Wide Shots - July 2018

May and June were on the cool side, thanks to a persistent morning marine layer.  We saw the temperatures soar yesterday, nearing 90F at their high point, and we're expecting worse over the course of the weekend before it cools back down a bit early next week.  Still, with much of the nation suffering through nasty heatwaves for what seems like weeks now, I'm counting myself lucky that summer eased in gently here this year.

I took most of this quarter's wide shots on July 2nd, when we were still enjoying the effects of the marine layer.  Last July, I was complaining about returning from the Garden Bloggers' Fling in Washington DC to face a garden singed by a nasty heatwave in late June but this year the garden is looking much more perky in early July.

This is the view from the back patio looking toward Angel's Gate, the entrance to the Los Angeles Harbor.  The red-orange daylilies I inherited with the garden have begun their bloom cycle.  The Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) is out of control once again.  I'll need to use the cooler early mornings to whip it back into shape.

This is a view of the back garden looking north.  Last July's wide shots post showed the mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) in full bloom.  There's no sign of flowers this year and, as you can see, the leaf canopy is still sparse, particularly on the left side.  The difference between the front and back portions of the tree are much more evident in this photo than when viewed  close up.

This is a closer look at the north end of the back garden.  The beds on either side of the path are looking fuller this year.

This is a view of the back garden from the north end looking toward the main patio.  I moved Hemerocallis 'Persian Market'  (shown in bloom) and a couple of other daylilies to the bed in the foreground a few months ago.  I've thrown 3 green-flowered Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum, not yet in bloom) in here too because I can never get enough of these flowers.

This is a closer view of the south side of the back garden.  I'm no longer sure I like that bright gold mass of color in the distance, created by 3 shrubs of Coleonema 'Sunset Gold'.  I may whittle down its size by pulling out one of the shrubs.

Walking south along the flagstone path shown in the photo above brings us to the garden on the south side of the house.  It's gone through a number of transformations since we moved in seven and a half years ago.  Originally dominated by a 60 foot tall Eucalyptus, removed at the behest of a neighbor who claimed it interfered with her view, it subsequently became a succulent garden.

About two-thirds of the plants in this area are still succulents but I've added other drought tolerant species, like Metrosideros 'Springfire' and Hymenolepsis parviflora to add some softness

From the south side garden one can either continue along the flagstone path into the main level of the front garden or take a mulch-covered path down into a lower area adjoining the street.  This month we'll continue on the main level and circle back to the street level on the southwest side later.

This is a view of the front garden looking north toward the driveway and garage.  My ever-blooming Grevillea 'Superb' can be seen on the right.  The Echium candicans 'Star of Madiera' in the distance on the left has just finished its bloom cycle.  The Plectranthus neochilus midway along the path has filled in nicely and blooms well but its strong unpleasant scent may require moving it.

The two Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' on either side of the walkway to the front door have grown huge.  They're just now producing a scattering of small white flowers.  The Agapanthus are still going strong in both the front and back garden but they're starting to look frowzy.

View of the north side of the house's front exterior.  None of my roses have done well this year - several have failed to produce a single bloom - but the climber 'Joseph's Coat' is at least making an effort.

The area on the opposite side of driveway (i.e. the area facing the chimney) is the last area I developed.  It's been slow to come together.

I'm still trying to find the right plants to handle the shifting sun and shade conditions in this area.  I apologize for the poor quality of the photo.

I'm still tweaking the succulent bed tucked into the northwest corner too

If we return to the driveway, passing the garage, we come to the cutting garden.  It's off to a slow start this summer.

My cool season blooms hung on well into April so I was tardy in evicting them to make room for warm season plants.  I also lost several dahlia tubers to rot due to over-watering.  In addition to the dahlias, I've planted Calendula, Zinnia and Helianthus seeds but all of those went in late as well.

Continuing through the gate at the far end of the cutting garden takes us to an area on the northeast side of the property I formerly called my dry garden.  While it's still populated with succulents and other drought resistant plants, calling it my "dry garden" no longer seems appropriate as, with the exception of the cutting garden, the entire property can be called a dry garden.

Removal of one of the guava trees made a big difference in this area.  There are some empty spots, which I've seeded with sunflowers and zinnias as temporary fillers.

The path shown in the photo above leads to the back slope, which is still looking hideous.

I started nipping away at the ivy and honeysuckle growing on the upper portion of the slope a few months ago, then turned my attention to other projects.  Now, it's getting too hot to get much of anything but watering done down there,  Any serious work will have to wait until cooler temperatures return in the fall.

The Pittosporum 'Silver Magic' along the property boundary are filling out nicely, although I'm a bit worried that the Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri) is already getting out of control.

Okay, it's time to take you back to the area on the southwest side of the garden, the home of my lath (shade) house.  This is the area I've spent most of my time fussing with the last few months.

The indoor area is filling up, albeit slowly.  Much of my effort has been focused on sprucing up the outside with plants.  I've changed out the contents of the window boxes with more heat tolerant plants and added other plants in the surrounding area.  I'll cover the changes in a separate post soon.

View of the area looking east toward the upper level of the garden

The prettiest blooms in the area right now are found on this Oscularia deltoides

The area is is bordered on the other side by a succulent bed running alongside the street, one of my earliest projects.

With the exception of the tree-like Auranticarpa rhombifolium shrubs towering above it, the bed still looks pretty good.  We took out 3 dying Auranticarpa, which created a gap in the the screening from the street. We planted Xylosma congestum behind the succulents to extend the existing Xylosma hedge but those shrubs have taken their time gaining size and now I'm concerned that I may need to take 2 of the 3 remaining Auranticarpa out.

That's it for this quarter's wide shots of my garden.  I'll close with a photo of my cat Pipig enjoying the garden from inside the house.

If there's a sunny spot in the house, Pipig will find it!

I hope you find a sunny spot to enjoy the weekend too!

All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party