Hi GPODers!

A few weeks ago we got a kick-off to spring from Daniel Rivera when he sent in a video of his garden in California’s Bay Area filling with the earliest spring blooms and new growth (if you missed that video, check it out here: Spring Has Sprung in Daniel’s California Garden). I think Californians have heard my calls for spring gardens because today we’re heading down to SoCal to see the vibrant spring blooms Lori Kilmer captured on her new camera drone.

My name is Lori Kilmer, and I live in the San Diego area. I have been gardening for about 40 years, and grow a variety of things like, plumerias, roses, avocados, stone fruit, citrus, vegetables and a variety of other flowers. I am a member of 5 garden clubs, because you can never learn too much about plants. The bonus of being in all the clubs are the wonderful friends I have made over the years. Recently, I have been learning to fly my drone I got for Christmas. Here is a video I made of my papilio amaryllis (Hippeastrum papilio, Zone 8–10) and tabebuia tree (Tabebuia sp., Zone 9–11) that is in bloom. Enjoy.

Often considered an area with some of the best weather in the country, residents in the San Diego area are no stranger to sunny days and mild temperatures during the winter months. While gardeners in colder climates might think it’s easy to get jaded by year-round gardening, no amount of good weather takes away the excitement of seeing certain flowers reappear.

You probably guessed which plant was the tabebuia tree in full bloom, it was pretty hard to miss! Also called a ‘trumpet tree’, these trees absolutely cover themselves in trumpet-shaped blooms before foliage emerges in spring (much like magnolia, cherry blossoms, and other spring-flowering woodies). Various species produce flowers in different shades of pink, like Lori’s stunning specimen, but others produce golden yellow flowers.

Lastly, Lori treated us to this beautiful view of her neighborhood and the mountains in the distance with some palm trees dotting the skyline. April showers have arrived with force here in Connecticut, so this sampling of sunshine could not have been more timely for me!

Thank you so much for sharing a taste of your spring garden with us, Lori! I hope we continue to see more from your garden as you continue to experiment with your new drone, we don’t get these bird’s-eye views of gardens very often!

A reminder to share YOUR spring garden with Garden Photo of the Day! Whether spring is in full swing, like Lori’s San Diego garden, or you’re just starting to see the first signs of growth, we want to see what is happening in your beds and borders. Follow the directions below to submit your photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.

We want to see YOUR garden!

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to gpod@taunton.com along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

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