january bloomday

Happy January Bloom Day, folks!

Lots of pictures this month.

Okay I cheated, with some multiples of the same plant mixed in. But a big dose of perky orange in the dead of winter seemed morally acceptable.

I guess it’s a typical Southern California January, with some ever-bloomers mixed in with the winter-flowering plants or last of the fall plants. You can hover over an image above to get the name, but here’s a quick rundown on the January backbone plants.

Some plants that say “California” but are from other places:

Aloe arborescens

A. andongensis

A. bainesii

Kalanchoe tubiflora

Jade plant, Crassula ovata

Salvia divinorum

S. Hot Lips

Protea ‘Pink Ice’

Lavender

Arctotis

Oxalis purpurea

…and the really noxious

Oxalis pes-caprae

California natives:

Coreopsis maritima

C. gigantea

Ribes indecorum

Gutierrezia californica

Carpenteria californica

Mimulus aurantiacus

Isomeris arborea

Sphaeralcea ambigua

Galvezia speciosa

Verbena lilacina

Salvia mellifera

Salvia ‘Bee’s Bliss’

Salvia spathacea

There are also a few other things in bloom that didn’t make it into the mix, things like ‘Dr. Hurd’ manzanita, but you get the idea…

Thanks as always to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Check out the January post to see what the rest of the world looks like in the middle of January [ here ]

25 thoughts on “january bloomday”

  1. It’s easy to see the difference between Southern CA and Northern CA in our pictures. Wow, monkey flower? In January?

    Great post, and great pictures. I think I’m going back to my camera with the view finder for next week, that point and shoot is too open to misunderstandings.

  2. Nice collection of flowers. I like how those those first three rows of orange look together. You’re a good 4-6 weeks ahead of us on everything. Happy bloom day.

  3. I was just thinking – Hm. Wonder if James has posted any pics and couldn’t see you – so I just went to post 13 as I always do, for a random look at who got my “lucky number” – Ha! James! I like your arrangement of nothing but solid pictures! I thought your coreopsis was encelia californica, no? I’ll have to look up coreopsis! Lots of lovely blooms to cheer everyone up in your garden!

  4. Splendid colors,….and that Afican daisy! Seeing these makes me miss So Cal. The aloes I brought up didn’t make through our first freeze….now I go by what the neighbors can grow when it comes to succulents. I really enjoy the close-ups…

  5. Everyone is saying it, but I’ll add my two cents: yours are the only outdoor flowers to be seen by those of us in the frozen north country. Thanks!

  6. Thanks, everyone!

    @EE, there’s a lot of sorrel I’d have to graze through to make a dent, unfortunately.

    @HG, the pink and orange arctotis has the most edible-looking colors a flower could ever have!

    @Dorothy, summer is our dry time for blooms, so I’m definitely enjoying the winter collection.

    @HB, the was the month for all-telephoto macro shots. I think I was feeling more lazy than creative…

    @TM, I won’t show you my monkeyflower pics from December, then!

    @Denise, I respond to the orange. I’m glad others do too!

    @Larry, glad to help warm up some computer screens, at least.

    Matti, the C. gigantea surprised me with its flowers. There were none two weeks ago, and then suddenly, three of the plants are already blooming.

    @Ryan, our January days in the high 70s and even low 80s probably pushed along some of the flowers. Weird year. Now it’s cold again.

    @Lee, hardly seems like the same country sometimes, with all the different climates…

    @CM, all the asteraceae seem to confuse me, encelia, coreopsis (or whatever their new genus name is), but this one’s definite the C. gigantea. If I’d pulled back you’d see the plant’s wonderful weirdness.

    @Sue, I hope the post makes you think fondly of life off the mountain instead of making you full-on homesick. From your post, you’ve definitely some blooms, even up in the foothills.

    @David, I was surprised when the mallow started to flop over the wall and turn into a seriously cascading plant. Definitely a PLEASANT surprise!

    @Scott, I have a hard time keeping them alive with my skimpy watering. Touchy species all around…

    @Donna, I’m glad you enjoyed them!

    @Ricki, glad to share what’s going on here outdoors. My friends who live inland in the foothills are definitely feeling the winter…22 degrees one night. My garden is definitely in a little pampered fantasyland of no frost so far this year. I think things are about to change soon, though!

  7. What a beautiful array. The oranges, yellows, purples and gray-green leaves all say California. It’s been such a mild winter up here–have you been getting rain down your way?

  8. Really spectacular blooms for this time of year, James! How has your weather been in San Diego for this winter season? We’ve been dry and unseasonably warm since December in our area, and that’s been triggering a lot of early, unexpected blooms and the leafing out of the deciduous stuff in the garden.

  9. @Jean, it’s starting to fade now. Amazing while it lasted, tho!

    @Alice, thanks for the wishes. Water is good!

    @Wendy, thank you.

    @Catmint, thanks to you too. It’s nice to have some flowers to play with.

    @Maggie, dry, mild–maybe even warm. The days are almost as warm as we’ll see in June. The nights, tho, are lots cooler.

    @Arleen, I doubt we’re getting any more water than you are where you are. November was such a nice wet beginning to the rainy season and then almost no rain after that. I’m considering watering the garden–in February! Sad.

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