If you’re going to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair

- Scott McKenzie

Colorful roses at one of the floral shops at the Embarcadero.  We got lucky and found street parking just 2 blocks away.  The parking meter system accepts major credit cards. For $3.25 we got 2 hours of parking.

These are the backyard patio of the mansions along Lyon Street stairs.  The geraniums with white petals and pink splashes go well with the little deep purple flowers.

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“Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds.

Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers, and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world.”

-Kate Douglas Wiggin

I took this photo a few years ago when visiting an orchid nursery in Half Moon Bay. I’m not good with growing orchids. That is why I like succulents (cactus) type of plants because they are so carefree! And they also have beautiful blooms too. But I do admire any type of orchids, even from a distant.

“An orchid in a deep forest sends out its fragrance even if no one is around to appreciate it. Likewise, men of noble character hold firm to their high principles, undeterred by poverty.”
– Confucius (551–479 BC)

“The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.”
- Gertrude S. Wister

These are Mexican Evening Primrose. I planted the seeds last year in my mom’s flower garden. And they finally starting to bloom this summer.

Since it took so long to bloom, I had thought the seeds were dud and I got weeds instead. Especially since the plant just kept on growing leaves for most of the year.

During the spring, I had wanted to pull the whole thing out because I didn’t see any flowers. And I also wanted to make room to grow other flowers too. But I’m glad I didn’t. The Mexican Evening Primrose are especially nice late in the evening when the breeze comes by and it starts to sway.

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This is an update on one of my flowering succulents. 

I had mistaken them as vygies, when they are really a part of the ice plant family. The correct names are Baby Sun Rose or aptenia. Scientific name: Aptenia cordifolia.

This year I had to cut them back because it was growing too fast.

This variety with red flowers has become widely used as an ornamental plants. They are used as popular ground cover in really hot places such as Arizona. I sometimes see aptenia used as ground covers or grown around city sidewalks.

This photo was taken last year. Aptenia is a trailing perennial that requires very little water. Aptenia are native to southern Africa.

It’s a hardy plant that can stand temperatures as low as 23°F (-5°C). We had temperatures as low as 32 °F last winter and I forgot to cover them up. And they didn’t seem to be effected by the freeze at all. Unlike the Moss Rose, those did not survive the California winter.

Aptenias are so easy to grow.  I just took a few cuttings and stick them to some good potting soil.  Within a few months they start to grow new stems and leaves.  They seem to want to thrive in any type of conditions.

I’ve always wanted to grow Cypress Vines (also called Star Glory) and was really happy to find the seed packets for sale.

I know some people can’t stand any type of vines and think they are messy to grow and get rid of. But I am some of the few folks that love climbing flowering vines, from morning glories to clematis.

These tiny red star shaped blooms are a nice contrast to the green fern like leaves.  Unlike morning glory, the bright flowers stay open all day long. Photo from Missouri Plants.

When I see photos of Cypress Vines and morning glories, I always think of my father.  Like myself, he also loved to grow flowering vines.

My father had grown Cypress Vines in the entrance of our tropical childhood home in Thailand. Every time I left or entered the front door, I felt like the plants were greeting me. The leaves were very soft to touch and looked very green and fuzzy.  Actually more feathery. And the bright red star shaped flowers were so cheerful.

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Clematis are some of the most beautiful climbing vines. The name clematis comes from the Greek word “klema” meaning “climbing”. There are over 400 varieties of clematis in the world.

Clematis are natural climbers, so it’s best to grow them along fences, trellis, arbors, or even with a nearby shrub.

In the botany world, the colorful flowers are actually not petals, but sepals of the plant. In other plants, sepals are normally green and much smaller then the petals.

This one is called “John Paul II”.  The buds are very pretty, they look almost like lily blossom.  And the white flowers (sepal) look like fabric.

And this is the “Ariake” clematis from Japan. Such a delicate looking flower.

This down facing clematis is “Blue Boy”.  Also another delicate variety found growing in Japan.  It looks like a pretty parasol.  The buds are also very pretty.

This is the “Dr. Rupel” found growing in Argentina. It is another one of my favorite clematis. The pink ribbon like strips almost look like they’ve been painted in by someone. This one is similar to the “Nelly Moser” variety that is also very popular.

Note: These beautiful collection of clematis photos are by Tsuyoshi Isojima of Hiroshima, Japan. Of all the varieties of clematis, they are some of my favorites.

I’ve never grown clematis, but found some great tips from gardener Doug Green. And here are some of his useful tips:

- They love to grow in full sun and require good soil. It likes rich organic soil amended with compost. It does not like clay soil and will not do well there.

- When you are ready to plant them, dig a hole that is 2 x 2 feet and 12 inches deep.

- Protect the root by adding organic mulch (not rocks) around the base of the plant. Organic mulch provides good nutrients for the plant.

- Water weekly and water deeply.

Hopefully with these helpful tips I can then learn to grown my own clematis soon. I also like the idea that they bloom for months over the summer time.

Clematis are said to be easy to grow. And once the plant is established, they are easy to care for and plenty of flowers.

And unlike bougainvillea, which are also very pretty, these flowers do not have thorns. Which are good for me, since I’ve had my share of being around thorny plants.

This deep purple beautiful clematis are grown in North Carolina.  Nye Noona took this photo from her sister’s garden. The beauty of the flower and photograph itself just takes my breath away.

This new clematis cultivar is grown in New York. It’s a much lighter purple and growing along an iron fence. I love how the tips of the sepal look like stars. Photo by Bill Bird. He has a great photo gallery of many other cultivars too.

Blooming clematis is such a rare and welcoming sight here in Northern California. So just seeing them in photos is good enough for me.

Carolina Allspice is a new plant I just discovered and would love to have in the garden. It’s a fragrant flowering shrub with dense leaves and suckers that can grow up to 9 feet tall. It is native to the woodlands of the south eastern United States. Including Virginia, Missippi, and Florida.

Here is a photo of the pretty blooming Carolina Allspice.  It has dark maroon to purple petals that bloom at the end of short branches.  Image from rareplants.de

The scent is what intrigues me. As it carries fruity notes of pineapple, strawberry and banana. Even the leaves are described to be aromatic when bruised.

Scientific name is Calycantus Floridus and common names include:

Sweetshrub
Carolina Spicebush
Carolina Sweetshrub
Spicebush
Common Spicebush
Strawberry Bush
Yellow Sweet Betsy

Floridata has more useful facts about growing the Carolina Allspice.

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Every spring I always enjoy seeing flowers in bloom, especially the French lilac.  I found this growing along the fence of a cute little cottage in the neighborhood.

Most French lilac I’ve seen are purple, but this one is in pure white. The leaves are heart shaped and remind me of the Bodhi tree.

The flower is very fragrant, almost like perfume.  But unlike the sweet smell of honeysuckle, this scent is almost too strong for me.  But some people really enjoy this scent and it’s popular blend in perfumes.

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This spring I will attempt to grow nasturtiums (again).  Nasturtium is native to the South American Andes from Bolivia to Columbia. Some consider them to be herbs as the leaves and blooms are edible. The leaves have a crisp peppery taste that ’s great as salad greens.

I especially love the cheerful crinkly flowers of orange, red and yellow. And the leaves remind me of small lily pads. Photo from Hume Seeds.

They are suppose to be some of the easiest flowers to grow. Yet when I attempted to grow them last spring, I didn’t have much luck at all.

This is all that grew in 4 weeks (photo from last spring). When I decided to transplant it, the whole thing just died a few days later.

I must not have seen this helpful tip from the seed packet:  “Does not transplant well.”  This year, I will be sure to plant them in a large pot or just straight into the ground.

A few more tips:

* Garden nasturtium enjoy sandy soils.

* Too much water and fertilizer could result in more leaves then blooms.

* It also enjoys full sun or light shade and prefers some shade in the summer sun.

* Nasturtium are somewhat drought tolerant but enjoy regular watering.

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