It’s only the second week or February, and while it’s been unseasonably cold and unusually rainy here at Lake Chapala, we are still spotting unmistakable signs of early spring.
The riot of poinsettias haven’t yet been pruned, the avocado, mango, and citrus trees are blooming and I’m delighted to report that the sweet peas planted every year by a Chula Vista homeowner are nearing the tops of their support strings and blooming in great shades of pink and purple.
This unlikely mix of tropical and north of the border plants, trees and flowers reflects the diversity of the area around Lake Chapala.
Some of the exotic plants thriving here were indigenous, others were carried as precious cargo from Africa, India, Australia and South America. Meanwhile during the past 100 years, waves of expatriates from the US and Canada have slipped packets of seeds and bits of roots of some of their garden favorites into bags and baggage – so they could make their garden look a wee bit more like home.
I was raised by a passel of Iowa gardeners who were happiest when they had their hands in the rich warm soil. As a small child I learned to distinguish the seasons by the flowers in our yard and those of our neighbors.
Spring brought to bloom pansies, violets, lilacs, lily of the valley, sweet peas, and iris. By early summer the day lilies, snowballs, delphinium, bridal wreath, roses, and forget-me-nots took the stage. Later the fall flowers: chrysanthemums, dahlias, asters, marigolds, and zinnias did their thing…until the frost killed them.
When I moved to Southern California, I made a point of learning to identify the glorious new plants: gardenias, alliums, birds of paradise, bougainvilleas, azaleas, camellias, oleanders, magnolias and other warm-weather plants that thrived there. Eventually I adjusted to the sight of exotic (to me) palms and stopped exclaiming over the incredible scent of blooming orange trees and the banana’s unlikely huge flower.
So here we are, with the best of all worlds in Lake Chapala gardens. Shamrock plants grow next to heliotrope and iris. Calla lilies, roses, bird of paradise, and daisies bloom at the same time. Virginia creeper, bougainvillea, honeysuckle, jasmine, and thunbergia sprawl their flowers across neighboring walls while the blooming pansies, violets, hydrangeas, forget-me-nots, hollyhocks, and sweet peas remind us of grandmothers, elderly aunts, and childhood homes.
Mexico Insights Tips for Gardeners:
- Wait until after the June – October rainy season to plant pansies, petunias, marigolds, and geraniums. Pansies need the cooler days of fall and winter, and the pounding nighttime rain is hard on the petunias, marigolds, and geraniums.
- No matter how much you LOVE the orange trumpet flower vine, thunbergia, and bougainvillea, decide how many you think you’ll need, and then buy only 25% of that number of plants. They grow fast – especially the lavender-blue flowering thunbergia. With even one or two plants, by the end of a year you’ll be hacking and chopping the tendrils, trying to get out of your driveway.
- Without a winter dormant season lilacs, lily-of-the-valley, and the Dutch bulbs: crocus, tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths are not meant for this climate. If you store the bulbs in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for six weeks, you might be able to keep them blooming for a couple of years. It’s better to just buy a pot with bulbs that have been forced, (when you can find them) enjoy the flowers and then then throw it away.
- Here’s a great benefit for even casual gardeners here: You can pick and cook with your own fresh herbs, all year round. Sage, basil, mint, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, thyme, ginger, chiles, cilantro, parsley and chives all do very well in a sunny location near the kitchen door.
Bookmark this blog and keep coming back. Don’t miss Part Two of our Spring Flowers Series in a week or two when the jacaranda and primavera trees begin to bloom. Now that a beautiful sight!
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