Do a web search for independent garden centers within comfortable driving distance and find out which, if any cherries they are/will be offering. Much, if not most of the barriers to shipping of Prunus plants to California will probably be present due to the State trying to protect the orchard industry there. When you look at a retailer's catalog or site and it says "Cannot ship to California or Hawaii" agricultural restrictions will probably pretty much always be the basis for such statements.

This post is rather late compared to the last, but just to put out my 2 cents ... In the Bakersfield area, the big January Freeze knocked down Bougainvilleas, Cut Leaf Philodendrons, Pygmy Date Palms, Banana Plants, Lantanas, Australian Tree Ferns, Jasmines and Bird of Paradise plants. However, quite amazingly, even the most horribly damaged and dead looking plants are pushing up new leaves and shoots. Stark examples include Cut Leaf Philodendrons that looked like rotting stumps that shoot out new growth from deep in the soil and to the side of the old rotting stump. Banana Plants that looked dead and one might be tempted to root up and trash are regaining good height with new growth. About the only plants that I have that are still painfully slow in recovery are two Pygmy Data Palms, one of which is just beginning to put up new growth and the other, still green and tender at the base, just doesn't seem to want to wake up.

I will start an "Early June" thread some time tomorrow. The irises in my garden are just opening. Irises are my favorite flower. I just have a small bed the width of my garage. We're planning to tear the garage down next Spring and build a bigger and better garage - which is probably my excuse to get a bigger and better iris bed! Clematis Miss Bateman in full bloom. I forgot to prune the clematis this spring. This is just a 2 year old plant! Behind the clematis is my daughters art gallery, aka our porch. My 3 year old peonie, flanked by a siberian iris and a japanese iris. I have been waiting 3 years for this peonie to bloom. I only plant white flowers in front of the house, and I am sick sick sick to see a pink bud on it. My only consolation is that I will have a beeautiful pink peonie in a bud vase on my kitchen table real soon. And this peonie will be getting the shovel. Lastly - any idea what this is? I seem to have stumped the people on the Name That Plant forum. I bought these at Weston Nurseries as tulip bulbs.

I’m back. I didn’t get a chance to take the photos I was looking for, but I’ll try again tomorrow. I was just looking back over this thread, and I see I missed some of the posts. Deanna, you asked for updates on the Amsonia. I just noticed yesterday, that it is still blooming and looking very fresh. And I’m happy to hear that your Northern Hi Lights azalea is fragrant. I’m going to keep that in mind. You have a lot of Rhododendron and Azaleas. I have very few. I should try for more. You have a sailboat - how amazing. It’s out of the water getting painted - will you be getting it back in the water this summer? That’s a nice combo with the fringed dianthus and the Geranium. I like the pink. I wish I had more geraniums. I saw an article in a garden magazine years ago of a collector of cranesbill - wow - her garden was amazing. She had all kinds of them, Tall ones too and they all mingled together really well. I haven’t seen anything like it since and I am always on the lookout for some of the varieties I remember but I haven’t seen any yet. Maybe I dreamed it. [g] My Nepeta is still blooming. It’s having a great year. Still upright in full sun. Reminds me, I have Salvia, that I just started to cut back on to allow for rebloom and I looked out the window and saw gold finches sitting on the stems and appear to be eating something. I didn’t think there could be seed right now. I didn’t know they like Salvia. That is a very pretty color on that viola. Claire, Your Hosta near your railing is getting so big. I have Geranium ‘Biolkovo’ as well. What a great, easy care plant it is. I also have ‘Karmina’ with it. They are a good combo. Yours looks so pretty with the bleeding heart. Look at how tall your foxglove look. And erect. I am going to have to take a photo of how badly rusted some of my foxglove are this year. I don’t remember having that happen before. I think one I have is ‘Snow Thimble’? I was just noticing that I have two Foxglove that are very robust with healthy foliage and one just started blooming and to my surprise it is sturdier, stockier flowers and stems. I was at the nursery where I bought them last and I spotted them there. Good thing because I couldn’t remember the name of them and really want to have more of them. It’s a Digitalis mertonensis. What a difference next to the purpurea. The foliage is completely clean, with erect flower stems, next to rusted flopped over purpurea. I’ve been noticing amazing blooms on the Kousa dogwoods in our neck of the woods. They must love all the rain. Aren’t you lucky to have daylilies that your Mom might have planted. And fragrant too. I haven’t netted my blueberries either and the birds will get them, I’m sure.