ms. fancy plants

today i stumbled across what i think might be the fanciest plant i've ever had in my garden.  a rogue Columbine with the most elegant and dramatic bud i've ever seen.  top five for sure.  

plants about town…

blooming in my garden…

fancy plants of the week...

i have no business buying any more plants for our deck, there is hardly walking room as it is but i can't stop, just one more, i had to have it - Lamprocapnos spectabilis, formally Dicentra spectabilis and more commonly referred to as Bleeding Heart (apologies for the nomenclature geek-out), is totally irresistible.  i chose to pot it up on the deck because Lamprocapnos' perfect heart-shaped blooms are best viewed up close.   

Acacia boormanii is blooming like crazy in my garden right now.  At about tree years old this is its first intense flush.  Its gray-green whispy leaves compliment the buttercup yellow flowers oh so nicely, which aren't showing any signs of stopping, (we're going on three weeks now).  try boormanii in a succulent garden, with blue or purple to really make it pop. or with other australian natives like Grevillea or Leucadendron for an architectural modern arrangement. yuuuummmmmm!!!!  

Acacia boormanii prefers full sun, (although mine is in half sun about half the year) and doesn't seem to mind sandy nutrient deficient soil.  it's also drought tolerant, making it an easy and fantastic choice for a california garden.  

one month ago i married a man who agreed go away with me to ogle outrageous tropical plants (i'm one lucky lady).  in the meantime, we decided to hunt for the ever elusive Sloth, who we found, being just as lazy as suspected.  we realized that whoever came up with the fruit loops Toucan was pretty spot on (but we never expected his call to sound like that), and no you don't have to set your alarm for a 7:30 breakfast, the birds will get you up in time for a swim before coffee is even served.  

i couldn't stop snapping photos.  shooting a Heliconia would be interrupted by a Scarlet Macaw screeching past, while a Howler Monkey hopped over my head, it was overwhelming in the best possible way.  because of this, and tumblr only allowing ten photos per post. there will be many posts.  plants first.  i hope you like.

flowering Yucca amazingness.

fancy plants of the week...

my Correa reflexa, because i've been waiting for weeks, watching the little white pom-poms with baited breath, wondering when they'll pop open.  this is the dreamiest of the dreamy, with dainty pink and yellow dumbbells.  

this beauty will stay nice and compact and produce several rounds of blooms throughout the year if tip pruned after flowering.  it's evergreen, super attractive to hummingbirds and has a low susceptibility to pests.  why are you still reading this?  go!  go get yourself one of these babies.  there are only about a million cultivars to choose from.