EARLY SPRING FLOWERS

Andrea Hurd • March 11, 2016

March is a time of year in the Bay Area that sees a fluctuation in temperatures and in precipitation. This year, we were lucky in January to see so much rain, and then to have a warm and dry February. This brought out the blooms. When it comes to blooming, at Mariposa, we love to see as much late winter and early spring bloom as we can. Not only is it beautiful, after the cold grey days of December and January, but it is also important for our winged friends, the butterflies and the bees. Blooming flowers provide nectar and nourishment when the weather starts to get warm and the pollinators emerge from winter dormancy.

A bush with pink flowers and green leaves is in front of a white fence.

Fuschia thymilfolia is an excellent garden performer. It keeps its flowers year round, and provides nectar to a host of pollinators, including bumblebees and hummingbirds. In addition, it does well in dry shade. Often, trying to find plants that work in dry shade is a gardener’s dilemma.

A close up of a plant with blue and purple flowers

Cerinthe is a flower that will readily reseed itself in your garden. It’s lovely blue flowers are one of our first blooms of the year. Bumblebees and honey bees will be glad that you’ve planted it, as it is blooming right when they start to actively forage again.

Lantana is blooming in my garden right now, however, I normally think of Lantana as a summer bloomer. Maybe it is the effects of the drought that has it blooming out of season. At any rate, it is blooming, and I have seen several bumblebees visiting during our warmer days in Late February.

A bush with lots of purple flowers and green leaves.

Ceanothus is one of my favorite late winter and early spring bloomers! It’s beautiful soft blue flowers make it a true gem in the garden. The heavenly and faint scent send me swooning every time I leave in the morning, as I have a full blooming Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’ blooming right outside my front door. The bumblebees love Ceanothus, and on a sunny day, one can see several of them working the deep blue blooms.

A bunch of pink flowers are hanging from a tree branch.

The fairest of all Early Spring blooms is the lovely Ribes sanguineum. It’s graceful plumes of pink flowers are truly lovely to behold. Right now, in many parts of the Bay Area, they are at their peak. Enjoy them while you can. Once the flowers have faded, they will produce currants that are loved by our local birds.

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Summer Is Almost Here, Start Thinking About Your Soil

By Andrea andrea • June 9, 2025

CHECK YOUR SOIL! Isn’t it great to feel the longer and warmer days of late Spring? I love the feeling of going outside and seeing the sun, shining brightly on all of the green leaves and beautiful flowers. It is so wonderful to feel the glow of summer approaching. What a joy to get caught up in that glow, while we watch the gardens grow gorgeously. However, that joy makes it easy to forget that here in the Bay Area, we are entering the months long dry season. Our Mediterranean climate shifts this time of year, which can transform gardens from showing lots of flowering and new green growth, to gardens where soils and plants become dry and damaged. This transition can lead to health issues in the garden over the coming weeks and months. While plants are still thriving from the lovely winter rains, the soils are now drying out. We often don’t realize that the soils are becoming too dry because at this time of year, it takes plants longer to show signs of stress. However, if we know what is about to come, we can stay ahead of the dry season and the damage that hydrophobic soils can do to our garden.

Happy Spring!!!

By Andrea andrea • May 3, 2025

With the warmer temperatures and longer days, gardens are literally bursting with hope. New leaves unfurl and early blooms emerge under the lengthening days and warming temperatures. April never fails to inspire me with its magical expression in the natural world. Each year, as this phenomenon occurs, I am delighted by the immense force that nature has to replenish and re-emerge anew. Being able to count on the small miracles of leafing out and blooming helps to give stability in an unstable world. Tending a garden is not only therapeutic for our soul, but also will help heal your local environment.

Spring Cleaning For Habitat

By Andrea andrea • April 28, 2025

Spring is an amazing time of year to witness rebirth and transformation in the garden. Buds are swelling, flowers are beginning to bloom and butterflies are starting the procession of early, mid and late seasonal emergence into the garden! All of the subtle and beautiful change that happens day to day draws us gardeners out into the garden to witness the fullness of spring. During March, we see a chorus of changes in the garden, each element playing in harmony. Paying close attention to how your garden is changing and developing during this season can help you to become a better guardian for habitat protection. In Mariposa’s newsletters and articles , we discuss that in order to protect habitat in the winter garden, one must be very careful. Many grown pollinators and butterflies, as well as their dormant eggs gather protection under the leaves and in the dried stems of flowering perennials such as Echinacea (purple coneflower) and Rudbeckia (black eyed Susan).