California Fuschia

I Have killed these in the past, so I was very very happy when this one got to the point of blooming...

I've killed them in the past by over watering, so I planted this one right away in wine barrel #3, which gets the most direct sun, and avoided watering too much right near the plant.

It's looking healthy and happy, just a bit scrawny. If it survives to next year, maybe it will expand it's territory in the barrel...

Some info on California Fuschia:
Blooms in late summer/fall - 6 to 12" high by 36" wide, blooms for a long time and hummingbirds like it. cut plants back after it finishes blooming. some varieties send out runners, is drought tolerant in cooler areas, needs water in hot full sun summers. cold hardy to zone 8a.

Scarlet Monkey Flower

Perennial, Sunset zones 2-24 USDA zones 6-10 Need ample water, since it grows along streams in nature. hummingbird plant - To 2’ tall and 1.5’ wide. Sun-Pt.Shade.

These guys die back every winter/spring, and come back every summer for me. Easy to propagate by pulling up sections as they spread out of it's designated area.

Yarrow and other in Wine Barrel #3

The Yarrow in Wine Barrel #3 is starting to bloom...

Wine Barrel #3 now contains:
Yarrow - which is doing well - maybe a little too well in fact, it's threatening to engulf the whole barrel. I keep pulling runners out of the left side to keep it clear, and now have a ton of small potted yarrow becasue of it
Euphorbia - Same kind that's in Wine Barrel #1, this first year I planted these I made an attempt to have #1 and #3 mirror each other in plantings, but most of what was in #3 died that first year becasue of too much sun exposure (and not enough watering on my part). So this euphorbia is stunted compared to the other, but is now looking more established than it has the past two seasons.
Scarlet Monkey Flower - I thought this had died, but it's now coming back and is also thretening an invasion. It should have some gorgeous blooms on it in a couple months...
Echanicea - I thought this had died for good too, but it's on it's way back, still very small at the moment, but looking good, and nothing has eaten it yet...
California Fuschia - Bought this last year and stuck it in this barell when I thought everything else had died.

Wine Barrel #3

This one is doing very well...The yarrow is doing very well, in fact I'm worried about it invading the entire barrel. The California Fuchsia that I added in this year seems to be doing well, the Euphorbia is happy, and the monkey flower is doing well but not taking over - I'll have to watch it next year though to make sure it doesn't take over. The Echinecea I transplanted in has died back, but I'm holding out hope that it will return next spring.