A native to the eastern United States, purple coneflowers are found in many flower gardens. Planting purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) in the garden or flower bed draws bees and butterflies, ensuring that nearby plants have plenty of pollinators. Captured these in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
Leucospermum ‘Scarlet Ribbon’ (Nodding Pincushion) – A dense compact shrub produces an abundance of 4 inch wide pincushion flowers. The multi-colored flower heads start a salmon pink color and then open to expose the orange-yellow perianth styles and shiny red tepals that look like ribbons. Captured in Santa Monica, California.
Mexican bush sage, or Salvia leucantha, is an evergreen shrubby perennial that’s prized for its dense, arching spikes and ability to produce an attractive late summer bloom of showy flowers. The plant feels soft and hairy to the touch, and the bi-color blooms include white corollas and purple calyces. Captured in Santa Monica, California.
Mystic Illusion Dahlia has stunning dark foliage that is almost black in color. The bright yellow daisy looking flowers with expressive golden-brown eyes create a stunning contrast of color and texture.
Orange lily (Lilium bulbiferum) a perennial; and Bird-of-paradise, one of the world’s best-known plants, bring out bright orange hues to the flowering gardens.
Lily of the Nile, with Latin name Agapanthus (African Lily), is a marvelous perennial that blooms from spring to summer, producing magnificent floral-scapes. The flowers are funnel-shaped and typically blue, purple, or white in color; the clusters are borne on long stalks. Found these in Santa Monica, California.
Marguerite daisy flowers are terrific butterfly and other pollinator attractors. Available in a variety of hues from white or yellow to pink or purple depending on the species, these daisies are similar in appearance to the Shasta daisy. Found these flowers in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
Tree mallow (Lavatera maritima) is a perennial semi-evergreen shrub that produces pale lavender flowers throughout the spring, summer and fall. It prefers a dry Mediterranean climate. Captured this flower in Santa Monica, California.
Ivy Geranium (Pelargonium peltatum) unfurls leaves that resemble ivy. The leaves are quite eye-catching and have a bright green hue. Ivy leaf geranium blooms have semi-double flowers in colors from white to red, and most pastels in every color except blue and yellow.
Mountain Hydrangea lives up to its name. It shares the showy blooms and beautiful pink or purple color of big-leaf hydrangeas, but because it grows wild on the chilly mountain tops instead of the mild seaside, it naturally developed substantially better cold tolerance. The sturdy lacecap blooms will be bright pink or deep purple-blue, depending on your soil pH, and the handsome dark green foliage resists wilting. Found these in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
Grevillea, commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Grevillea is very fast growing and can live 50 to 65 years. This evergreen has a rugged look. It can grow to be over 100 feet tall, but most mature trees are around 50 to 80 feet. Captured these flowers in Santa Monica, California.
Blooming in spring and summer, the Hydrangea is considered a shrub. But despite their ability to be rather large showstoppers in your yard, how to grow hydrangeas isn’t a question even the novice gardener will need to ask – these beauties all but grow themselves. Reaching up to 15 feet in height, the hydrangea grows quickly and often fills in a space in just one summer. Captured these flowers in Hickory, North Carolina.
Lantana are fragrant natives of tropical regions in the Americas and Africa. These broadleaf evergreen shrubs are drought-hardy in landscapes and cold-hardy to slightly below freezing, so they can be grown as perennials in Florida and other warm regions. Found these flowers in Santa Monica, California.
The blooms of Bougainvillea aren’t actually blooms at all. The showy paper-like structures are a modified leaf called a bract. These bracts hide the actual flowers inside, which are small and trumpet-shaped in whites and yellows. The showy bracts are typically found on new growth, with the showiest display following their winter dormancy. Captured in Santa Monica, California.
A tropical vine with lots of color, Bougainvillea plants are tough as nails, which includes their nail-like thorns. These plants put on a spectacular show of color in spring on their fresh new growth. Bougainvillea is native to Central and South America and commonly cultivated in South Florida, Arizona, South Texas and Southern California. Here is a collection from Santa Monica, California.
Artichokes are such interesting things. While we consider the artichoke a vegetable, even though it’s a thistle and more specifically, the part that we eat (and that most people ever see in the store) is actually a flower bud — and sometimes called a head. Artichoke plants produce stunning purple flowers that are great for attracting bees and other beneficial insects to your garden. Found this artichoke in Santa Monica, California.
Grevillea, commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. The flowers are zygomorphic and typically arranged in pairs along a sometimes branched raceme at the ends of branchlets. Captured these in Santa Monica, California.
The Fortnight lily goes by many names, including African iris, butterfly iris, Wood iris, and scientifically Dietes iridioides. The name Fortnight lily is based on the blooming cycle of the flowers, where new blooms come up approximately every two weeks. Spotted in Santa Monica, California.
The hibiscus is a member of the mallow family which has nearly 300 species including trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. The beautiful, exotic-looking flowers are short-lived, typically blooming for only one day. Once finished blooming, the flower will close up and drop off. There is also a shell-like structure supporting the flower. This too withers and drops a few days after the flower fades. Here are images of white and red hibiscus flowers spotted in Santa Monica, California.
From a bud to a beautiful rose about to fully bloom …..
Photos by Ravi 