Plants don't read, Exhibit 37
Jan. 17th, 2026 12:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunnyskywalkerFoothill penstemon (Penstemon heterophyllus) generally blooms about May through July or August. (See Calflora's foothill penstemon entry for one source.) That is when mine bloomed last year.
Except then they started blooming their little hearts out in December. It has been chilly and damp-to-rainy, so there's no way they're confused about the season. Interestingly, Calscape entry's narrative summary says "Blooming begins in May and continues for a month or two," but then the flowering season is listed as "Summer, Spring, Winter." Say more, Calscape! I talked to someone who has been hiking in the foothills a lot and he confirmed that sometimes he sees wild penstemon blooming in winter. This seems like an important possibility to note in gardening resources. I might have to do a deep dive to find out more.
Also, in the summer the flowers were blue, and now they're purple. Curiouser and curiouser!
I may also have to do more research on coyote mint (Monardella villosa), because when I went to a local native plant demonstration garden today, some of theirs was blooming. Their bloom time is listed as summer in Calscape and June through August in Calflora, with no ambiguous hints about other seasons, and that is also the only time I have seen coyote mint bloom so far. But I have only been keeping an eye out for it for the past three or four years and might have missed other surprise winter blooms.
Time to hit the library or ask my local master gardeners' program or both. In the meantime, I saw a bee enjoying the early-season flowers and they're brightening up the garden, so we're all happy!
Except then they started blooming their little hearts out in December. It has been chilly and damp-to-rainy, so there's no way they're confused about the season. Interestingly, Calscape entry's narrative summary says "Blooming begins in May and continues for a month or two," but then the flowering season is listed as "Summer, Spring, Winter." Say more, Calscape! I talked to someone who has been hiking in the foothills a lot and he confirmed that sometimes he sees wild penstemon blooming in winter. This seems like an important possibility to note in gardening resources. I might have to do a deep dive to find out more.
Also, in the summer the flowers were blue, and now they're purple. Curiouser and curiouser!
I may also have to do more research on coyote mint (Monardella villosa), because when I went to a local native plant demonstration garden today, some of theirs was blooming. Their bloom time is listed as summer in Calscape and June through August in Calflora, with no ambiguous hints about other seasons, and that is also the only time I have seen coyote mint bloom so far. But I have only been keeping an eye out for it for the past three or four years and might have missed other surprise winter blooms.
Time to hit the library or ask my local master gardeners' program or both. In the meantime, I saw a bee enjoying the early-season flowers and they're brightening up the garden, so we're all happy!
Yes ...
Date: 2026-01-17 10:30 pm (UTC)I've had columbine, normally a spring bloomer, suddenly rebloom in summer and into early fall. Go figure.