Tag Archives: Spring

Gentian blue flowers are the calling card for this vigorous, sun-loving ground cover. Plants first form a 3-6” high mat of soft, dark-green foliage and then come late spring, a parade of intense, dark blue, 1/2” star-shaped flowers. Each of the 5 petals has a darker rib, accentuating its starburst shape. When smothered in flowers, there’s no blue-flowering ground cover …

A stunning “African Daisy” with 2” wide, tricolor blooms that practically glow! The flowers open bronzey-orange then, as they age, color-shift from the center out starting with hot-pink followed by a rich purple. Color can vary seasonally, often starting out almost entirely bronze-hued in Spring and transitioning to primarily purple as the season progresses. Perfect for adding brilliant color to …

Bring a touch of north Africa to your yard with the white Ornithogalum arabicum. It has lots of other common names: star of Bethlehem, star flower, Arab’s eye, lesser cape-lily, Arabian starflower, snake flower or chincherinchee. This bulb is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture planting zones 7 through 11 and can be enjoyed as a tender bulb or a …

Gigantic rose-pink blooms surround the white tufted centers of this aptly named beauty. It’ll be the star of your long-running garden show with its delightful fragrance and attractive foliage — perfect for borders, beds and cut flowers. Plant the peonies bare root not more than 2 inches deep to help create strong root growth in the first year. Be patient …

The majority of tulips (Tulipa spp.) flower naturally in the spring, making them a symbol of new life and renewal. Many varieties of tulips produce blooms in varying shades of yellow, adding a cheerful “hello” to the new growing season. Yellow tulips require the same care and maintenance as other colored tulip varieties. Daffodils (Narcissus spp.) and tulips (Tulipa spp.) …

Salvia elegans. This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds. Tubular red flowers and lime-green leaves are fragrant with a scent similar to pineapple. Can be grown in a 1-foot deep, 1-foot wide pot. Salvia elegans, commonly called Pineapple sage or Tangerine Sage, is a perennial shrub native to Mexico and Guatemala. It inhabits Madrean and Mesoamerican pine-oak forests …

Fava Beans, called “fave” in Italian (pronounced “fa-vay”), are a centuries-old, archetypal “fast food” that used to be eaten in the fields, sustaining men and women working up to twelve hours in rugged conditions, keeping them going until the long-awaited evening supper.

Bower Vine, Jasmine, Pandorea jasminoides. Pink bower vine  is a fast-growing vine that reaches heights of 20 to 30 feet at maturity. The vine adds color to the landscape all summer, displaying soft pink, bell-shaped blooms with dark pink throats. Thanks to the lush, evergreen foliage, the vine is attractive even when it isn’t blooming. Bower vine is suitable for planting …

Tall Bearded Iris is a great spring flower for Sunnyvale gardens.

The Flowering Plum is the first tree to flower in my Sunnyvale garden (USDA zone 9). In normal years, it flowers mid-February. Also known as cherry plum or myrobalan plum, flowering plum (Prunus cerasifera) is a small to medium-sized ornamental tree native to Asia. Purple-leaved cultivars, such as the popular Thundercloud, are more common in the home landscape than the …