Let's visit the hidden bromeliad bed!

Inspired by the Coronavirus Tourism posters created by Jennifer Baer, this is the third of my virtual tours of areas of my garden that get relatively little attention.  (You can find the first two posts here and here.)  Today's focus is the narrow bromeliad bed I created in November 2017 and renovated in November 2019 after raccoons tore it apart.  I haven't done much to it since but it's settling in well and, to date, the rocks I added when it was renovated seem to have done the job at holding off the raccoons, as well as the other critters currently plaguing different areas of my garden.

The bromeliad bed is sandwiched between a succulent bed on the left and a neighbor's property on the right.  (That's her driveway.)

A flagstone path borders the narrow bed.  I used mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus) to fill the space between and around the flagstones.  The stone along the perimeter of the bed was saved when we took down the indoor barbecue during our home renovation last year.

Let's take a closer look section by section.

This first segment consists solely of succulents, the most prominent of which are Mangave 'Pineapple Express' on the left and the 3 Echeveria agavoides in the middle.

This central area contains the bromeliads that gave the bed its name.  It includes Vriesea ospinae var gruberi, Quesnelia 'Tim Plowman', Billbergia 'Carioca', Aechmea fasciata, Aechmea 'Mend', and Neoregelia 'Guinea x Pepper'.

The main features of this bed are the 2 Mangaves, 'Falling Waters' and 'Mission to Mars', both of which are still relatively small.  An assortment of other succulents serve as fillers.

A succulent bedecked piece of driftwood sits on the other side of the path under a peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa).  I recently added a bird's nest abandoned after the baby California towhees fledged.

I moved the chiminea that formerly sat on the back patio here following our renovation.  It's topped with a piece of driftwood and a noID clump of Tillandsia.

Although it's called a bromeliad bed, it's obviously dominated by succulents, including the Mangaves added late last year.  Mangaves are my most recent plant crush.  More and more of these intergeneric hybrids have been released for sale over the last few years.  The bromeliad bed has just three at present, in addition to a Manfreda, which played a significant role in the breeding of Mangaves.

This Manfreda maculosa is looking particularly good this year

The Mangaves included in the bromeliad bed are, left to right: 'Falling Waters', 'Mission to Mars' and 'Pineapple Express'

I've got Mangaves tucked elsewhere in the garden as well.

There are more here in the succulent bed that fronts the bromeliad bed, largely hiding it from view

Clockwise from the upper left, these include: Mangaves 'Jaguar', 'Snow Leopard' (looking decidedly pink at the moment), 'Bad Hair Day' (which the ants are trying to take over), 'Kaleidoscope' (which pups freely), and 'Spotty Dotty' (which is doing a nice job of mimicking Agave attenuata)

My first Mangaves were planted in this bed on the northeast side of the house

Clockwise from the upper left, they include: Mangaves 'Bloodspot', 'Lavender Lady' (possibly the most elegant of them all), 'Purple People Eater', and Silver Fox' (another avid pupper)

And then there are Mangaves in pots, including clockwise from the upper left: Mangaves 'Red Wing', 'Blazing Saddles', 'Jaguar' pups, 'Moonglow', another 'Kaleidoscope' (a recent birthday gift from a friend), and 'Tooth Fairy' (a slow grower but one of my favorites)

I decided I had room for more and ordered four additional Mangaves yesterday.  They should be delivered in about a week.

Have a good Wednesday.


All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party