Garden workout

I spent most of the day working in my garden on Monday, starting in late morning and continuing past sundown, with just an hour break for lunch.  It felt a little like boot camp at times and most of what I accomplished doesn't translate into photographs, pretty or otherwise.  I started with two solid hours on my back slope just cutting back dead growth and watering, wearing boots to stave off any of the fire ants that might still be down there somewhere.  I ended the day literally crawling on my hands and knees beneath my Echium 'Star of Madiera' to cut back several clumps of ornamental grass.  In between, I tackled moving a mid-sized Agave gypsophila located way too close to a path I use regularly.

This is the Agave in question in its original spot off the south side of the house.  The Cistus shrubs on two sides were constantly threatening to envelope it and its lower leaves were already encroaching on the adjacent flagstone path.

I decided the Agave would be much happier in the long run on the moderate front slope I cleared and replanted in November.  Moving it there necessitated a small game of musical chairs.

In order to move the Agave to the spot I'd selected, I had to move an Aloe striata x maculata pup but before moving the Aloe I had to move a large Aeonium rosette I'd planted in the new spot intended for the Aloe.  When I was done with those moves, I then filled in the spot vacated by the Agave with cuttings of Graptoveria 'Fred Ives'.

I was a little nervous about damaging the Agave either in the process of digging it up or transplanting it on the top level of the front slope.  The latter required a degree of dexterity, difficult to manage given that my right knee isn't entirely reliable on level ground much less a slope.  A couple of times I reminded myself that now would not be the time to fall and crack my head as getting into an emergency room presents a serious problem in Los Angeles County at the moment.  However, I worked slowly and carefully and neither the Agave nor I were injured.

This is Agave gypsophila photographed from the path that leads down to my lath house

This is the view from outside the lath house looking up

Close-up of the Agave in its new spot

I'm glad I spent Monday gardening as high winds from noon on yesterday prevented me from doing much more outside than battening down what the wind sent flying.  We got a tiny bit of rain (0.02/inch) after nightfall, which barely dampened the pavement while liberally spattering the windows.  Wind gusts, some exceeding 40mph, continued overnight and it's still windy today.  Still, we were far luckier than some areas that saw toppled trees, widespread power outages, and, yes, more wildfires.

I'm hoping conditions later today will allow me to spend some time working on the front garden succulent bed.  I've been slowly working on renovating it, transferring plants from pots and other parts of the garden and generally moving things about.  I also purchased a "few" new plants by mail order that I'd like to get in the ground.

My mail order haul of tiny succulents, some from Mountain Crest Gardens and the rest from Little Prince of Oregon

For those of you in the US, happy Inauguration Day!  May the next four years be far better than the last four!

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party