In a Vase on Monday: The calla lilies show up

My friend Hoover Boo (the handle she goes by on her blog, Piece of Eden) often says "rain is magic" and that seems to be the case this year.  Our largely unirrigated back slope came with a plethora of calla lily bulbs, something I discovered our first spring living here.  The plants go underground as soon as summer arrives, only to reappear with the rain.  However, I had fewer plants and very few flowers last year.  They seem committed to making a comeback this year.

I pulled 7 of the tall lily stems but cut them down to better fit with the other materials I collected

Back view: the Lotus berthelotii (aka parrot's beak) is attempting to steal the show

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Antirrhinum majus, Freesia, Grevillea 'Poorinda Leane', Lotus berthelotii, and Zantedeschia aethiopica

I changed my mind a few times about a second arrangement, both about having one and what flowers I'd use if I did.  In the end, I leaned into the blues, primarily because they're so readily available at present.  The anemones and sea squill won't last long once the temperatures soar so I decided I'd best use them while I can. 

I added a touch of yellow to break up the blues a bit

Back view: I filled in with stems of Ageratina adenophora (aka Crofton weed), a plant native to Mexico and considered invasive in California, which I believe planted itself here a couple of years ago.  I cut it back hard last year but decided not to pull it out.  It hasn't spread (yet) but it has grown back to its former size.

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Ageratina adenophora, Narcissus papyraceus, Osteospermum '4D Pink', Anemone coronaria 'Azzurro', A. c. 'Lord Lieutenant', Hebe 'Grace Kelly' (which is gradually losing its variegated foliage), and Scilla peruviana

We got over two inches of rain last week, which was great.  Unfortunately, the additional rain originally forecast for later this week has all but completely evaporated.  AccuWeather's longer-term forecasts show the possibility of more rain in mid-to-late March but the chances they've floated are nothing to lay bets on.  Meanwhile, I'm all too aware that our rainy season typically comes to an end in April.

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

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

A walk in the park

I recently published a post on a hike I took along a local trail.  Just before our current stretch of rainstorms started, I decided to take another hike through a nearby park, officially known as Deane Dana Friendship Park.  The only prior post I could find related to it was published in 2019.  Although I'd swear I've visited there more recently, and on at least one occasion with a friend, I couldn't find any other links to that location either in my blog or in my photo records.

Online records generally refer to the park within the context of discussions of the larger Los Angeles County Parks & Recreation Department so they weren't entirely useful.  However, when directly questioned, I did get AI to tell me that the park in question encompasses 123 acres.  I found another source that referred to a 1.6 mile trail loop through the park but I don't think that reflects all the dirt trails that tie back to that main loop.  The park's official entrance is in San Pedro but I've never entered it from there, instead electing to walk one-quarter mile up the main road from my neighborhood to another one in order to enter the park far from its official entrance.

This first stretch up a busy road can be bit unnerving as the dirt path doesn't have traffic guardrails along the entire area

I wasn't able to see the house connected with this wide driveway across the street on the main road

Other large homes across the road could be seen but there was no sidewalk or walking trail on that side of road

When I reached the next neighborhood on my side of the main road, I walked through it, leading me to a back entrance to the park.  It wasn't a very welcoming entrance but it placed me at one end of what's shown as Fowler Trail on the park's online map.

This was the only signage visible once I walked through the small opening shown in the prior photo.  There was also a box containing bags to encourage visitors to pick up dog waste.

I set off on the paved section of the trail to my left first.

Yellow daisies lined the paved road here.  I turned around to photograph it so as not to include 2 visitors walking ahead of me in my photo (engaged in an angry discussion of a tax issue based on what I inadvertently overheard).

Ahead was a lookout area with signage.  This area, and much of the entire park, has been subject to a restoration effort to bring in native plants.

Views from the overlook of the area

Signage related to the restoration effort and resident creatures.  The park is known as a habitat for the endangered Palos Verdes blue butterflies (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis).

Sign referencing the restoration effort and vehicle restrictions (top).  The signs warning of rattlesnakes were everywhere!

What appears to be a parking lot

Just beyond that point, I departed from the paved road and headed uphill via one of the dirt paths.

That took me to another overlook and additional signs.  The sign on the left, which has sustained some damage over the years, addresses the indigenous Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe, which is associated with a large part of what is now Los Angeles County and the San Gabriel Mountains.

I spotted what I thought was a recreation facility based on both on the number of cars parked nearby and the sound of children at play.  An online search informed me that the Martin J. Bogdanovich Recreation Center, a 14-acre facility included in Friendship Park's 123 acres.

Beyond that point, I took another dirt trail to catch some sea views.

Most of this area looks down on San Pedro along the coast but the main road there intersects with Palos Verdes Drive South, notorious for its long-term landslide conditions, frequent repair work, and unpredictable road closures.  Trump National Golf Course sits off the same road, not far away. 

I've avoided Palos Verdes Drive South since our early house hunting days.  Land movement continues.

The grassy views overlooking the ocean are nice, though

I then took another dirt trail to the upper ridge, which runs along the back gardens of several homes.  It leads back to the spot at which I originally entered the park.

View of those homes from a distance

Dirt path as I moved in that direction

One of the things I noticed as I walked along this path was how much the back gardens of these homes varied in depth.  Those farthest from the spot I entered the park were generally narrow.

This one was terraced and had a depth roughly twice the size of the one next door

And this home had an even larger sprawling back garden

I walked back through the nearby neighborhood to head home.

Perhaps a third of the homes in this neighborhood had some amount of lawn in the front garden and/or along the parkway strip but many had branched out, installing more drought-tolerant plants.  The one in the middle of the bottom row had a low hedge of tightly trimmed rosemary.

A median planted with trees separated traffic on the main road from the neighborhood road here

Other sections of the path leading back to my own neighborhood offered no protection from the traffic, although this area provided a nice view of a canyon

The metal guardrails picked up in this area

This house, visible from my neighborhood below, was built just a few years ago.  I can vaguely remember the construction in process.

Home again, or nearly so.  This view from the trail next to the main road overlooks my neighborhood.  Our house can be seen in the distance with a white truck (not ours) parked in front of our hedge.

So that was my walk in the park.  It's very green and clearly gets mowed on a regular basis.  It offers a comfortable walk with gentle changes in elevation, at least in the areas I roamed.  I'll try to get back there in late spring or early summer, when I suspect there'll be more wildflower color to be found.  It wasn't an exciting walk but it also wasn't crowded.  I understand that the local dogs love the space.

Our rain total for the season is up to 10.64 inches but our rooftop weather station also appears to be on the blink (again).  I think the rain this week is over and done with.  Next week's prospects for more rain are uncertain at this point.

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

Pretty weeds

As I recall, I used this title once before during my early days of blogging and at the time was surprised by the volume of traffic it received by comparison to my other posts.  I quickly concluded that search engines had confused my content with a different kind of "weed." That may happen again but oh well.  This post is focused on the invasive weeds that have taken over an empty lot up the street from our house that I walk by nearly daily.  The house on the property apparently burned down decades ago, well before we moved into the neighborhood fifteen years ago.  It's a double lot, probably two acres in size with a view of the Port of Los Angeles.  There are trees and other remnants of the original landscaping, including decayed entrance paving.  Why the lot hasn't been sold and another home (or two) built on the property eludes me.

Possibly the most prevalent and invasive non-native weed in Southern California is the yellow one you see here, known as mustard weed (Brassica nigra).  It can grow up to 10 feet tall and, when the flower stalks die, they pose a fire risk.  The weeds on this lot are cut down once or twice a year by the city and I understand that the expense is charged to the property owner, who no longer interacts with our HOA.

Do you see the purplish flowers mingling with the mustard weed?  Those are tall shrubs, native to Mexico and Central and South America, commonly known as fiberglass plants (Wigandia urens).  Sold as ornamental plants, they have an invasive root system.  They run amok on this lot. 

Here are closeups of the most prominent weeds:

I briefly entertained the idea of taking a cutting of the Wigandia to try in my garden.  However, I was put off by their rangy structure, size, and spread and then I learned that, in addition to their invasive growth habit, their leaves can sting your skin.  Check out the nursery comments included at the bottom of the plant description found here. 

Closeup of the Wigandia's flowers.  I won't even try cutting the flowers to pop into a vase!

This wild radish (Raphanus sativus) also has pale purplish flowers and it's considered a highly invasive week in California too. Its roots and sprouts are considered edible, though, and the plants have been used in folk medicine to treat a range of ailments like urinary infections and heart conditions.

Onionweed (Asphodelus fistulosus) was originally sold as a decorative plant.  Native to the Mediterranean region, it's considered a noxious weed by the US Department of Agriculture.  Its flowers are pretty - for a nanosecond.  The dried plants pose a fire hazard. 

Next door to the empty lot, another plant grabbed my attention.  It's not a weed but it's a plant I've never seen anywhere else so I'll share it here.

This is Roldana petasitis, aka velvet groundsel and California geranium.  It hails from the mountain areas of Mexico.  It's reportedly drought tolerant; has large, velvety leaves; and it flowers abundantly.  Why have I never seen it anywhere but in front of this house?  San Marcos Growers has a write-up on the plant that can be found here.

 

I spotted this fellow further down the street, also checking out the local plants.

The big news is that we've had measurable rain and there's more on the way.  As I schedule this post for publication Wednesday morning, we've had nearly an inch and a half since Monday, bringing our seasonal total-to-date (counted from October 1, 2025) to close to ten inches.  As our roof-top weather station was clogged for a short time, my total may be understated.  I tried to check our total against that tabulated for our zip code but that number, and the associated AI evaluation of our rainfall this water year, is completely screwed up, showing just over one inch of rain in total.  While our peninsula has undoubtedly received less rain than nearby valley, foothill, and mountain areas, it's not that bad!  Like our president, AI needs to learn to acknowledge factual errors when they occur if it's to be trusted.  Human oversight is obviously required.

We had a brief pause in the rain on Tuesday.  There were even blue skies at intervals.

Photo taken during the late morning hours yesterday looking southeast from my back garden

The warmth of the sun on seat cushions on the back patio caused steam to rise from them, something I always find a bit alarming at first glance

More rain is expected overnight and into the early morning hours, followed by another pause for most of Wednesday.  Rain is back in the forecast for Thursday, to be followed by a weekend pause with another stretch of rain possible from next Monday through Wednesday.  My two smaller rain storage tanks are full again and I estimate that the 275-gallon tank is about three-quarters full.

Although some of my flowers have been flattened by the rain, I'm still discovering new blooms with every spin through the garden.  Here's one:

Ferraria crispa (aka starfish iris)

I took another local hike last weekend before the rain arrived.  I have it on the docket for Friday's post.

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