Succulents and More™

Last weekend was as busy as the entire week had been, but on Sunday afternoon I was able to carve out an hour for a quick visit to the UC Davis Arboretum. (It’s only 10 minutes from my house so it’s not a big trip.) Specifically, I wanted to see how the acacias in the Eric E. Conn Acacia Grove were doing. I’d photographed them in full bloom last March ( see this post ) and was reasonably sure they’d still be going strong. Wrong. All the large trees that had been so gorgeous last year where already done flowering. Maybe because of the drought or the warm weather we’ve been having? Most of them looked like this: But there were pockets of yellow, especially in more shaded corners: Unlabeled acacia

Out of all the summer-blooming perennials in our garden, one is consistently towards the top of my list of favorites: Verbena bonariensis , commonly know as tall verbena, purpletop verbena or purpletop vervain. This South American native has lantana-liked flower heads on top of tall stems equipped with sparse narrow leaves. This produces a fluid, airy effect and makes Verbena bonariensis perfect for mixed borders where it can weave in and out of plants next to it.

As we wrap up the month of March, one color leaps out at me as I look around the garden: purple. In the backyard it’s from our lilac, which is in full bloom: Blue Skies lilac ( Syringa vulgaris ‘Blue Skies’) Our climate isn’t lilac-friendly, but thanks to the work of intrepid breeders like Ralph Moore of Visalia there are lilac cultivars that do well here in spite of our mild winters. Ours is called ‘Blue Skies’. If you live in a mild-winter climate and want to grow lilacs, here is a list of eight suitable cultivars .