I love early spring when all the bulbs in the garden start to produce flowers. I especially like my hyacinths like this purple one that is currently in bloom in the garden. Click on the image to enlarge.
February 2010
Poppy Polinator
In between the rain showers today, the sun came out long enough for this bee to pollinate one of the Icelandic poppies out front of the house. Click on the image to enlarge.
Kaffir Lilies
The Kaffir Lilies on the patio have thrived for several seasons since being moved from the outside patio into the shaded covered area. These nice bright flowers do better if they are not exposed to direct sunlight. Click on the image to enlarge.
Icelandic Poppies
When the winter months roll around, you see a lot of flowers that are tolerant of the winter weather in California. We don’t have harsh weather along the coastline, but the nights are noticeably colder, often getting into the low 40’s.
A popular annual we see planted in flowerbeds is the Icelandic Poppy. I recently purchased some for the planters on our front porch. This bright yellow one bloomed just yesterday. I took this picture this morning, just when it was facing almost directly at the sun.
Click on the image to enlarge.
More from Wikipedia:
The Iceland Poppy is a boreal flowering plant. Native to subpolar regions of northern Europe and North America, Iceland poppies are hardy but short-lived perennials, grown as biennials, that yield large, papery, bowl-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers supported by hairy, 1-foot, curved stems among feathery blue-green foliage 1-6 inches long.
Diaz Lake – A Panoramic View
Diaz Lake is located in the Owens Valley, California, It has the distinction of having recently been formed as the result of a large earthquake. Click on the panoramic thumbnail for the full-sized version.
From Wikipedia:
Diaz Lake is located just south of Lone Pine, California, United States in Owens Valley. The lake was formed by the 1872 Lone Pine earthquake when 18 mi (29 km) of the Owens Valley dropped approximately 20 feet (6 m) and a new spring opened, causing water to fill the lowland.
The lake was named for the Diaz family who established a ranch here when brother Rafael and Eleuterio Diaz emigrated from Chile in the 1860’s. They owned and operated a successful cattle ranch until the land was sold to the city of Los Angeles.
Year-round fishing is available, and the “Diaz Lake Fish Derby” is held the first Saturday in March.
Ice Plant Flowers
Some families in our neighborhood plant ground cover in areas around their homes, like flowerbeds and parkways. One home about a quarter mile from our place uses ice plant, a common ground cover shrub in California, to decorate the parkway next to the curb on one side of their corner lot. Today, it seemed like the whole parkway was alive with colors from orange and yellow flowers.
Click on the image to enlarge.
