What's Blooming in June?

With the kick off of summer, comes a whole new palette of flowering trees, shrubs, and plants here in the San Francisco Bay Area. You would think by June that the blooms would be subsiding, but not so!

Rambling Roses

I’ve started to see roses (Rosaceae spp.) everywhere – from the hot inland areas of San Ramon, Dublin and Pleasanton, to the sheltered, sunny gardens of the East Bay. I don’t grow roses, but love to see their vibrant colors, and inhale their sweet fragrance. I especially like the rambling roses that are used like street trees out in Dublin.

Bougainvillea

The Bougainvillea has asserted itself with its hot pink blooms – a perfect plant for a hot, sunny location in the garden. The California native Flannel Bush (Fremontodendron hybrids) bloomed earlier in the month. Daylilies (Hemerocallis), Society Garlic (Tulbagbia spp.), and Agapanthus have started their “forever summer” cycle of blooms. No wonder we love them as staples in the garden!

Flannel Bush	Agapanthus (in white)
Fortnight Lily	Daylily

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Fortnight lily (Dietes spp.), Delphinium, Four O’clock Flowers (Mirabilis spp.), Fleabane (Erigeron spp.), and many others are also blooming. They are all at home in our Mediterranean climate.

Four O'clock Flowers (I think)	Delphinium
Fleabane	Silk Tree

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Flowering street trees, like Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica hybrids), Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin), and Chitalpa (a cross between Desert Willow and Southern Catalpa) have been blooming all month. This seems earlier than usual; my recollection is that these trees typically bloom in late summer. They are a pleasure to see, as street trees or in gardens, whenever the conditions are right for them to bloom.

Crape Myrtle

Chitalpa