Back in the San Francisco Bay Area, trees, shrubs, and trees
continue to bloom as spring progresses. It rained throughout April, with
periods of temperate and even hot weather. The plant world seems to have responded
with many blossoms throughout April.
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| Rhododendron spp. |
Our Rhododendron spp.
(which I feared we would lose during the drought) put out its hot pink blooms
in early April (photographs from past years show it blooming in early May). Are
some plants blooming earlier this year? Seems like it.
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| Photinia spp. |
Throughout the month I spotted Photinia spp. along the Interstate 580 freeway, and out in Dublin.
I love their white blossoms and new red leaves. They are not native, but still
a sign of spring in the Bay Area.
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| Cercis occidentalis |
Cercis occidentalis
(Western Redbud) also bloomed in April along the freeways, and in yards and
gardens throughout the Bay Area. They are native, and a wonderful replacement
for exotic flowering trees.
Some of the small flowers in our yard also put on a good
show – the bluebells and Iris douglasiana (Douglas Iris) early in the month, followed by Lithodora diffusa (Stone Flower) and Heteromeles spp. (Toyon) later in the
month. My coral and white Camellias are still blooming at the end of April. In
the years before the drought, they typically bloomed from November to February,
and now seem to bloom from January to April. Here is a case where plants seem
to be blooming later in the year!
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| Blue bells |
|
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| Iris douglasiana |
|
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| Heteromeles spp. |
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| Lithodora diffusa |
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This is just a small sampling of what I have seen blooming
in the Bay Area in April. Yards are full of flowering plants, bushes, and
trees, so hard to keep up. The pace may be slowing down, but I’m looking
forward to what blooms we’ll come across in May!
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