Does this look like winter to you? Sunny blue skies and warm daytime temperatures are not exactly what we hope for during the winter months. Visitors from the cold, snowy states love our February beach weather, but we’re wishing for rain. Farmers have no choice but to keep irrigating daily, knowing that the cost of water could eliminate any hope of making a good living this year. With the warm weather, avocado trees are beginning an early bloom.
Even the youngest avocado trees think it’s time to bloom! This baby tree was planted last summer, and already the flowers appearing. The fruit that sets with these flowers will not be ready to pick until 2015.
Avocados are not the only blooming trees and plants. Today I took a walk around the ranch taking photos to share with you!
These tangerines look good enough to eat, but they won’t be sweet until summer. Meanwhile, the tree is blooming and will begin to set next year’s crop.
Here is a Meyer lemon tree…even the lemons are beginning to flower!
The apricot tree is flowering and beginning to grow leaves at the same time. Apricots are deciduous, meaning they drop their leaves during the winter. The bare tree branches have white blossoms that look like popcorn. Have you heard the children’s song “Popcorn popping on the apricot tree”?
Can you guess what kind of fruit will grow from this flower? Hint: it’s big, it’s red, and it has lots of little juicy arils inside. You’re right! This is a pomegranate flower!
This is an aloe vera flower…you can see the tops of the spikey leaves at the bottom of the photo. Cut open an aloe leaf to get the healing gel to put on a burn or a skin injury.
Here is a Bird of Paradise… they are drought tolerant and so are the aloe vera plants, which come in different colors.
The camellias are blooming now, but they aren’t wild and they don’t produce fruit. They’re just pretty shrubs around our house.
These flowers bloom in February every year. I’m always amazed that they can grow right out of the hard, dry soil next to a big rock! Even without rain they manage to bloom in the wintertime. These flowers close up at night and open again in the morning.
I saved the best for last! These are freesias! They grow in my garden from bulbs…and they smell delicious! I love all the colors!
Now that I’ve shared all our winter flowers with you, how about sharing some precipitation with us? Won’t you send us some rain, please?
