John’s California Garden – FineGardening

Today John Erskine is sharing his garden with us, which we have visited before (Change Up Your Garden).

This past year I’ve been lucky enough to be able to work from home. So during the week, I’ve made many trips to my garden to see how it looks at different times during the day and to find interesting new views that show off different plant combinations. I continue to tweak my garden, moving things around, trying new plants, and removing plants that are unhappy or that I am no longer interested in. I still haven’t figured out how to combine floral abundance with low maintenance, but I’m working on it.

Tulips and other bulbs make a colorful splash in March here in the San Francisco Bay Area. The vibrant colors are always welcome after the winter. ‘Barcelona’ tulips are featured here.

This Douglas iris (Iris ‘PB&J’, Zones 6–9) is very happy in partial shade in spring. This is one of the Pacific Coast irises, a group of species (and hybrids between them) native to the Pacific Coast of North America and perfectly adapted to the climates there.

I love the soft colors of this ‘Chicago Peace’ rose.

It’s a riot of colors and flowers in this bed in spring, which includes agrostemma (Agrostemma ‘Milas’, annual), baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii, annual), ursinia (Ursinia anthemoides ‘Solar Fire’, annual), and others.

Several ‘Marjorie Fair’ roses fill this heart-shaped bed outlined with a boxwood hedge.

Crocosmia, Agapanthus, and a Hydrangea combine with a Trachelium caeruleum (Zones 7–10) for a vibrant display of color in summer. The Trachelium reseeds and is generally welcome wherever it pops up.

This sweet autumn clematis (Clematis paniculata, Zones 4–8) climbed into this abandoned fountain and is very happy.

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