May 2016 in the Northern Hemisphere

[johnralphcarpenter]

Camellia 'Nuncio's Carousel'.

[Gabriela]

Nothing so bright over here, but there is also beauty in rain droplets
Podophyllum peltatum, Trillium luteum and E. brachyrrhizum 'Elfin Magic'.

[Robert]

A few flowering plants from our Sacramento garden from a few days ago.



Castilleja foliolosa aff. I need to take the time to properly identify this species. I had it labeled (from seed) as C. applegatei, however it is clearly not this species. It lacks the short glandular-sticky hairs and long non-glandular hairs of C. applegatei, as well as the wavy leaf margin. A natural hybrid is possible, however I doubt this too. One of these days when I am not busy (when is that!    ) I'll take the time to give it a closer look. Anyway it is very pretty and I will enjoy it in our garden.

This species has proven to be easily cultivated in our garden.

P.S. I keyed out the Castilleja this morning..... C. affinis ssp affinis.   



Dianthus alpinus, or something close to it.



Layia gailardioides

Another one of our California native annuals. This species is generally found in the coastal mountains of California, however I found a small patch in northern El Dorado County, California. This species has been in bloom for 6 plus weeks now and will not quit blooming anytime soon, although hot weather will put an end to its bloom cycle.



Primula japonica. This species is easy to grow despite our summer heat.



A nice Sisyrinchium hybrid. The flowers are quite large, twice the size of S. bellum. They will also bloom for a month or so.

[Tristan_He]

Nothing so bright over here, but there is also beauty in rain droplets

Lovely Gabriela. I love taking photos with rain droplets too.

Unfortunately we have rather too much beauty at the moment...! If it ever stops raining I'll try to get out.

[Maggi Young]

Look what I found flowering in the garden today ....... flourishing in the sun after a shower of rain



Alan Gardner from Falkirk, his cousin  Ken from Dyce, Ian Young from Aberdeen(!)  and Clay Koplin from Cordova, Alaska

[David Nicholson]

Did you say flowers Maggi?

[Maggi Young]

Did you say flowers Maggi?

 Errrr, ummmm, yes........ well, you know, they smelled nice.....

[Matt T]

With Clay braving the Aberdeen weather in just his shirtsleeves!

[Maggi Young]

With Clay braving the Aberdeen weather in just his shirtsleeves!

 Well, y'know, Alaskan, Mayor of his town - general tough guy!
Actually, it was pretty nice - it's just that the Scots know enough about the changeable weather not to risk taking their jackets off!

[Gabriela]

Look what I found flowering in the garden today ....... flourishing in the sun after a shower of rain
Alan Gardner from Falkirk, his cousin  Ken from Dyce, Ian Young from Aberdeen(!)  and Clay Koplin from Cordova, Alaska

What a gorgeous group of flowers 

Lovely Gabriela. I love taking photos with rain droplets too.
Unfortunately we have rather too much beauty at the moment...! If it ever stops raining I'll try to get out.

I’m sure soon it will and the sun will shine! Have a look at this Erythronium I found in a nice population - decided it had enough with the cloudy weather and adopted a funny pose by himself. 

[Robert]

More blooming plants for our Sacramento garden.



Lilium pumilum

Simple and beautiful.



The first open flowers on our California native annual, Collinsia tinctoria. The molted foliage is distinctive and nice too.



A confused Gentiana newberryi. A fairly common high elevation California native. As I can, I grow a batch of seedlings. This is the only seedling with flowers. The others are in growth but no flowers. 

[meanie]

Robert - the Castilleja is nice. I tried a similar one a few years ago but it was best described as a resounding failure  Which is much what I'm expecting of the 2016 growing season if I'm honest. So in the absence of any new blooms I'll post the following..................


They're Eucomis "Sparkling Burgundy" bulbs which were started off from leaf cuttings in August 2014 and have just emerged from their first winter dormancy. As they were still in the original pot and compost it was time to pot them up and the largest was about 25mm in diameter.

[WimB]

Some things in flower here now:

Adonis aestivalis
Androsace sempervivoides
Arisaema thunbergii subsp. urashima
Cypripedium formosanum

[WimB]

Erythronium 'Kinfauns Pink'
Iberis saxatilis 'Pygmaea'
Oxalis laciniata 'Matthew Forest'
Paeonia tenuifolia
Primula auricula 'Dale's Red'

[WimB]

Primula auricula 'Dusky Yellow'
Primula auricula 'Lintz'
Primula auricula 'Prince of Orange'
Primula 'Garnet Cowichan'
Primula marginata 'Nana'