The Garden in February

Would you like to take a look at the garden in February?

In the backyard, the little peach "tree" is flowering and the bees are enjoying the nectar:

Peach Tree in Bloom

Nearby, the orange tree -

Orange Tree

is trying to compete with the three lemon trees:

One of Three Lemon Trees

The old rosemary bush (grown from a sprig a friend gave me) is flowering, too, much to the delight of bees:

Rosemary Bush 

(Sorry, blurry picture; I was trying to avoid being stung by the bees!  The new rosemary plant is in the front garden and it, too, has a few flowers although it is still just a small plant.)

The crocosmia is flowering, too: 

Crocosmia

Doing its best to cover up the bare spot of ground where not even weeds will grow!

Underneath one of the lemon trees, one of the canna bulbs that M gave me is coming up, among the four-o-clocks (mirabilis).  I haven't seen any of the others coming up, yet.

Canna

In the front garden, the lone surviving lavender plant (out of the 5 or 6 that I planted a couple of years ago) is flowering:

Lavender

There was a bee buzzing around the lavender, but, it wouldn't sit still for me to take a picture.

The osteospermum (African Daisies) have sprawled over the edging and are starting to flower:

Osteospermum

This bee obliged me and sat still while I took a picture:

Obliging Bee!

If I hadn't already submitted the picture of the eucalyptus tree bark as my entry for the WPSH's Monochrome, I might have picked this osteospermum, with its dark purple center and lighter purple tinged petals:

Monochromatic Flower

I am not a photographer and my cell phone camera didn't do it justice (and maybe the afternoon sun was a bit too bright), but, the petals were definitely two toned.

The aloe plants that M gave are flowering, too:

Aloe Flowers

And the succulents border is growing nicely:

Succulents Border

While the succulents my former supervisor gave me are thriving:

Succulents

Almost ready to have some cuttings taken!

There are flowers on the jade plants, too: 

Jade Plant 

The lantana bushes being grown along the edge of the sidewalk are in flower and providing nectar for the visiting bees and butterflies:

Do you see the bee?  It has its back to us

How about the butterfly?

Here is a view of the euryops that were planted recently:

Euryops around the Eucalyptus

I probably should have bought five plants, instead of four, to make a more complete circle around the tree.  Oh, well, maybe I'll buy another one if they still have them, next week.  

As you can see from the photo, below, there is no lawn in the front.  There is no landscaping, either, or any particular garden design!  I've planted along the perimeter and now, I'm filling in the middle!  LOL.  The front yard gets both southern and western exposure, so receives the full strength of the summer sun.  I'm still waiting for the lantana bushes to grow into a hedge, but, the sun is almost too strong for it (or, I don't water it enough).  The front yard needs a lot of work, but, I hope to transform it, one day.  

A View of the Garden from the Sidewalk

Today, I am grateful for:

- Flowers in the garden

- Bees and butterflies and other pollinators

- Garden fruits

- Drought tolerant plants

- Gifts of plants from my friends

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my garden in February.  Are you starting to plan your spring garden?