A Giveaway on Election Day

My husband and I voted early, as did most of my friends, and listening to political advertisements and constant flurries of statistics and predictions was something I've wanted to avoid ever since.  Unlike a certain billionaire, I can't give people a million dollars to "encourage" them to vote (and I certainly wouldn't act in support of the man he does).  However, I decided that an innocuous condition-free giveaway of my own might provide the diversion I needed on Election Day.  

I got started with my preparations on Monday.  The obvious focus was the two persimmon trees, which have been laden with fruit this year.  The trees' branches have strained under the weight of it and critters had started going after that fruit, breaking branches in the process.  It was time for a harvest.

These are both shots of Diospyros kaki 'Fuyu'.  I tackled the fruit shown on the left first, collecting 4 dozen undamaged persimmons to give away.  The fruit on the right, hanging over the fence, still needs picking. 

The flat-bottomed 'Fuyu' persimmons are shown in closeup on the left.  The rounder 'Hachiya' persimmon is shown on the tree (right).  I harvested 3 dozen of the latter as a start.

As I'd spent several hours cleaning up our back slope over the past weekend, I knew I also had an excess of lemons so I decided to add a bucket of those to my giveaway too.

The lemons that looked like this one, presumably stripped of their skin by rats, went in the green bin but I was able to pick more than 2 dozen lemons in good shape

As we had just two children show up at the door on Halloween, I also had leftover candy I needed to unload give away.  And of course I usually have succulents to pass along.  All combined, I was able to put together one of my larger giveaways.

I took photos with my phone after my initial set-up, which is a good thing as by the time I returned with my regular camera some things were already gone

Both varieties of persimmons were offered, along with bags if walkers needed help in carrying the fruit home.  A prior post on the differences between the 2 varieties can be found here.

The candy and the lemons are shown here

I put out 2 large rosettes of Agave attenuata (aka foxglove agave) I'd removed from different areas.  They weren't planted in soil but both had developed roots.  In addition, I added several pots containing pups of a Mangave, 2 varieties of Agaves, and an Aloe.  Surprising to me, all the small succulents disappeared quickly but the 2 foxtail agaves hadn't caught anyone's interest when I last checked in the late afternoon.

If you're a US resident, I hope you found a way to focus on little things that make you happy yesterday (after voting of course).  I imagine it's going to take a while to sort out the results given all the reports predicting a close race.  Be sure to take time to breathe!

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: The garden giveth

Although I look forward to the flowers that bloom during our cool season, the transition is always difficult.  The color quotient in my garden drops dramatically as seeds, bulbs, and plug plants take their time to develop roots, shoots, and buds.

I welcome the relatively few plants that flower during the fall months, one of which is Barleria obtusa, also known as bush violet.  I'm surprised that I've never seen these plants in local garden centers.  I picked up my original plant at the botanic garden located roughly five miles from my home years ago during one of their fall plant sales - when they had such sales, as well as an in-house propagation unit staffed by volunteers.  Perhaps my biggest disappointment with that botanic garden, where I was once a volunteer, is that both the plant sales and the propagation unit have been abandoned.

I selected a single stem of lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) to flatter the bush violets.  Planted as plugs early this year, I was surprised that the lisianthus produced new flowers as temperatures cooled, especially as the plants took a hit during September's heatwave. 

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Barleria obtusa, Centaurea 'Silver Feather', Correa 'Ivory Bells', Eustoma grandiflorum, Lavandula multifida, and Vitex trifolia

I collected a grab-bag of other flowers to fill a second vase focused on the few pink flowers currently found in my garden.

Two bulb flowers, an Amarine and a Lycoris, provided the starting point

Back view, fleshed out with stems of Leucadendron and Plectranthus scutellarioides (aka coleus)

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Amarine belladiva 'Emanuelle', Lycoris springeri, Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Florida Sun Rose', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', Pelargonium hortorum 'Dynamo Hot Pink', Persicaria capitata, and Eriocapitella hupehensis (aka Japanese anemone)

It remains very dry here.  Last week's rain didn't materialize and there's nothing auspicious in the ten-day forecast either.  It's windy too, which makes the garden even drier and the marine layer isn't expected to pay us a return visit until at least Wednesday.  However, in the meantime the garden soldiers on with the assistance of our irrigation system and spotty hand-watering.  According to my records, November 5th marks six months since our last real rain in early May, which measured only 0.17/inch.  I'm not expecting the bounty of rain we got during the last two "water years" (measured from October 1st through September 30th of the following calendar year) but something along the lines of "normal" rain would be much appreciated.

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Deconstructing and replanting my cutting garden

Tearing my cutting garden apart and replanting it is one of my most labor intensive annual garden projects.  I'd thought I might put it off until early November but the Santa Ana winds brought my dahlia season to an abrupt end.  I started removing dahlias from the raised planters last Friday, moving on to the zinnias and other plants on Monday.

This was what the cutting garden looked like on October 19th, when the winds got started

All but the last 4 dahlias in containers have been pulled up.  I tossed 2 plants out but I still have more than I want to store through their dormant period.  Once I clean them up, I'll try to take some divisions and perhaps give away some clumps.

I had all the zinnias and coneflowers pulled up by Monday afternoon but forgot to put them out for neighbors until after dark.  However, there were just 5 bottles of flowers left when I went to photograph them the following morning.  The rest were gone before the end of the day.

After all the plants were removed from the raised beds, it was time to refresh the soil in preparation for replanting them.

I mixed in soil especially designed for raised beds, a bit of regular compost, and worm compost.  I worked around several anemones that came back from last year's crop.

Once the beds were ready for planting, I start sowing sweet pea seeds, before moving on to bulbs and plugs of cool season annuals.

It's generally recommended to start sweet peas in September here so I'm well behind schedule but then that was the case last year too.  I couldn't get hold of some of my favorites like 'Blue Shift' but I still had more seeds than I could possibly use in the raised planter reserved for them.  I soaked the seeds for 12 hours prior to sowing them.

I also soaked my Anemone coronaria for 4 hours prior to planting.  I invested in 5 varieties of Italian Anemones this year: 'Mistral Rosa Chiaro', 'Mistral Plus Rarity', 'Mistral Bianco Centro Nero', 'Mistral Azzuro', and 'Mistral Grape'.  They're more expensive but they put on a good show.

My Ranunculus corms are still in transit but I'm happy to be more than halfway done with the replanting process.

This is what the beds looked like late yesterday afternoon.  In addition to the sweet pea seeds and the anemones, I sowed Nigella papillosa and Consolida ajacis (larkspur) seeds, and added a dozen Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon) plugs.

Closeups of the 3 raised planters.  I've laid down pieces of hardware cloth in 2 of the beds in an effort to keep the birds and critters from foraging there until the seeds germinate.

According to the seller, the Ranunculus corms I ordered won't arrive until Monday so my projects for the weekend will be cleaning up the dahlia tubers to get them ready for storage and/or cleaning up the back slope, two of my least favorite tasks.  Of course, if it rains on Saturday, I may get a reprieve; however, the most recent forecast for my area shows that the chance of that happening has dropped to twenty percent.  It also now projects no measurable rain for us, which is disappointing to say the least.

Another recent disappointment is that the peafowl are back.  To my dismay but the cat's delight, three peahens showed up in our back garden Wednesday morning.

Meeko may be intimidated by stray dogs but, watching from my office window, she was fascinated with the peahens as they quietly strolled through the back patio

They turned around as soon as I went outside and began following them

Meeko enjoyed the show as long as it lasted

The peahens split up, choosing different escape routes, all of which landed them on my neighbor's roof a little while later

Meeko curled up next to the sliding glass door, anticipating their possible return.  They did show up again in the late afternoon, walking along the street in front of the house, making a racket as they heeded calls from a peacock in the distance.  It's looking as though they're intent on taking up residence here once again.

Even with the current rain forecast what it is, my fingers are crossed that we'll get a little.  For one thing, a bit of downtime would be much appreciated right now.  Have a nice weekend.  And, if you haven't already done so, VOTE!

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Go Blue!

The blues have it!

Barleria obtusa, aka bush violet

Barleria obtusa closeup

Another bush violet flowering exuberantly

Eustoma grandiflorum, aka lisianthus, making a comeback

Many of our neighbors are going for the blues too.

Ipomoea, aka morning glory

Plumbago here, there, and everywhere (except my garden)

It's lovely to see blue flowers in my garden at this time of year, as well as in my neighbors' gardens.  Are those the only blues of interest at the moment?  Not at all!  With three games already clinched, the Los Angeles Dodgers could win the World Series in Game 4, set to start as I file this post for publication tomorrow morning - or that could take another game or two.  And next Tuesday is Election Day in the US - a blue wave would be wonderful to see but I'll settle for a win when all the votes are counted.  I'm registered as an independent but I'm acting blue all the way down the ballot this year.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Last call for dahlias?

I spent a good portion of the weekend working in my garden, focusing half my time on taking apart the cutting garden on the northwest side of the house.  I've dug up thirteen of the fifteen dahlia tubers in the raised planters.  The two remaining dahlias and the zinnias will come out this week so I can prepare the planters for the seeds, bulbs, and plugs I grow there during our cool season (late fall through early spring).  There are four other dahlias in containers elsewhere but I can take my time about pulling them out.  I still need to prepare the tubers I plan to store in the garage during their dormant period but I can give myself a little time before tackling that chore too.

I'd hoped to have 'Mikayla Miranda' Dahlias to end the season but they withered away too soon.  I took advantage of a single bloom of Dahlia 'Vancouver', embellishing it with zinnias and other plant material. 

'Vancouver' was a bit beyond its prime but I elected to use it anyway

Back view: I used two of the same varieties of zinnias I used in last week's second arrangement.  I've been using floral food in my arrangements regularly now and last week's arrangement still looks good, only slightly faded.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: noID Alternanthera, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Hypoestes phyllostachya, Dahlia 'Vancouver', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Wine', noID Zinnia, Z.e. 'Zinfandel Lilac', and Cuphea 'Starfire Pink'

I had three more blooms from my late-blooming Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' this week.  The plant is growing in a barrel and I'll keep it there for awhile to see if I can get additional flowers, hence the question mark in this post's title.  One Dahlia 'Catching Fire', also in a barrel, currently has a single bloom but its foliage is developing mildew and I don't see a single bud so the likelihood of further flowers there is low.

The 'Belle of Barmera' Dahlias are out of proportion with the other flowers in this arrangement but I went with them anyway as it's possible I won't see any more this year.  The heavy flowers up front actually fell over after a few hours in the vase, forcing me to cut the stems shorter and photograph them again.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Tanacetum parthenium, Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara', Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Coral', Z. e. 'Golden Hour', and Z. e. 'Zinfandel Peach'

I dug up the very tall 'Summer's End' Dahlia on Friday and threw the last presentable blooms into the small vase I had on the kitchen island, along with the last 'La Luna' Dahlia, which I couldn't bring myself to put out on the street for neighbors with the other surviving flowers.

Dahlia 'Summer's End' was as prolific this year as it was last year but I can't say the same for 'La Luna'

Although I'm not sorry to put summer's hot, dry weather behind us, I always feel a little sad when I clear my cutting garden of the last of the season's colorful blooms.  It'll be months before the cool season cutting garden jumps into gear, especially if it remains dry and warmer temperatures persist.  Much as I appreciate the trivial amounts of precipitation we periodically get from our morning marine layer, we haven't had any real rain here for nearly six months.  The current forecast says there's a forty-five percent chance of light rain next weekend but that could quite literally evaporate over the course of the week.

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Some progress

I've made progress here and there with my annual fall cleanup but there's still plenty to do - and seemingly never enough time to do it.  I have a habit of getting distracted by the little things that need doing.  Fortunately, little things do eventually add up.  Just yesterday morning I managed to fit in two small pruning jobs and a bit of weeding before breakfast.

I cleared out the dead plants in my back border and pruned the 'Pozo Blue' Salvia that was dominating the space shown on the left.  I also cut back the dead artichoke stalk (Cynara scolymus 'Romagna', which promptly produced fresh foliage (upper right).  Two overgrown Artemisia californica received a hard pruning (middle right) and the feather grass (Nassella tenuissima, lower right) got another grooming session.

I finally dug out the large clump of Helichrysum thianschanicum 'Icicles' that dominated another section of the back garden, replanting the area with 2 small replacements.  I originally had 3 of the plants in the area but hope than 2 will be more manageable in the long run.

Two 'Winnifred Gilman' Salvia clevelandii in the south-side garden also got a hard pruning

I finally tackled the Phormium 'Apricot Queen' that was so severely burned during September's heatwave in the north-side garden (before photo on the left and after shot in the middle).  The smaller Phormium 'Yellow Wave' (right) wasn't as affected but it got a cleanup too.

After years of frustration with the pom-pom tree (Dais cotinifolia, left) I planted in the same north-side bed in 2019, I cut it down and dug it up.  I got it from Annie's Annuals & Perennials with the assurance that it could be grown as a shrub but it was determined to be a tall, skinny tree that never showed a single sign of flowering.  I also removed a lot of self-planted western sword ferns (Polystichum munitum) but I need to pull many more, as shown on the right.

A few of the pruning tasks I'd undertaken earlier have already produced positive results.

Melianthus major (left) and Sonchus palmensis (upper right) are greening up again and the Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' cuttings I took a month ago (lower right) are doing well

Getting to the jobs already on my docket is complicated by the fact that I keep buying new plants.

Clockwise from the upper left are: Rex Begonia 'Spirit of Sumatra', Cordyline 'Can Can', Peperomia 'Ginny', and 5 Eustoma grandiflorum (aka lisianthus) and 2 Evolvulus glomeratus 'Beach Bum Blue' intended to go into the ground as soon as the temperatures cool

The biggest jobs ahead include clearing out my cutting garden and preparing the cool season garden to come and cleaning up the back slope, which is currently in rough shape.  In the near term, I also need to harvest the persimmons.

Both persimmon trees, Disospyros 'Fuyu' on the top row and D. 'Hachiya' on the bottom, are ripening fast.  In the past, I've picked the fruit to give away as early as September and as late as mid-November.  There's no evidence that the squirrels (or rats!) are getting to them yet but I probably need to harvest the fruit within the next 2 weeks.

There's a lot of pruning yet to tackle but I'm contracting some of what I normally handle myself to my trusted tree service this year.  That work is currently scheduled for November 19th.

In the meantime, the strawberry trees (Arbutus 'Marina') are dropping scads of spent flowers.  I've swept those that fall on the pavement and dumped them in my compost bin but the rest pepper the beds surrounding them.

I have a tendency to focus on what needs to be done rather than what's looking good.

The bush violets (Barleria obtusa, left) are just getting started; some Japanese anemones (Eriocapitella hupehensis, middle) survived both the heatwave and the drying wind; and what I think is an autumn zephyrlily (Zephyranthes candida, right) popped up as a surprise

 

Aloe lukeana (left) is putting up a new bloom stalk and Mangave 'Praying Hands' (right) is living up to its publicity photos

And I managed to collect enough presentable flowers from my cutting garden to fill 3 small plastic bottles to give to friends I met for lunch on Wednesday

As the season continues to shift, I hope you're seeing the positives around you.  Best wishes for a happy weekend. Whatever you're up to, I recommend tuning out the political ads.  Honestly, I'd like to see the US Congress enact a law terminating all political ads during the two weeks leading up to the election - a steady diet of them is poisonous.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party