Welcome to the first Bloom Report. All the plants mentioned in the report are currently blooming at the Tule River Native Plant Demonstration Gardens. The project is composed of 18 gardens along the Tule River Parkway west of Jaye Street as the paved path winds its way to Parkway Drive. You can locate the Tule River Parkway on Google Maps and enter the parking lot from Jaye Street at the south end of the bridge over the Tule River.
These are only five of the many California native plants which are currently blooming in the gardens.
Desert Globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua)
Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum)
Bee’s Bliss Sage (Salvia ‘Bee’s Bliss’)
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
Bladderpod (Peritoma areborea)
April 16-23 is California Native Plant Week. Porterville’s Tule River Gardens are featured as the kickoff video for Native Plant Week. There is a trailer posted on cnps.org/california-native-plant-week. The full video will be released on April 16th. The video includes interviews of Cathy Capone, Maria Roman, and Rudy Roman.
Each Bloom Report article will feature a plant which is in bloom in the gardens. The public is encouraged to explore the gardens and learn more about the featured plant.
Today the Desert Globemallow is at peak bloom in the Butterfly Habitat Garden. The Desert Globemallow plant grows to 3 feet in height, and spreads to 2-4 feet in width. The leaves are fuzzy with white hairs on both sides, lobed, veined, and on long stems. The flowers are bowl-shaped, 5-petaled, apricot to dark orange red in color, and bloom in the spring. Varieties of globemallow come in a wide range of colors from orange, red, lavender to pink. Globemallow prefer full sun and fast draining soil. They are very easy to grow, grow fast, and need very little water. A one-gallon plant will grow into a full-sized bush by its second year. This plant is used by several types of butterflies including Painted Lady.
More information on this plant can be found at calscape.org by searching for the plant by name. Luis’ Nursery in Farmersville has Desert Globemallow in stock.
Each of the gardens is featured on the website tuleriverparkwayassociation.org
By: Catherine Capone president Tule River Parkway Association
Comments