Another Neighborhood Stroll

One of our neighbors expressed concern that the area surrounding the entry to our neighborhood wasn't getting enough water.  Since my husband was involved in re-setting the irrigation in that area, I was asked to check it out and offer comment.  The area gets more than two times the water the most well-watered section of my garden gets, so I was skeptical that there was a problem but I walked up there to have a closer look earlier this week.

One of the issues with the front entry is that all the irrigation runs off one valve so it can't be calibrated for different areas.  Another issue is that, while a large portion of the area has been planted with succulents and other drought-tolerant plants, it also has a small lawn area and plants like azaleas that need more water.  I didn't see any signs of water stress; however, the area does have a pretty serious gopher problem.

Photos taken from around the "gatehouse," which currently serves no purpose other than to house the irrigation unit for the entry area

While I was out on foot, I decided to take a spin around the entire neighborhood to see what's new.  The short answer to that question is "not much" but I thought I'd share some of the highlights.

The lovely maples and blue Alyogyne huegellii that border the front of the house of the neighbor across the street.  I had to wonder if these maples bother my foliage-hating neighbor on our side of the street as her house looks out in this direction.

The gorgeous yellow Leucospermum of the neighbor a few doors down is a constant reminder that I should be able to grow this plant

This neighbor recently had a crew in to clean up their front slope - it looks good, doesn't it?

There's nothing extraordinary about this neighbor's street-side planting bed but I like the combination of the Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima), plumbago (Ceratostigma), and what may be a smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria)

The Jacaranda trees are in bloom throughout the region

The third and last of the huge dead trees along the main route in and out of the neighborhood has finally been removed so I no longer need to hold my breath every time I drive through but the hillside behind certainly looks bare 

Two other trees along that route got the chop.  My husband speculated that this could be the result of another view issue but I suspect it had to do with the power lines.

These neighbors have had their house under construction for over a year now.  I imagine they're getting tired of living in a trailer.

These two tree-sized Callistemon are indicative of just how tall these plants can grow.  (The pine behind them appears to be slowly dying, probably from a combination of drought and the opportunistic pine bark beetle.)

A neatly trimmed palm

My favorite neighborhood garden is now in the hands of new owners, who appear to be doing a good job of maintaining it.  Until I looked at the top photo closely I'd never realized that 3 different materials had been used to control the front slope.  The bottom row shows a tree-sized Buddleja, a giant orange-red Leucospermum, and a Salvia clevelandii.

The front garden of the property across the street deliberately used a simple palette of a few select plants, including the same Salvia used across the street (perhaps S. clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman') and the only all-white (no touch of pink) Gaura lindheimeri I think I've ever seen.

This may be the largest lawn left in the neighborhood (but the property's backyard lawn, barely visible behind the hedge in the background on the right  appears to be unwatered)

A newly installed vegetable garden

And we're back to our property with the gap in the front hedge discussed in my last post.  (The fifth new Xylosma shrub has now been installed in an effort to close that gap.)

I'll leave you with a photo of a beautiful Hibiscus.  I hope you're enjoying your weekend.

All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party