I was late getting my Foliage Follow-up post together. On my first pass through my garden I had a hard time getting excited about anything. Then I decided that had more to do with my mental state than my garden so I went out again and took a closer look.
Out along the front walkway, I noticed that
Coprosma 'Fireburst' was finally living up to its name.
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| A couple of months ago, I was seriously considered replacing Coprosma 'Fireburst' but it seems to have developed a deeper color now and it looks good against the Artemisia 'Powis Castle' I used to replaced the Geranium 'Biokovo' that fried in this setting |
I took a closer look at two of the
Coprosma on the other side of the walkway and decided that they were also working out fine.
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| Coprosma 'Evening Glow' with Phormium 'Maori Queen' |
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| Coprosma 'Inferno' with another Phormium 'Maori Queen' |
Then I took time to take closer looks at three of the succulent pots I put together earlier this year. While some of my older creations are seriously in need of a refresh, these three are looking snappy.
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| I don't have a definitive plant IDs as everything I put in this pot came unlabeled but I believe it includes Aeonium 'Sunburst', Echeveria 'Blue Curls', Echeveria elegans, a green Echeveria I can't ID, Kalanchoe luciae, Portulacaria afra variegata, and Senecio radicans |
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The trailing succulent is Senecio jacobsensii. I can't ID the trailing succulent in this pot, although I think the seller told me it's a Crassula. I believe the other succulents include Echeveria agavoides, Graptosedum 'California Sunset', and Portulacaria afra variegata. |
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| Remarkably, all but the bronze Aeonium here came with labels! The bird-bath style planter includes Agave titanota 'White Ice', Graptosedum 'Darley Sunshine', and Sedum reflexum 'Blue Spruce'. |
The sun shined through the foliage of other succulents I had planted in the ground, making them glow.
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Agave 'Joe Hoak', picked up at my local botanic garden's spring sale |
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| More Graptosedum 'California Sunset' along with Aeonium 'Kiwi' and a noID variegated Sedum |
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| Kalanchoe variegata 'Tricolor' |
At this point, I was getting excited about all kinds of foliage so I'll share a few more plants that caught my eye before I end this post.
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| Adenathos sericeus (aka Woolly Bush), still in its infancy |
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| A new Leucadendron 'Jester' picked up last week to complement the Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' behind it and the two Grevillea 'Superb' on either side. |
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| I started filling in some of the narrower areas alongside my new (and still partially completed) flagstone path through the backyard using Seslaria autumnailis 'Campo Verde' and Alternanthera 'Joseph's Coat' (highlighted on the right) |
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| These Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Magic' were planted at the bottom of our back slope in January, where the giant Yucca elephantipes once stood to serve as a screen between us and our neighbors to the south. I recently replaced the third shrub, which died during summer's heat (planted outside the photo's frame on the right). The raised planter and wood barrels belong to my neighbor, who has taken measures to protect her sweetpea seedlings from the local raccoons. |
That's it for my November foliage highlights.
Visit Pam at Digging, the host of this monthly meme, to find more fascinating foliage.
All material
© 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Nicely done, Kris--a good reminder to take a second, more thoughtful look. Advice I need to observe. A beautiful homage to the sun, too.
ReplyDeleteThe sun was being helpful - for a change - the morning I took those photos.
DeleteThis is quite a beauty pageant, in the best sense of the word. Lots of texture and color for the eyes to feast on.
ReplyDeleteI've been tempted more than once to add a few coprosmas but I was never sure how they would fare. Will keep an eye on your blog for future updates.
I've had mixed results with Coprosma myself, Gerhard. I fell for 'Plum Hussey' about 2 years ago but the foliage color has become muddy over time (to my eye anyway) and, without regular pruning, it quickly becomes tall and spindly. I'm trying to keep a closer eye on my newer Coprosma to ensure I maintain their shape as they grow.
DeleteYou have lots of great foliage, Kris! I wish Coprosma were hardier. I have to admit yours look great, but I've convinced myself not to like them because of their relative tenderness. Artemisia 'Powis Castle' looks fantastic. I've been considering that for my garden, but so far haven't found a place in the garden where it wouldn't get too large for the space.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it does like to sprawl, 'Powis Castle' responds relatively well to annual pruning, Evan.
DeleteYou are absolutely right--beauty is in how you see not what you see. I think succulents are quite photogenic.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to warm up to succulents, Betty, but now they're some of my favorite plants. Many have a sculptural quality.
DeleteSwooning over your succulent pots! How lucky you are that these are hardy in your climate. Coprosma is so beautiful that I drag it in each fall. Oh, those shiny leaves!
ReplyDeleteI can barely imagine the extra work involved in hauling plants under cover each fall and out again each spring. Although, I've begun the wonder if I should provide my drought tolerant plants some cover from the rain forecast to accompany the coming "Godzilla El Nino." I'm going to be really annoyed if, after limping along with minimal water, my succulents drown this winter. Maybe I should expand my umbrella collection...
DeleteYou definitely have some wonderful foliage - love your coprosmas! Your Callistemon seems to be growing out very nicely - and what a wonderful Leucodendron... :)
ReplyDeleteI'm very pleased with that Callistemon thus far. It's grown dramatically since I acquired it this spring and is generally much more vigorous than the other Callistemon I planted this year.
DeleteIt is great that you can achieve some 'autumnal' colours in your climate Kris; it looks like succulents might be the way forward for me, but then if we have a hard winter I might loose more plants. The pots of succulents are perfect but like you I find they need replanting quite quickly as in a pot they seem to grow more quickly.
ReplyDeleteYour winter temperatures are significantly colder than mine on average, Christina, and although there are some tough specimens (like certain of the agaves) that can take at least short spells below freezing, most if not all of the more tender succulents shown in my post probably wouldn't survive a freeze. However, if you kept them in pots you could haul those into your greenhouse for the winter, which is what a lot of the folks up in the Pacific Northwest do.
DeleteI love your Coprosma and your gorgeous succulents.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chloris!
DeleteI couldn't get excited about much in my garden either. I sometimes feel as if I'm posting the same things all the time. It gets tiresome to try to frame the same old things in a new way each month. That Wooly bush is wonderful. It reminds me of a Eupatorium capillifolium 'Elegant Feather' I completely fell for this summer. So pettable!
ReplyDeleteThe Woolly Bush is pettable too - I just hope it doesn't get to big for that spot!
DeleteKris, I pulled my Plum Hussy for the reasons you described to Gerhard. One of the best reds has been 'County Park Red' -- wish I could find a local source again. I pulled that one because it was planted too closed to a walkway. Your're filling in with some wonderful plant choices.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look for 'Country Park Red'. I picked up 'Pacific Sunset' on a plant shopping jaunt through Santa Barbara county yesterday - it's an intense red now in its 1-gallon pot but it remains to be seen whether it holds its color in the long term.
DeleteHi Kris, I love the variety of succulents that grow in your garden. I also love the combination of the Coprosma 'Fireburst' and Artemesia 'Powis Castle.' Your soil looks so rich. Do you improve it much, or is it naturally loamy?
ReplyDeleteThe soil in the front was supplemented with imported (locally-obtained) topsoil plus planting mix after we took out the lawn there last year. Raising the soil level using low berms made a major difference in the health of the plants in that area. The native soil is variable - much of it is heavy clay embedded with rock (our site was once part of a rock quarry) but other areas are very sandy.
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