be surprised or disappointed if we don't get any fruit this year, either. Especially since we're supposed to freeze tomorrow night. :-/ I'll try covering it but don't know if that will help.

    I definitely need some rain lilies, that's on my "must have" list.

    --Maureen

  • dlg421
    13 years ago

    Grant,

    Do you have a preferred source for your bulbs and other beautiful plants that you grow?

    dlg

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    DLG, I buy lots of stuff from lots of places (plus I do a TON of plant swaps too). I buy a lot of semi-tropical bulbs from McClure and Zimmerman, plus Berridge Nursery too (they usually have nice fat Scillas). Hit Baker Nursery often too in Central Phoenix, and I am not above hitting Home Depot and Lowes too (I'm not above ANYTHING when it comes to gardening, except stealing).

    I order a lot of plants from Select Seeds (great website adn catalog), and I experiment a bit with Annie's Annuals. I order tons of seeds from Thompson and Morgan and from JL Hudson Seedsman (fun catalog, no pics), I like High Country Gardens too, and I'm an addict of Plant Delights Nursery too. I hit Orange County, CA and L.A. a lot too and get lots of goodies there (Roger's Gardens in Irvine, Mimmosa Nursery in Buena Park/Anaheim, CA Cactus Center, etc). Ebay.com often has interesting plants and seeds for sale too. I guess when it comes to plants I'm an omnivore, LOL.

    Take care all,
    Grant

  • dlg421
    13 years ago

    Thanks for the tips Grant. This gives me lot of places to check out.

    Again your yard is awesome.

    dlg

  • azant
    13 years ago

    Hey dlg, you can support a somewhat local business if you want some neat interesting and somewhat rare bulbs :) Lookie here:

    Arid Lands Greenhouse

  • dlg421
    13 years ago

    Grant - what a variety of interesting plants. Thanks.

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks, dlg! Good call on Arid Lands, azant, they're great. I visit them each time I'm down in Tucson.

    Take care all,
    Grant

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