“Queen Fabiola” brodiaea (Brodiaea laxa “Queen Fabiola”) is commonly known as the triplet lily or wild hyacinth. It is also known as Ithuriel’s Spear. This perennial bulb is a native wildflower to California, growing wild in evergreen woodlands. It is found in Edgewood Preserve on the San Mateo County peninsula. Grass-like leaves appear first, followed by clusters of light blue …

Transform your baskets, containers and bedding with this superb, top quality annual. Neat, compact mounds absolutely smothered in semi to fully-double pink flowers, gracing your summer garden. Useful for the rock garden or edging borders and excellent for hanging baskets, window-boxes tubs etc. Flowers summer. Height: 20-25cm (8-10in). Spread: 50cm (20in). Ideal For:patio, cottage gardens, wildlife gardens, cut flower garden …

In late spring and early summer, streets are awash with the magnificent purple-blue blooms of jacarandas (Jacaranda mimosifolia). As well as being superb street trees, jacarandas look stunning on their own as a specimen tree in an open lawn, where their fallen flowers form a colorful carpet of blue. My Sunnyvale garden has no room for the jacaranda but beyond …

This citrus relative from Australia has slender, arching stems lined with narrow, dark green 1-2 inch leaves. It will bloom nearly year-round in our Sunnyvale climate, with star-like 1 inch blossoms, rose pink in color. Sun or light shade, well drained soil, moderate watering. Plant Size: 3 feet high Landscape/Garden Uses: Foundation plantings Flowering Season: Nonseasonal Flower Color: Rose pink …

Godetia (Clarkia Amoena) is a spring blooming annual flower. It is native to western North America, from British Colombia down to California. Many people consider this easy to grow flower as a wildflower. Godetia plant grows 12″ – 30″, depending upon variety. The plant grows quickly. It blooms in the spring, in just 30 to 60 days. It produces Azalea-like …

Siberian squill, grown from a small bulb, is probably the most familiar of the scillas. The plants themselves don’t get much taller than about 6 inches, but they make up for their diminutive size by spreading out and blooming profusely. The tiny bulbs grow and multiple easily and the plants will also self-seed, making scilla a perfect choice for naturalizing.

This is the first bloom of Linaria in early March 2015. The plant is about 12 inches tall and the whole flower head is only an inch wide. See detailed description of Linaria

Like everything else in the garden, the blackberries are two weeks ahead of schedule. We are going to have a good crop of blackberries and a bumper crop of marionberries.

Our resident hummingbird appeared to be enjoying the rare spring rain

I have not planted elephant garlic in the front yard in ten years. The plants continue to produce every year. Mostly from child bulbs on the parent. But sometimes from seeds dispersed from the flower heads. This year, I harvested about half of the garlic. Wash off the dirt. Dry for an hour or so. Cut off the foliage about …