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Rainbows and Dreamers, Gardens and Rain

We’ve had rain, sun, wind, and California cold this month, but nothing compared to Canada and the Midwest. I’m sending warm vibes to folks who are enduring -40 C/F.

My San Jose garden enjoyed the recent rain, a gentler version of last year’s repetitive atmospheric rivers. Slow and steady wins the race where rain is concerned. I’m grateful.

Without further ado, and In rainbow order, here are a few January garden gems:

Red abutilon is starting to reappear. I like to imagine a garden fairy trying on this beautiful dress.

Orange stocks have appeared for the first time on a pair of succulents in a pot on the deck. I transplanted these plants a few years ago, so seeing this new development is exciting.

Like a child at a candy shop, I can’t tell you how exciting it’s been to have a towering yellow sunflower in the middle of January.

Green is everywhere, but I’m featuring geranium leaves below. I love the multi-colored leaves.

Blue is tricky in the garden, so you have to play along here. This hydrangea flower has shades of blue and arrived well past its season’s prime, as evidenced by the faded brown flower by its side.

Violet is a garden favorite. I’m featuring another hydrangea, a Serbian bellflower, and what I thought was a salvia, but I’m no longer sure. Please let me know if you know differently.

Finally, I’m featuring black and white, not “colors/colours” at all, but I can never resist sharing what I refer to as fluff: The spent seeds from last summer’s Anemone. When I trim back the plants in early fall, I like to leave a few for the hummingbirds. They collect the Dandelion-like fluff for their nests. Aren’t they dreamy?

With a hat tip to Kermit the Frog’s Rainbow Connection, “A lover, a dreamer, and me.”

45 thoughts on “Rainbows and Dreamers, Gardens and Rain”

  11. I came across your blog through Tialys. I am almost overwhelmed by your garden photos! I had a beloved aunt who spent some years in Santa Cruz where she grew pansies year round. Mother and I were envious! Pansies in Texas are winter plants……being scorched in our long, hot summers. You must live in an amazing gardening climate. I delight in each of your photos. I live in central Texas with very alkaline soil, and as we live out on acreage, we have deer who love to eat almost everything but lantana!!!! So I will delight in seeing you garden. Carol in Texas

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    • Hello Carol. Thank you for stopping by and for leaving a detailed comment. Lynn at Tialys is one of my favorite bloggers. She’s wonderfully creative and she always makes me laugh.

      I live in San Jose, just 35 minutes “over the hill” to Santa Cruz. It’s a beloved community. I grow in zone 9, which allows me nearly ten months of gardening adventures. I’m sorry to hear about the brutal heat in Texas, and the foraging deer. That doesn’t lend itself to gardening, does it?

      I’m pleased you enjoyed the garden pics, and I hope you’ll visit again. Alys

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  12. So THAT’s what the flowers look like on that succulent! Something to look forward to, as I inherited several of them in this garden and have never seen them flower. The only flowers worth noting in my back yard just now are two stems of bananas which are beginning to develop from the extraordinary banana flowers 😊

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    • I can’t even imagine a banana flower in my garden. That’s extraordinary, Kate.

      These plants were originally in a basket of pre-planted succulents. They outgrew the basket, but I dragged my feet repotting them. I finally got organized, bought more pots and spread out the plants. The interesting thing about succulents is that they tolerate crowded roots and low water, but when released from the confines, they take off, sometimes to amazing size and height.

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    • Kate, I did more research. I thought this might be aloe vera, but when I’ve grown a plant in the past, it was indoors and never flowered. Now I have three, and they’ve all sent up a stalk, now turning orange.

      “Aloe Vera takes 4 years to become mature enough to produce a flower and sometimes, this isn’t enough. The best way to try and induce blooming is to mimic the plant’s natural environment. Providing bright sunlight, warmer temperatures, and less frequent watering is your best chance to see those beautiful orange flowers.”

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  14. So many pretty things in bloom, I’m rather envious! The Serbian bellflower is one I’ve never seen before.
    I usually cut my Japanese anemone, too, but this year two stalks were missed and I was delighted by the seed-head fluff and ended up using them in a Xmas arrangement. :)

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  16. What a nice assortment you have there! I particularly love the abutilon. I bought one last year that never bloomed, but at least it has lovely variegated leaves. I’m wintering it over in my basement under lights, so hopefully it will do something this summer. I also have two tiny cuttings of it going, and, while they’re not growing much, they’re also not dead!

    You have a lovely site. I’ll have to visit often!

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  17. Oh, how I wait for your winter Garden Tours, dear Alys! What a lovely rainbow you have nurtured! I especially love the tall, orange spikes on your succulents. They are living their best lives in your containers!! Wishing you quiet hours and much healing as you spend time in nature, dear friend!
    🩷 Dawn

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