Plant views: Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri)
The Matilija poppy is the common name for a very showy California native, Romneya coulteri.
When happy, this plant can spread to huge stands by underground runners.
Give it lots of sun, excellent drainage on poor soils and plenty of room to grow.
Most plants grow to about six feet tall and can spread widely.
The Matilija poppy has a soft, green-colored foliage with a bluish hue.
It can be fussy about where it wants to grow and is intolerant of root disturbance.
Wild Cucumber (Marah fabaceus fabaceus)
The wild cucumber (Marah fabaceus fabaceus) is an enthusiastic native plant that happily covers any large object it can ramble over. It will scale trees, smother sheds and carpet the ground with its fast-growing wiry stems. The plant sends out curly tendrils to attach to anything within its grasp. And after showing off its clusters of white flowers, the wild cucumber will explode into bright green porcupine like inedible cucumber fruits. Explode is a good word for this plant as these fruits can burst open and shoot out the seeds. The wild cucumber survives extreme heat and drought by growing huge underground roots often referred to as ‘man roots’ due to their size. If you want one growing in your wildflower garden, just be sure you like the location. Once established, digging out that root is a major project! The Marah fabaceus fabaceus is native only to Southern California.
The wild cucumber is not edible (though looking at the spiny fruit, I don’t suspect many people would find it tempting, anyway).
Grow the Chasmanthe (African Flag, African Cornflag or Corn Lily)
%20gophers%20do%20not%20eat.%20It%20shows%20off%20nicely%20at%20a%20time%20of%20year%20when%20there%20is%20little%20in%20bloom. "Pin It")
A showy flower that is all too often confused with Crocosmia (Montbretia) is the Chasmanthe. It is commonly known as the African Flag, African Cornflag or Corn Lily. This plant grows from a bulb (actually a corm) and puts on a colorful show during late winter when little else is in bloom. Bright orange, yellow or red-orange narrow trumpeted flowers line up on one or both sides of the stem tips, flower heads being held just above the strap-shaped foliage. Bulbs form large clusters and make eye-catching clumps when flowering.
Let the foliage die down after flowering to store energy for next year’s growth. Originating in South Africa, these plants are tolerant of dry, poor soils and sleep through hot summers, sending up new green leaves in autumn. They love plenty of full, bright sun.
The Chasmanthe can handle light frosts and prefers well-draining soils. These plants are rarely bothered by gophers or ground squirrels (which is rare for these bulb-loving rodents), but deer will nibble on foliage.
Design the Chasmanthe around rocks and outcrops where it will look natural. Plant it to fill small areas and set them ablaze with color early in the earliest weeks of spring. Or mix groups of these bulbs with larger perennials or shrubs so you can mask the fading after-bloom foliage with neighboring plants.
If you aren’t sure whether you are growing Crocosmia or Chasmanthe, the blooming time will help you identify your plant. Not only does the Crocosmia bloom later in spring, but the Chasmanthe flowers are narrower with a longer petal arching over the top of the flower. The Crocosmia flowers are spaced slightly wider along the stem and equal-length petals flare wider at the tips.
Although this is a tough, showy plant, there are some parts of California where it has become so comfortable that it is becoming invasive. Always check to make sure whatever plants you choose for your garden are considered safe in your area.
Outrageous bromeliad flowers
Mother Nature certainly knows how to out-shine even the most impressive human artist with her flowers. Bromeliads are perfect examples. Although there are hundreds of Bromeliads — including the Ananas that grows the delicious pineapple as a bloom — here is just a sampling of the kind of flowers you can find on these outrageous plants. Many of these plants have adapted leaves (bracts) that are even more colorful than the smaller flowers that protrude. The combination of colors can be stunning.
Here are some eye-catching terrestrial (growing in the soil) bromeliads:
%0A "Pin It")
And just a few of the epiphytic bromeliads (air plants that like to live in trees): 
- The Neoregelia grows little flowers inside the colorful central bowl of water.
Grow big, bold sunflowers
Whether you are a fan of annuals or perennials, the sunflower can find a treasured place in your garden. These fast-growing annuals offer big, bold plants that are a quick, easy way to add eye-catching flowers to almost any garden.
There are varieties of these giant daisies that grow over eight feet tall and varieties that reach only two and a half to three feet. Some are long stems topped with a big, rayed, disk of a bloom whereas others will branch up the stem offering multiple blooms. Colors are available in the traditional pure yellow, whites, lemons, mahoganies, bronzes, deep reds and rings of blended hues. There are double flowers, full and fluffy with petals, and there are single open disks outlined with just a ring of petals imitating the rays of the sun.
Sunflowers not only echo the sun in design, but actually turn to face the sun as it moves across the sky during the day. These interesting flowers are decorative, colorful, ideal for adding towering height or lollypop vertical growth to a garden bed. Use tall varieties in the back of a garden, to decorate a dull wall or fence or to add a bold accent or create a colorful focal point within a planting. Sunflowers add character to a Tuscan or other Mediterranean landscape design. They fit in perfectly with a cottage garden design and show off nicely in a Southwestern themed garden.
The sunflower (Heliantus annuus) is easily planted from seed. You can also buy started plants. It is easy to grow and because it grows quickly, is an ideal plant to help children become excited about gardening. The large seeds are convenient to handle and sprout fast. After flowering the big blooms develop seeds that invite birds into your garden, can be saved to plant next year and are edible. Give the sunflower plenty of sunshine, ample water and occasional plant food. These ponderous plants are heavy feeders.
Southern California wildflowers: the Clarkia
Whether Southern California has a wet or dry winter will make a big difference to the amount of blooming you can expect in springtime wildflowers. The best show of annual wildflowers can be sustained in residential gardens where a little extra irrigation can be provided during a particularly dry year. One of the most colorful and reliable wildflowers for Southern California is the Clarkia. Two easily-grown varieties of Clarkia that will fill your garden with showy whites, soft reds and a wide range of pinks are Farewell to spring (Clarkia amoena) and Mountain Garland (Clarkia unguiculata). The former grows shorter – 10 to 18 inches tall – with large, open-faced pink and white (often bicolored) flowers.
The Mountain Garland has taller clusters of half to one inch flowers that can be planted thickly to cloak open ground with sparking pinks, purples and whites.
All these Clarkias are best planted by scattering seed over lightly raked soil just before rain is predicted. Water occasionally until the seed germinates if rain is scarce. Allow these California wildflowers space to grow by removing competitive weeds. Once plants are established, they will appreciate additional water, but they don’t need it; Clarkias are very drought-tolerant. If they are happy where you plant them they will self-seed and bloom again the following year. These plants love poor soil so long as it is well-drained.
Irises to grow in the garden
- A group of bearded Irises in bloom
One of the deservedly popular flowers in gardens all over America – all over the world – is the iris. These plants all grow from storage-adapted roots and tend to flower with large, showy blooms. Since there are so many different kinds of irises that have evolved in different climates, most gardens can be planted with at least one kind that will adapt well. There is a wide selection of sizes and colors – even combinations of colors — available. Irises can slip into designs for shade or sun, formal or informal landscapes, or gardens in a wide range of styles. The following are just some of the popular types of iris.
Bulb irises are usually early blooming flowers that are easily planted as dormant bulbs. These tend to be smaller types of iris that readily spread into attractive clumps. Many varieties are ideal to cluster in garden beds or even naturalize into lawn edges to give an informal look to the garden. The most common colors are blues, purples, yellows and whites. The bulb iris blooms in early spring, shows off colorful blooms then dies back down quickly to leave room for later flowering plants. Like all bulbs, foliage should remain attached to the plant until yellow or brown so the energy can settle back into the bulb to be stored for next year’s growth.
The bearded iris is well known for its big, frilly, lollypop flowers. These plants come in an assortment of colors and blends, all with fuzzy stripes (‘beards’) on the inner central part of the lower petals (falls). Bearded Irises grow from creeping rhizomes.
Water irises make up a number of irises that love to grow in wet, boggy areas. One group, the Louisiana hybrid, displays some of the showiest blooms in moisture-loving irises. It flowers in a wide range of colors. These irises are ideal for wet areas or ponds.
A less well-known iris is the Japanese iris. Flowers have a slightly unusual flattened, yet very large decorative petal arrangement. This iris likes moist soil and holds its huge bloom high on a tall, thin stalk.
The ‘Pacific Coast Hybrid’ irises are colorful hybrids of several native California species including the Iris douglasiana. A variable plant, it has short-lived blooms that open in succession to put on a colorful spring show. They prefer a little dappled shade or full shade. These irises come in an assortment of colors and are quite drought tolerant.
This is only a small selection of the wide range of garden iris plants. Some handle wet conditions whereas others like it dry. Some tolerate shade and some prefer full sun. There are more iris varieties like English Irises, Reticulata irises (bulb), Dutch and Spanish irises. There are so many colorful and decorative irises that are adapted to different climates, designs and themes that there should be a good selection to choose from for your garden, no matter where you live.
The showy California native Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri)
 "Pin It")
Sometimes we become so used to seeing fancy hybrid flowers that we forget to look in our own backyards for the showiest of them all. One stunner that grows in the Southern California chaparral despite poor soil and hot, dry summers is the Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri). Despite growing in harsh conditions, this is a big plant that shows off in a big way.
Oddly fussy about where it grows, the Matilija Poppy can refuse what looks like a perfectly comfortable home and become downright invasive in a space it decides is more to its liking. Where happy it can create a formidable thicket sending runners underground to surface far and wide.
The leaves are an attractive, light blue-green and spread out from long, tall stems. In early spring the Romneya blooms with breath-taking, huge crepe-paper textured white flowers opening out to show off deep yellow globular centers. These flowers can be four to six inches in diameter and smother the plant with enormous glowing white and yellow blooms.
A native California plant, the Matilija Poppy can compete with any fancy hybrid plant as an eye-catcher. If you live in an environment with lean, well-drained soil, hot dry summers, and winter temperatures that do not offer hard freezes, the Romneya may be a perfect choice to fill an area that needs a big, bold planting. Give it full sun and excellent drainage – and plenty of space to grow.
You can propagate the Matilija Poppy from cuttings, seed or most easily from rooted underground offshoots. Whether you dig you plant or buy it in a pot, Romneya coulteri is likely to be sensitive to root disturbance and can refuse to grow if traumatized, so disturb the roots as little as possible when planting.
The Puya
What’s the weirdest and most beautiful (bromeliad) of them all?
Certainly nature has created some very unusual plants and flowers. Perhaps my choice here is not the weirdest or the most beautiful of them all. But it might be a contender!
In the world of bromeliads it would be a hard contest to decide which flower is most breath-taking. Bromeliads grow in a rosette fashion can perch on tree limbs as epiphytes or show off on the ground as terrestrials. Many are tropical and a few will brave desert sun. This is a large genus that boasts the tasty pineapple as the only commercial member. There are many species that bloom with fantastically shaped bracts and flowers that look fashioned out of plastic in brilliant colors. Some have gaily colored or patterned leaves. Others can be covered with fine scales and look whitish or fuzzy. There are bromeliads that are only an inch big and a few that grow several feet in height. A lot of them will grow young plantlets (pups) out the side and create wide colonies.
The Puya is one drought-tolerant member of the bromeliad family that grows on the ground and puts up with hot sun and dry, hungry soil. One of the Puyas blooms with what could arguably be considered the weirdest and most beautiful flower of them. This is the Puya alpestris that is native to the high Andes mountains in Chile. It has a larger cousin that looks very similar, the Puya berteroniana or the Blue Puya.
Both these plants bloom with a spire of thick, wax-like blue or turquoise blooms with a metalic sheen. They are as bizarre as they are beautiful with a form, texture and coloring not often seen in the plant world.
These plants are available from some garden centers and on the Internet, but you’ll probably have to search a little for them. Give the Puya alpestris conditions like it’s mountainous home with full sun, lean and very well-drained soil and low water. This is one plant that is bound to be a conversation piece in the garden when in bloom.
Follow Us!