Wide Shots - April 2021

Every quarter I take a series of wide shots of my garden, which I use to track differences from year to year.  While the volume of flowers is noticeably lower this year, presumably due to our pitifully low rainfall, the differences aren't as substantial as I'd felt they were, at least in early April.

I took the following photos at different times over the course of two days, which is why you may note differences in the amount of sun and shadows.

I'll start, as usual, with the back garden.

View from the back door looking toward the harbor.  This week's very warm temperatures took out most of the Freesias and have been making quick work of the Dutch Iris.  On the positive side, Echium webbii is getting an early start on its bloom cycle.

View from the back patio looking north.  I've let my bird feeders stand empty for now given the higher risk of salmonella outbreaks among songbirds this season.

View of the back garden from the north end looking south.  The white Marguerite daisies (Argyranthemum frutescens) in the foreground came back like champs this spring.

Back on the patio looking south

South end of the back garden looking north.  The Ginkgo tree ordered in late February to replace the dying mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) we removed in October has yet to come in.

Next up is the garden on the south side of the house.

South side garden looking west.  Leucospermum 'Goldie' is blooming right on schedule but the Gazanias have been slow to take off and the Freesias here are done.

View of the same area looking east

We'll take a look at the lower level of the garden containing the lath (shade) house before continuing through the main level of the front garden.

View from the south side garden looking down (west) from the garden's main level.  It may be hard to see in this photograph but I actually got some dwarf pink snapdragons to bloom in the small window boxes attached to the lath house.

View from outside the lath house looking north at the succulent bed along the slope I replanted in late November

View from the west side of the area looking east in the direction of the harbor.  We'll head back up the dirt path we came down to return to the garden's main level.

Back on the main level of the front garden we head toward the house's front door.

View from the south end of the front garden looking north in the direction of the front door and driveway.  Grevillea 'Superb' (on the right) blooms non-stop all year but the volume is somewhat greater during our cool season.

This photo was taken from an area close to the front door looking south.  My husband gave me the three half-barrels as a birthday present last May.  I originally planted them with edibles but they didn't get enough sun under the Magnolia tree so I've switched to flowers.  The Echium candidans 'Star of Madeira' on the right is getting ready to bloom.

View from the west edge of the driveway looking east at the house

 

The area to the right of the front walkway is flush with blooms of Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' and Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' among other plants.  The roses aren't blooming yet.

This is a view of the garden area on the left side of the front walkway.  Climbing rose 'Joseph's Coat' has produced the first of my rose blooms.  The Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) still has a handful of flowers.  I've yet to figure out how to cover up the new AC unit we acquired during our 2019 home remodel. 

View from our garbage can path in the area on the west side of the garage looking east in the direction of the front door.  I removed a huge sweet pea bush (Polygala fruticosa) from under the ornamental pear on the left late last year and what I planted in its place has been slow to take off.  (A visit by a hungry rabbit didn't help.)  There are zillions of Polygala seedlings in that area that may overtake those I purposely planted in the end.

View from the driveway looking at the area on the west side of the garage.  I took this photo in the late afternoon when I was able to capture the backlit Festuca californica and, in the distance, the glowing Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty'.

This is the succulent bed on the other side of the garbage can path

A last look across the front garden beds bordering the driveway on either side of the front walkway.  The two large Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' shrubs are lovely but hard to control even with regular pruning.

The cutting garden sits on the east side of the garage.

View from the driveway.  The snapdragons are happy growing in a half-barrel but my foxglove, larkspur, love-in-a-mist, sweet pea and white lace flower seedlings are taking their time getting their bloom on while I'm already eyeing the space they occupy for the dahlias tubers I've got in temporary pots.

View of the cutting garden from the other side.  The blue Anemone coronaria 'Lord Lieutenant' performed well but the other Anemones less so.  Anemone 'The Bride' was a complete dud.

Walking through the gate I was standing in to take the second photo of the cutting garden brings us to the north side garden, created as my first dry garden after we removed the lawn there ten years ago.

View looking north toward the concrete stairway that leads down the back slope.  I recently removed a Mangave 'Silver Fox' that was planted with other Mangaves in the foreground area after it bloomed, replacing it with a pup of Mangave 'Lavender Lady'.

View of the same area from the back garden.  A variety of Grevilleas and scented Pelargoniums are blooming here.  The white Osteospermums on the right are self-seeded.  Just outside the frame on the right, Iris douglasiana 'Santa Lucia' are starting to bloom.

This shot of the north side garden area was taken as I was headed down the concrete block stairway.  I liked it because it showed off two of my largest Agaves and the emerging leaves on the persimmon tree.

Continuing down the concrete block stairway takes us into the back slope, which sits below the hedge that runs behind the beds on the main level of the back garden (where we started this tour).  Our property intersects with those of two of our neighbors in this area.  The original owner of our property subdivided the parcel decades ago, creating two flag lots on either side of us.

View looking down to the bottom of the slope.  One neighbor's property starts several feet beyond the lemon tree on the other side of the three Pittosporum 'Slver Magic' we planted to mark the property line on that end.  The bay laurel hedge on the left runs along the other neighbor's chain link fence.

View looking back up the slope.  The artichokes are returning despite our low rainfall.  I thought the Centranthus ruber and Echium here were late in blooming until I checked last year's April wide shots; however, the calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica)  are definitely in trouble this year.  I haven't seen a single bloom and we're already getting the summer-like heat that sends them packing.

The only area we skipped is my street-side succulent bed, which is best viewed standing in the street.

The Xylosma congestum shrubs we planted five years ago to continue the hedge that runs along the front of the property are almost (but not quite) as tall as those making up the original hedge.  I planted a Yucca rostrata in the gap between those shrubs and the lath house but it'll be some time before it gets large enough to screen the area behind it.

That's a wrap for this post and this week.  Best wishes for a happy Easter weekend to all of you who celebrate the holiday.  May the weekend weather favor you.

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