A Visit to Eden

I recently had an opportunity to meet up with some of my favorite bloggers not too far away from home.  Loree of danger garden paid a brief visit to Southern California and had made arrangements to visit the gardener who blogs as Hoover Boo at Piece of Eden.  Denise of A Growing Obsession and I were invited to join in on a tour of both Hoover Boo's garden and that of her neighbor.  Unfortunately, Denise was pulled away at the last minute but I arrived right behind Loree with my camera at the ready.

My photos don't do justice to either garden, both of which looked stunning in the after-glow of the rain we've enjoyed on and off for over a month now, but I'll share them with you anyway.

The weather was perfect - sunny and cool by our standards but warm by Loree's.  We started out in the neighbor's garden just a short walk down the street.  The garden is large by SoCal standards and fairly steep.  As befits our climate, there were lots of succulents and, as the gardener has worked the same property for decades, many of the specimens are huge.  My largest Agave 'Blue Glow' would look like a pup beside some of those in this garden.

Succulents were on display from the moment we stepped through the gate.  (Do you see the tiny frogs supporting the ceramic pot to the right of the bench?  I missed those until I viewed my own photos.)

There were agaves everywhere.  The photos don't clearly show just how large some of these were but, trust me, they have me reconsidering the spacing of the much smaller specimens I have in my own garden.  If I've got them identified correctly, clockwise from the upper left, they are: Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass', A. 'Blue Glow', A. desmettiana 'Joe Hoak', A. macroacantha 'Pablo's Choice', A. 'Mr. Ripple', and A. 'Sun Glow'.

I didn't do at all well committing the names of the Aloes to memory.  The one on the upper left is Aloe chabaudii (I photographed the tag).  I think the one one the lower left is Aloe ferox and the one on the lower right may be Aloe cameronii but I'm adrift as to the identity the other one and Hoover Boo has identified the one on the upper right as A. 'Moonglow'.

There were other succulents too.  That's some kind of Euphorbia on the left.  The middle plant is a Kalanchoe and the one on the right may also be a Kalanchoe or a relative.

Returning to Hoover Boo's garden, we began our tour in the front garden in an area the gardener renovated in the fall of 2015 and further refined in 2016.  It's come together well.

Aloe 'Hercules' has pride of place in the central bed with a lovely Agave gypsophila 'Ivory Curls' nearby.  Grevillea 'Superb' flanks the driveway on two sides of the central bed and Agave 'Joe Hoak' is used repeatedly among other succulents both along the street and fronting the wall.  I believe that huge agave in the area atop the wall is also a 'Joe Hoak'.  The lawn substitute is Dymondia margaretae.

Moving to the other side of the front driveway, there was more to love.

The crepe myrtles (Lagerstroemia) are dormant but the silvery blue color of the Agave ovatifolia and Maireana sedifolia (aka pearl bluebush) Leucophyllum 'Thundercloud' sets an appropriately icy tone for a winter landscape in SoCal 

The colors get brighter as you move along to the right of the tall Leucadendron linifolium.  I love how Yucca 'Bright Star' plays off the Agave lopantha 'Quadricolor' to the left.  I think the orange-flowered Aloe is Aloe cameronii.

To the far right, where Hoover Boo's property intersects with her next door neighbor, there are a few huge Agave 'Blue Glow' and a handsome yellow-flowering Aloe vanbalenii

There were more beautiful specimens than I could count but here are some of my favorites:

Clockwise from the left: Leucospermum 'Yellow Bird' (which I covet), Agave 'Blue Glow' (all huge), A. marmorata, A. titanota, and Aloe marlothii

As it's winter, rose pruning was well underway so we missed out on a show there.  I got a few more shots in the back garden before we began surveying the steeper parts of Hoover Boo's property and I tucked my camera away for safety's sake.

In the back garden, a choice variegated Agave attenuata and fuzzy red Echeveria 'Ruby Slippers'

We also had a chance to visit with some of the property's other residents: Samoyeds Boris and Natasha, who wished for little more than to join us outside (or, perhaps, treats) and the koi fish, who were a little wary of visitors

It was a great visit and I thoroughly enjoyed the gardens and the company.  Many thanks to Loree for setting things in motion and thanks to Hoover Boo and her neighbor for showing us about and answering question after question.  Hoover Boo even sent us on our way with succulent pups!


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party