Senecio petasitis...full of promise...

The first bloom of cistus purpurea...

Salvia flocculosa....

I love that senecio. Big leaves are so lovely.

As I told someone just yesterday.... spring arrives in CA on Feb. 1... and I'm ready for it.

I'm having a very hard time not going out and cutting everything back...all that 'straggly' stuff, especially the salvia leucantha. I've tolerated it so far and now I want everything 'neatened up'. With our up and down Winter weather, every time we get a warm spell (up to 80 this week), we think that Spring has arrived and allow ourselves to be fooled....

I agree that it's just about Spring, the black and purple sages are blooming along the LA river and are just about to in my yard and I'm pouring compost tea everywhere to get the soil ready to go. I'm guessing the LA coast will have a beautiful Feb/March/April in 2013, then the evil night-time fogs will spread PM to every plant in my yard all June/July again and then Aug/Sept/Oct will be scorching hot and drive me from the yard to the beach instead, much like last year. So my yard will probably be at its best only during the next few months.

Yea....but...do you know how lucky we are to live in California?.....A little garden time, a little mountain time, a little beach time....it's all good.

Agreed, it's why I'll travel anywhere, but never move more that 10 miles from the beach in CA. Here's my "hell strip," the city gives me pretty good latitude on growing there since I'm on a dead end (and just about in the varrio). Black and hummingbird sage ready to bloom beats a groundhog any day in SoCal. :)

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My native salvias don't seem to be anywhere near flowering yet...

If you're gardening in a zone 23 climate, pruning in mid winter isn't really an issue, as your gardening season is virtually 365 days a year, and you xeldom get frost. With things like Salvia leucantha, even if new growth does get frost damaged from a freak late frost, you could simply shear it again later. I'm in a much cooler zone 17 climate, and I typically prune almost everything except tender stuff like Bougainvillea whenever it's convenient. Generally it has never been a problem, even with roses.

We don't have frost, so that doesn't worry me, but I always remind myself of Pat Welsh's advice on the s. leucantha...the hollow stems can fill with rain and rot. Thank you for the reminder, we don't ever get frost, so why should I think we might? I'm going out today to start cutting back the rest of the salvias, etc.......though I would really, really like to cut those leucanthas. Our local weather gal said last night that typically we can expect 6 rain days in February, totaling maybe two inches, so perhaps I shouldn't worry about rain either....it's not like we really get any....I think I've just talked myself into cutting the leucanthas also....

Some of my sages didn't fare so well this winter, with the heavy rains early in the winter and then the frost. My garden was all planted from scratch last summer when I moved in. Most of the plants look great - the lavenders, Jasmine, camellia and about 2/3 of the sages are thriving. THe wispier-looking sages and my small russian sages are all dried up stalks and I don't know if they rotted during the rains or got frost bitten. Should I leave them be and see if they come back from the roots, trim them back, or give up and rip them out?

The lavenders and thriving sages are blooming beautifully!

Well, it's certainly looking Spring-like here. I see that even the salvia guaraniticas, Costa Rica Blue and Omaha Gold, are putting out lush new growth..with the Costa Rica even putting out a few small blooms. I think I'll go ahead and cut back a large part of the bushes. They're large, sprawling critters. Will take some cuttings also while I'm at it....early start and all.

Tinan, of all the things we gardeners cultivate, patience is the hardest to grow. Some plants that go dormant in winter look like they're just napping; others look like they're ready for the compost pile. My crape myrtles look truly dead. I know they're not; they're just very slow to wake up compared to the rest of the garden.
Your Russian sage, perovskia atriplicifolia, is a very tough plant, hardy pretty much down to Zone 4--in other words, Wyoming and South Dakota. My guess is that your sages will rebound nicely. If the dry stalks are unsightly, cut them down to a foot or less, just so you can remember where they are, then wait for the weather to warm. Once that happens, I'm betting you'll see little green nubbins at the base of all that dead stuff--a true reward for your patience.

Kay

Wow..this one surprised me. I was cleaning out leaves from some of the pots and there he was! He's in a large pot to be moved with me when we move and I'm happy to see that he's happy in his pot for now. First bloom of salvia aurea for this season. The 'firsts' always thrill me, it's like a new beginning....

The senecio petasitis going into full bloom now, close-up...

The bees like it too.....

Want. More. Rain!

Well, unless they're wrong again, we'll get a whole quarter inch this next weekend....sigh...

It's definitely Spring-like. After some Winter rain, it's like an Easter Egg Hunt, I go out to see what's popped up and there are always surprises. A patch of hollyhock seedlings that need to be dug and moved or potted, lots of Pride of Madeira seedlings to do likewise...and also a spread of Oak Leaf Geranium seedlings to dig and pot...
Also whacked my largest Hot Lips salvia back by half and am working on the rest of the salvias. It's funny how your energy and enthusiasm come back this time of year...at least mine do...

This guy has been flowering FOREVER...can't remember when it started. I think if I lived up where I got more rain and had really favorable conditions...I'm afraid I'd be going into the shrub fuchsias big time...

Wcgypsy, that Fuchsia triphylla "Firecracker" is a fave of mine, and until about a month ago, mine were still flowering too. Then they took a huge hit in the freeze. They're already coming back, but right now they're just a bunch of crispy twigs with little purple nubbins (that will eventually be new leaves) just starting to peek out. What are the plants you've surrounded it with? They all look very happy together.

Kay

He's in a large pot since he'll be going with me when we move. He's sitting there amongst some grasses, geraniums, other stuff by the studio doors....I sure do like this guy....

First bloom on salvia Mulberry Jam....

Salvia Waverly....

Ooooh. . . mulberry salvia. Nummy.

Never met a salvia I didn't like...lol..

The first of my native salvias to bloom...
Salvia leucophylla 'Amethyst Bluff'..

Coming Soon.....
Echium pininana....

Need to correct myself....this is echium candicans, not pininana. I was working with both that morning and apparently the brain wasn't in gear.....

So pretty! Thanks for the photos, wcgypsy.

Okay, I admit it....I've fallen in love with my little camera....what a different world now with digital.....