In a Vase on Monday: Limited Choices

I got an early start on Sunday, planning to take advantage of a break in the rain.

I was rewarded by a pretty sunrise

Unfortunately, that break didn't last as long as I'd expected so I wasn't able to dilly-dally about my selections this week.  There also weren't a lot of flowers that held up under the near constant rain we've had over the last couple of weeks.  I grabbed what I had available.  My Aeonium arboreum succulents (aka tree houseleeks) are in bloom, and they're not bothered by rain at all.  Only a relatively small portion of those succulent rosettes bloom each year; however, my informal count indicates that there are nearly a hundred in bud or bloom at the moment.  I've referred to the tall bloom stalks as "Triffids," a reference to an old science fiction movie that featured carnivorous plants that attempted to take over the earth.  Three of these ended up in a vase this week with just a few other stems.

Almost all the Aeonium arboreum bloom stalks have a dunce-cap shape with small florescent yellow flowers

Back view: I used Acacia cognata as a foliage filler and the colorful bracts of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' as a "floral" accent

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Aeonium arboreum, Argyranthemum 'Mount Everest', and Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'

I filled just the one vase.  Luckily, both of last week's arrangements are still looking good.

Both last week's arrangements were almost fully intact.  The original Anemone coronaria 'Lord Lieutenant' in the arrangement fell apart yesterday morning but I'd already rescued another stem of the same anemone as a replacement.

It looks as though the rain may be done for at least awhile beginning today.  I'm looking forward to dry conditions for a change so I can get back to work in my garden.  Hopefully, the plants in my cutting garden won't be flattened next week.

To find other IAVOM creations, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

The return of the Triffids

The Triffids do not exist in real life but, whenever my tree houseleeks (Aeonium arboreum) produce their dunce-capped bright yellow flowers, I think of those fictional plants.  I saw the science fiction/horror movie featuring them just once many years ago.  The film was already old at that point but, for some reason, it stuck in my memory - maybe because who thinks of plants turning against people?!  The "Triffids" of the tale (first described in a book and later represented in a movie and a TV series) were giant carnivorous plants of unclear origin that walked the earth, killing people.  Aeoniums don't eat people but they do seem take over landscapes if allowed to do so and, when they bloom, they can't be ignored.  Bloom stalks show up early in the year and suddenly the flowers are everywhere, at a time when my garden is otherwise relatively subdued.

They're impossible to miss.

For the record, yellow is one of my favorite colors but this display is a bit too much for me

And the plants are known to surreptitiously take over my garden beds

I also really hate it when the prettiest of my Aeoniums, like the rosettes of this 'Mardi Gras' cultivar, all bloom at the same time without leaving any offsets behind to replace them

However, I do like the flowerless Aeonium rosettes and I frequently use cuttings to fill in empty spaces as they're virtually indestructible plants in my climate.  Most branch out in time and eventually they get tall.  Although some of the larger cuttings bloom within a year, most take several years to flower.  Periodically, I find they've gotten out of hand, at which point they need to be either replaced, either by new cuttings or different plants altogether.

This small but dense planting of Aeoniums at the base of one of the raised planters in my cutting garden suddenly fell into decline over the past month or so and I decided they had to go

 

The plants aren't hard to pull but there were a lot of them and the mass had grown well over 2 feet tall.  It took a good hour to pull them out; take some cuttings; and clean up the mass of debris left behind.  I filled half of one of our green bins.

I'd planned to simply replant a handful of these cuttings on the spot but, with rain falling earlier than expected, I decided to leave the area alone for a time.  There may be an opportunity to plant something else there.

Last January, I pulled a larger area of Aeoniums out under the citrus tress in the cutting garden.  I ended up sowing California poppy seeds there and planting Gazinias and Lotus bethelotii in that bed.  The 2 Lotus plants alone have covered over half the space.

After receiving 3.83 inches of rain within the last couple of weeks, the soil is saturated and, following a short pause, more rain is expected on Saturday, continuing into early next week.  I've therefore placed the decision about replanting the small bed on a temporary hold.  In the meantime, I've taken down our Christmas tree and tucked all the ornaments away to give the new year a fresh start.  I'm already looking forward to an early spring.

The first 2 blooms of Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' opened literally overnight to make their appearance on New Year's Day

Best wishes for a colorful weekend.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

2025 in the Rear View Mirror

2025 was an off-year for me.  I attribute that in equal measure to the severe negativity of the political climate and the fallout from January's massive fires in Southern California, which increased the pressure on those of us who live in areas at significant fire risk to reassess our vulnerability.  I stayed close to home all year and didn't even do as much plant shopping as usual!  I won't hammer on the political issues here as I spend too much time ranting on that score as it is but I see signs that the haze that clouded the eyes of those who put their trust in the current administration is lifting and I hold out hope that a major shift is in the offing.

I compiled a hodge-podge of photos published on my blog over the course of 2025 in a rather random fashion, without much deliberation.  The prevailing theme, if there is one, dealt with my efforts and those of my husband to limit our own fire risk.  The good news is that I included some pretty pictures too, proving that the garden moves ever onward to offer beauty and support.

JANUARY

Wildfires hit both Pacific Palisades and Altadena on January 7th.  There were other fires as well but those two were the most deadly and damaging.  I was constantly checking fire status reports throughout the end of the month, when both were finally contained.  The Los Angeles Times covered stories related to the fires daily, and still does on a regular basis as the long process of recovery continues.  I managed to distract myself at regular intervals, however.

Meeko, adopted from a shelter in late August 2024, was still adapting to her new life. She was intrigued by CAT-TV for a short time but she currently prefers to follow the activity of birds at the feeder outside my office window.

We didn't get a lot of rain during last winter's rainy season but we did get a rainbow or 2

One of my earliest projects involved clearing the overgrown Aeoniums below the citrus trees in the cutting garden as shown in these before and after shots

FEBRUARY

The peacocks took over the neighborhood

I renovated the succulent bed in front of the garage (again) after raising the soil level and collecting more rock

I met up with blogger friends Denise (A Growing Obsession) and Hoover Boo (Piece of Eden) at Roger's Gardens, my only trip there in 2025

MARCH

March delivered the first Dutch Iris and Freesias

The tree-sized Ceanothus arboreus 'Clifford Schmidt' bloomed on the back slope. Sadly, only a short time after it finished flowering in late April, it died.  I had the plant removed in November after more than 10 years in the ground.

The south-side garden started it's own early spring show.  (Several months later my husband and I removed the overcrowded 'Blue Flame' Agaves and a bloomed-out Agave 'Blue Glow'.)

Homeowners in our area received notice of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors requirements to create "defensible space clearance" to protect homes in zones facing significant fire risk.  This was one of several areas I identified to clear.  I reluctantly gave up both the tree-sized Leucadendron 'Pisa' and a large Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt'.

APRIL

More early spring blooms in the back garden

I admired the Chionanthus retusus (aka Chinese fringe trees) on a visit to South Coast Botanic Garden

I attended the Flower & Garden Show at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa with a friend.  It's no longer much about garden design but there are a lot of plants for sale by vendors.

MAY

I had a tree service remove some 20+ shrubs and trees that I feared represented a fire risk due to the plant's flammability and/or proximity to the house (i.e., an area within "zone zero" as defined by the State of California)

The same area once I'd replanted it later that month

The back slope once I'd cleaned it up a bit.  Invisible from the main area of the garden, I routinely give this area less attention than it could use.

JUNE

Daylilies putting on a good show

The sweet peas got a very late start but flowered well once they got started

My foliage plants held their own with the flowering plants.  (Agave bracteosa shown here.)

Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' in fine form on the moderate front slope.  (Two recently produced bloom stalks.)

Agave ovatifolia backed by a giant Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'.  I subsequently pruned the Leucadendron's dead growth and had a major branch removed in November.  Unfortunately, it isn't rebounding as well as I'd like to see.

JULY

The lilies also put on a good show this year

I replanted another area in which I'd had a large shrub removed.  Other areas that had been cleared were also replanted but some remain to be addressed.

Leonotis leonurus did well this year, with its flowers landing in a vase for a change

AUGUST

My dahlia flowers did well in the cutting garden; however, the foliage suffered from dahlia mosaic virus.  I ended up discarding all the tubers (and ordering new ones to replace them next year).

I visited the SOAR (tropical butterfly) exhibit at South Coast Botanic Garden

SEPTEMBER

The dahlias faded in September and I ended up pulling most of the tubers by the end of the month

Clouds amped up the quality of this sunset

The new owner of Annie's Annuals & Perennials mail order service advertised its first plants following the closure of the original business.  This box contained my first purchase.  I haven't placed a second order (yet) as I want to buy enough at one time to justify the shipping cost and the selection is still relatively small.

OCTOBER

October brought some unexpected information.  Not only had we cleared the Fire Department's inspection of our compliance with current fire safety regulations but we also learned that the fire severity zones had been redefined.  At one time the majority of our entire peninsula was considered at high risk.  That area has been reduced under the new map, set to go into effect on January 1, 2026.

We researched our status and discovered that our home (and 15 other properties within our neighborhood of 56 homes and one empty lot) falls outside the at risk fire zones entirely!  It's confusing as we're within a 5 minute walk from homes at "high" and "very high" fire risk.

My sister-in-law paid an overdue visit and, while she was here, we toured the community mosaic in nearby San Pedro and spent time walking the marina area

NOVEMBER

My Protea 'Claire' produced flowers and is still doing so as the year comes to an end

Despite the compliant notice from the Fire Department, we elected to remove the wood fence on our north-side to minimize the risk posed by having a wood structure attached to the house itself.  The before and after shots are shown here.  My husband did all the work with very little assistance from me.

He subsequently also removed the wood pergola attached to the front of the house.  With a little assistance from a neighbor, he removed the final wood struts shown in these photos about a week after these shots were taken.

I finally got some real fall color from one of our persimmon trees (Diospyros kaki 'Fuyu') 

DECEMBER

Meeko calmed down enough to have a Christmas tree this year without substantial fear she'd bring it down.  She's still something of a handful, though.

A friend and I toured the Aloe section of South Coast Botanic Garden near year end while checking out its dinosaur exhibit

That's my 2025 wrap-up (and also a nod of sorts to my 13th blogoversary, which fell on Monday, December 29th).  While not all bad by any means, I'm still glad to see 2025 in the rear view mirror.  I hope 2026 brings all of us good health, peace, and beauty with the new year.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party