Wednesday Vignette: Surprises, the good, the bad and the just plain odd

Yesterday, as I was heading into the house, I happened to take a closer look at one of the pots sitting outside the front door.  Planted with just two kinds of succulents years ago, it didn't look quite right but I didn't immediately realize what was off about it until I cleared away some of the dead foliage.

I'm referring to the tall pot in the rear of this photo.  With the dead leaves cleared away, perhaps you can immediately see what's unusual about its contents.

What was originally a pretty but very average Echeveria 'Blue Atoll' had at some point taken on a cristate, or crested, form.  Cresting can occur as a result of damage to a plant's growing tips, a genetic mutation, or due to some form of stress as described here.  

I wasn't even sure of the Echeveria's identity until I hunted down my original photo of this pot in July 2018

The flattened stems of the succulent are easier to see here.  I'll probably move the crested Echeveria to another pot where I can give it more sun and less water as recommended.

As our dry conditions continue and I try to avoid watering any more than necessary, my plant losses are stacking up.  I've come to terms with many of these as they suggest the need to change my plant palette to adjust to changing climate conditions but some losses still manage to surprise me.

This Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' was seemingly fine one week and dead the next.  There are other Coleonema nearby and elsewhere in my garden, which are all doing fine.  This one was crowding nearby plants so I may not replace it once it's been removed.

Correa 'Sister Dawn', my favorite Australian fuchsia, planted in 2018, also suddenly gave up

And then there's the all-too-common discovery that the bulbs I ordered weren't what I received.

I ordered Canna 'Phasion' for its foliage but I got neither the colorful variegated foliage it's known for nor any flowers 

I've complained enough about how slow my dahlias have been to bloom this year so I'll end this post with some recent happy surprises among my flowering plants.

Dahlia 'Gitt's Crazy'  has grown sky-high and produced its first fully open blooms this week

A Delphinium from the 'Pacific Giants Mix', cut down to the ground following its spring bloom cycle, put up a new bloom stalk

I bought hybrid Nepeta 'Blue Prelude' on a whim back in May and planted it in one of the half barrels in the front garden.  Although the neighborhood cat that visits my garden regularly didn't eat it down to the ground as he's done with every other Nepeta I've ever planted, it appeared to die back as the summer progressed.  I'd planned to replace it, when it suddenly reappeared, sporting blooms no less.

This Passiflora tarminiana x manicata 'Oaklandia', growing in a pot on my south side patio, produced one or two flowers last summer but I wasn't expecting any this year.  I discovered this one on Monday morning.

I've had a Plumeria in a large pot for years and it's never bloomed.  A neighbor offered me a cutting she'd rescued from someone's trash several months ago.  I demurred but nonetheless found the cutting in a nice terracotta pot waiting for me in the driveway two weeks later.  It started flowering last week.

These Zephyranthes candida flowers (aka rain lilies) appeared last weekend despite the fact that we haven't had any actual rain.  Maybe the return of our morning marine layer, heavy at times, made a difference.  There aren't many this year but they're appreciated nonetheless.

I didn't sow any seeds of Zinnia 'Senora' this year but one plant appeared in my cutting garden anyway

I find it's important to remember to look for the positives when I feel as though I'm surrounded by negatives, whether in the garden or in life in general.  A broader perspective helps.

For more Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.

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