Airplants, Bearded Iris, Fringe Tree, Chicory, Balsam, Poppies, and Hibiscus Flowers

I have been mulling over what to do with the extensive images I have in my Media Library so I haven’t felt motivated to post much this week. The weather just got warmer in Southern California and that means I need to water my garden more. It also means there is A LOT of weeding to do. I don’t have the excuse of it’s raining outside and I can’t go out.

I have lots of new things in bloom this week. One exciting new thing is that a co-worker brought me an unusual airplant from her garden. It IS the prettiest airplant I’ve ever seen, so far. What is most interesting is that I just discovered that they do best when they are outside in the sun. My friend said she hangs her airplant in a tree, in the sun, and gets very little watering. I’m not sure about that because it gets so hot and dry here in the summer. Even inside the house, they already require a couple of water mists each week. I don’t know if that’s just this plant or all airplants but I am going to experiment by leaving some of my other airplants outside in the sun, too.

This pink clump below is the one my co-worker gave me. I do have other airplants that are getting ready to bloom or in bloom so I will show next time.

This airplant below was one I purchased and is starting to flower.

BEARDED IRIS

I have not seen this iris last year but I think it may have been one I dug up from a pot I inherited from my mother-in-law years ago. It didn’t flower before because they were cramped in a pot for several years. It is white with some blue with a hint of lavender color.

I’m also a little bit sad that a few bearded irises haven’t bloomed yet. Last year around April, I had quite a few. That’s another reason I am feeling so blue about blogging. Hmm, where did all the beautiful flowers go?

CHINESE FRINGE TREE

This small seedling plant can be a good starting bonsai tree. I love the bright pink colors and dark burgundy leaves.

CHICORY

This chicory plant is the one I warned you last time not to grow unless you want it to overtake your garden. Maybe depending on where you live it may not spread quite as much.

BALSAM

I grew these from seeds a few months ago and it finally flowered. I am really happy with this color. The seed packet was a mix so I never know what I was going to get. I threw a handful of seeds in and it seems only 3 or 4 came up. Previous years I’ve gotten red, light pink, and white balsam flowers. Balsam also re-seeds in my garden. I have seen quite a few new plants. They have such odd shaped flowers. I can’t figure out if it is a pitcher or an unopened flower. See how strange it looks below?

CALIFORNIA POPPIES

These California poppies are tricky to photograph. It is open sometimes in the middle of the day when I’m not home. By the time I come home, I see only closed petals like this. Another odd thing about these is that, this spot last year had nothing but yellow flowers but this year only ORANGE flowers. They are dark orange too and very vibrant! I am warming up to their color.

HIBISCUSES

This hibiscus flower is what I call “big as my face hibiscus”. It really is that HUGE!!! Not sure what the actual name is but it’s been many years since I’ve had this tree. It is the largest flowering hibiscus I have. Every hibiscus in the garden are small plants or seedlings.

DUTCH IRISES

These flowers “Red Embers” irises are still looking pretty with the green leafy background.