Has it been spring all winter?

We’re wondering if spring has come early, or winter hasn’t yet begun….  Here on the Mendocino Coast and at Blanchard House, blooms are starting to become evident: case in point, this beautiful red Rhododendron. We have experienced very little rainfall in the past 2-3 months, so it is no wonder that the plants are responding to more sunshine than usual; …

More of those flowers! (late Fall, early Winter)

Here is a flower (name unknown) that was spotted at the Botanical Gardens. Looks like fireworks, doesn’t it?  And the photo has not been re-touched….   These are the Red Hot Pokers; the botanical name is Kniphofia uvaria, or Torch Lily.

Botanical Gardens – flowers in winter?

The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens proves once again that there is rarely a season without a bloom on the Northern California Coast.                 Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first, Fuchsia triphylla, was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispanola (present day Dominican Republic and Haiti) …