I missed Bloom Day again in May, so I figured instead I’d just post a summary of what’s been going on, generally, on Del Diablo Lane.

A key theme has been GREEN. As in, everything is green (and still green) after this crazy El Niño winter. The mesquite tree (this one’s a hybrid cultivar Prosopis grafted onto Argentinian Prosopis rootstock) newly planted last spring, came roaring back with neon green foliage and catkins. I have to confess, I actually thought it was dead: thought I’d have to tear it out and try something else here, and then bam!

The Prosopis is to the right of the path, just past the fox tail agave. It’s still pretty small as you can see, but my hope is that it will take on size and provide some feathery mid-garden shade.

The Matilija poppies started opening up on May 4th.

Here’s a shot of one drenched by Sunday’s rain storm (May 19th). Soggy but still lovely.

Rain has been a recurring theme, believe it or not, even into the second half of May. Here are some shots from another recent rain drenching back on April 30th.

The Itoh Peony came back this spring. I found This peony by random chance last year at a big box store. And here it is again. Short lived but gorgeous.

The blue fescue is blooming like crazy right now. So is yarrow as you can see. Pretty much every clump of fescue (and there are a lot of them) is topped by these feathery panicles.

Over by the north fence, the Salvia apiana is trying to take over the world. This is an angle that exaggerates height, yes, but its not far from the truth.

Albuca spiralis is back. Smells like cake.

Red buckwheat is about to open all over the place. Summer is the door.

The garden as a whole still looks very, vey lush (and overgrown/overcrowded), due to all the rain we’ve had (and are still having).

Here’s a parting shot: Verbena bonariensis, which opened in the last 2 weeks.