228 CALIFORNIA GARDEN FLOWERS 



exactly like the Hunnemannia see page 178. It blooms nearly all the 

 year round, but is at its best in early spring. This shrub is hard to 

 propagate. 



Flannel Bush. The Fremontia californica grows from four to 

 fifteen feet high and reaches its greatest perfection on the desert side 

 of our mountains. It flowers in early summer and the bushes are 

 simply a mass of golden yellow flowers two to three inches across. 

 No more glorious sight can be imagined than a mass of these shrubs 

 in full bloom. 



Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry. This common shrub in our foothills 

 (Ribes speciosum) is well worth cultivating in our gardens. It trans- 

 plants easily and can be propagated by cuttings, grows four to eight 

 feet high and is of spreading habit. The flowers are about an inch 

 long, rich cardinal red, hanging in long sprays much like a fuchsia. 

 It is nearly evergreen and the leaves turn to beautiful shades of red 

 and brown in the early part of summer and then drop, but soon after 

 the first rain in the fall the plants burst forth with a new covering of 

 rich green foliage. 



Flowering Currants. Three other species of Ribes are all desirable. 

 The yellow flowering currant (Ribes tenuiflorum) grows in dry sandy 

 washes, forming a low spreading shrub with bright green leaves and 

 covered early in spring with a perfect shower of small yellow flowers. 

 The pink flowering currant (Ribes malvaceum) found in many of our 

 foothills is of rather erect growth with brown stems, rather heavy at- 

 tractive foliage and drooping racemes of pale pink flowers. Another 

 species similar to the preceding, has longer racemes of flowers which 

 are of a bright pink shade. 



Woolly Blue Curls. On many dry ridges in early summer may be 

 found the woolly blue-curls (Trichostema lanatum). It is of shrubby 

 form with small crowded leaves resembling the foliage of the common 

 rosemary. The buds and flower stems are covered with a thick purple 

 wool, the flowers themselves being of a deep rich shade of blue. This 

 plant is always found in dry places and will not stand a wet situation. 



Manzanita. The Manzanita is one of the most beautiful of our wild 

 shrubs. It flowers in the early part of winter and the clusters of 

 fragrant, waxen bells, contrast well with the pale foliage and rich 

 brown stems. There are many species, Arctostaphylos tomentosa 

 being the commonest form in Southern California. A. manzanita, 

 common throughout the state; A. glauca, and A. patula are some of the 

 most desirable. The manzanita is hard to propagate, the seed being 

 uncertain, and very slow in germinating. One grower has been quite 

 successful in layering plants, out in the hills and afterwards digging 

 up the rooted layers. 



