Spring is Here!

It is officially spring as of today, so happy Equinox!

We have had very little rain for the last three months (there are cracks in the pastures already), but now that the trees are leafing out, it is almost dazzlingly green on the farm, with some very nice splashes of color here and there.

We have five or so types of daffodils growing on the farm- we can't quite remember if we planted these, or if they arrived here on their own.

Dr. Hurd Manzanita

This particular type of manzanita can grow to be very large, and while manzanitas in general like full sun exposure, this one seems to be quite happy getting only morning sun, having deep shade the rest of the day.  The white flowers are delicate and luminous- a visual treat in an awakening to spring landscape.

Yellow Flowering Currant

Whomever named this one got really creative in the same way that someone names an Irish Setter "Red".  This type of currant is one of many native to California and is supposed to be more heat and sun tolerant than the somewhat showier pink flowering currant we have over closer to our seasonal creek.  This particular specimen gets some dappled morning sun, full midday sun, and afternoon shade, and has quickly grown to being five feet tall, though it is a little on the leggy side for a shrub.

Ceanothus, also known as California Lilac

The ceanothus shrubs are the real show offs of spring here- covered with intense clusters of brilliant blue flowers, they smell lightly of honey.  There's usually a cloud of beneficial insects working away on these- the various predatory wasps, hover flies, bumble bees and honey bees.

Bumble Bee on Ceanothus

If you want to know where the phrase "busy as a bee" comes from, hang out around a blooming ceanothus.

Hummingbird Sage

One of my favorite members of the salvia family native to California is hummingbird sage.  The flowers are very intense, and the hummingbirds do indeed seem to love it.  It doesn't grow in bush forms as many of our other sages, but produces runners underground, and forms a cluster of plants.  It has fairly large leaves, especially for a sage, and a heavenly smell when you bruise the leaves.

And then we have this flower.  It was here when we moved in, just sort of randomly growing in what had been a bit of lawn.  We moved the plants to a patch of ground we later realized was really poor soil, but they seem to be doing fine in that location.  They appear to grow from bulbs, the leaves are flat and iris-like, they get no summer water, and after they bloom, they go dormant like our daffodils.  They are not invasive, but I have yet to encounter them in my native plant wanderings, and we've not seen them in any of the many (many, many) flower catalogs that populate our mailbox.  We like them- they are bright and cheerful- we'd just love to know what they are.

Spring on the Farm

The rains have finally come and around the farm there seems to be a riot of growth.  Dormant plants have reawakened and are blooming and/or leafing out.

Daffodils are usually one of the first harbingers of spring around here.

Then come some of our fruit trees

Almond blossoms

Nectarine

White Peach

Sometimes, we find the honey bees hard at work, helping to ensure we actually get fruit from these trees.

Yellow Peach with Honey Bee

Plum Flowers with Honey Bee

It should be interesting to see if our fruit yields are higher this year since we have honey bees on the property full time.  We haven't gotten fruit from our plum tree for the last two years, so we're hoping that the addition of the bees, along with the good pruning it got this winter (it had grown a little wild) will result in tasty fruit.

And finally, we get to our early blooming California native plants

Ceanothus, or California Lilac

We have several varieties of ceanothus growing on the property, from low growing and sprawling to varieties that can get up to 18 feet tall.  They are covered with clusters of brilliant blue to purple flowers, which are usually covered with a variety of bees.

Vine Hill Manzanita

The manzanitas put on a particularly impressive display this year, despite blooming on the late side.  Some types of manzanita start blooming as early as December, making them an important winter food for our native bees.

Pink Flowering Currant

We have a few pink flowering currants we've planted along our seasonal creek and I enjoy their spicy scent.  It's a nice option for full shade in our hot climate, though it can take partial to full sun closer to the coast.

The bees have definitely been busy working away at raising new workers and lots of drones.  Other people's bees have been doing the same, which is why we've been able to add two swarms of bees to the apiary.  Here's the one I caught just two days after we caught our first swarm of the year

Beard of Bees in Coastal Live Oak Tree

Between the two swarms and the two hive splits I did, I have 100% more bees today than a week ago. 

Also, at the rate we're going, I may have honey bees for sale in the near future.