It’s still January, and the recent storms have caused numerous springs and small waterfalls to appear all over our hillsides. However, a number of our plants seem completely unphased by the unstable winter weather, and are marching steadfastly toward spring.
Our newly planted Catalina Currant is starting to bloom!
Catalina Currant (Ribes viburnifolium)
The bracken ferns are slowly beginning to unfurl.
Western Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)
A Rhododendron promises a bounty of blooms.
Rhododendron sp.
Like many gardeners, the Satsuma Plum tree is clearly impatient for spring!
Satsuma Plum
The daffodil bulbs we planted last fall are emerging in the orchard.
'Dutch Master' Daffodils
New leaves are emerging on the wild Wood Roses near the creek.
Wood Rose (Rosa gymnocarpa)
The Bay Laurels are already starting to bloom.
California Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica)
This Ceanothus will soon produce masses of pale lavender-blue flowers.
Ceanothus sp.
The native Pink Flowering Currant is starting to push new growth…
Pink Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum glutinosum)
…but the new Western Sword Fern fronds aren’t quite yet ready to awaken.
Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)
Unfortunately, not all the new growth in the gardens is welcome. Our invasive French Broom, yet again, rears its ugly head…
French Broom (Genista monspessulana)
At the moment, the signs of spring here are small, but they do convey so much promise of what is yet to come…
Very nice to see the greenery, and the start of your “spring” season. I really like the bracken fern unfurling.
I just love seeing these signs of Spring! I have ribes sanguineum, it’s not quite as far along as yours, but it’s waking up. It’s one of my favorite spring bloomers.
Hope all the rain lets up soon.
Your spring seems to be truly stirring! I have enjoyed exploring your site and look forward to your planting progress… orchards and vineyards… what a beautiful part of the world you live in! ;>) Carol
We’re looking forward to our planting progress too! 😛 Unfortunately, we dare not dig any holes this weekend for the fruit trees, because the hillsides are so completely saturated from the recent deluge. Hopefully next weekend, if the weather behaves. We just have to have some respect for our slopes so we avoid excessive run-off and erosion. I really hope that Satsuma plum holds off a bit…all the other fruit trees are still dormant, but that one seems eager to burst into bloom!
I like your bracken picture (and your adaptation of the Atahualpa theme I’m using too!).
Over here, spring isn’t arriving yet… but coming closer all the same.
This is such a great time of year round here, watching plants breaking dormancy. Great post!
I look forward to learning more about Curbstone Valley on my visits to your site.
All best
Alice
aka Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel
Great pics. You really captured our emergent spring. I really like the fern and Ribes sanguineum pictures. Sorry about the french broom though.
Spring is definitely arriving in your part of the world and is a joy to see in your photos. I’ve never heard of Catalina Currant. Does it have edible fruit?
The suspense is terrible, isn’t it? Lovely photos!
Good question Barbara. Catalina Currant is also known as Catalina Perfume, and is native to Santa Catalina Island. We planted it here because it tolerates dry shade in coastal gardens, and is deer resistant.
None of my native plant texts overtly state that the berries are edible. They all mention that this plant rarely produces fruit in cultivated gardens. We have a few scant berries on ours, but not many. However, the few berries that are there do seem to be appetizing to birds. This plant also seems to root freely where the long stems reach moist soil on the ground. I’ve accidently started quite a few new plants with all our wet weather this year!