Overview  |   Seasonal Guide   |   Blooming Now   |   FAQ   |   Virtual Tour   |   In the News

Despite our hazardous fire season and hot temperatures, the Garden is beautiful. As you may know, this results from a combination of drought-tolerant plants and some deep summer watering. Natives in well-drained soils look better with some summer water than if they're kept completely dry. Drought tolerant does not mean plants need no water.

The western azalea (Rhododendron occidentale) has had plentiful blossoms but now most are fading or have fallen off. Other shrubs to look for include the burgundy seed pods on western redbud (Cercis occidentalis) and fragrant, pure white blossoms on western mock-orange (Philadelphus lewisii). Few other large shrubs have flowers now save the oddly scented western spicebush (Calycanthus occidentalis) with red-maroon flowers. The plants are sprinkled liberally through the lawn panel in the Sierran area.

But color comes from many quarters, and a number of perennial wildflowers are in profuse bloom. Among the yellows are the clear yellow of Hooker's evening-primrose (Oenothera elata var. hookeri), the yellow-orange of the gigantic Humboldt lilies (Lilium humboldtii) which are rapidly drying out, the large deep yellow daisies of a rare mule's ear (Wyethia elata), and the pale yellows of alpine columbine (Aquilegia pubescens). The latter two plants are in the Sierran section. The mule's ears is particularly unusual for its upright, leafy stems that carry the flowers well into the air. Another bright yellow daisy relative to look for is the California sunflower (Helianthus californicus), whose eight-foot-tall flowering stalks soar into the sky.

Smaller wildflowers also abound: among them, several penstemons (Penstemon spp.) and wild buckwheats (Eriogonum spp.), many just beginning their bloom. Sadly, though, many flowers are early this year, the bloom brought on by the long dry and hot conditions we've already had.

Three more outstanding wildflowers to see are the tall spikes of rose-purple blossoms of fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) on the edge of the redwood forest and elsewhere, and the gigantic white flowers centered yellow of the Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri) in the Santa Lucia section. When you see these blossoms, it becomes obvious that the alternate common name, fried egg plant, is descriptive. Last, the dense spikes of woolly purple flowers on the woolly blue-curls (Trichostema lanatum) are at their peak right now in the Sierra Madre-Desert section.

SITE MAP

Website design by HYPERSPHERE.
©2008 Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
All rights reserved.