Gardening is solace for the soul

Just when I thought the news couldn't get any uglier, this week it did.  I won't rehash the rant included in my last post but suffice it to say that I spent a lot of time in my garden this week.  It's not a cure for anger, frustration and grief but it helps.  I didn't tackle any big projects but I took care of little ones that had been pestering me, most of which involved end-of-spring cleanup.  Memorial Day, honoring the men and women who died in military service, is observed in the US on the last Monday of May.  That day has also become the unofficial start of summer here.

I didn't take any "before" photos but here are some "after" shots showing the results of my tidying up in the back garden.

The 3 Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' that surround the largest of my peppermint willows were swamping everything around them.  I cut them back around the front and pulled up masses of the plants' dry leaves, which some people warn could feed fires.  The plants and ceramic fish surrounding it have been revealed.  Now I just need to tackle the back side of the shrubs plus the clumps in my front garden.

I cut back the Echium webii and cleared most of the leaf litter under it as well.  I'm always a little worried that the plant won't recover as the grower recommends "tip pruning."  As a fallback, I took tip cuttings in the hope of propagating possible replacement plants if needed.  That approach worked with my Echium handiense.  I still need to tackle the Echium webbii on my back slope and the E. candicans 'Star of Madeira' in the front garden.

This Arbutus 'Marina' (one of 4) had dropped piles of leaf litter over the succulents beneath it and I finally performed the difficult dance cleaning that up (for now).  I also trimmed back the dead lower branches of the Melianthus major.

Since I cut the largest Yucca 'Bright Star' down to the ground last year, there's been a lot of empty space in this area.  Self-seeded Gaillardia have sprung up here and there but I added some orange and yellow Gazanias to provide additional ground cover until the baby Yucca grows up.  I could use another dozen Gazania plugs I think...

I thinned the Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass) along the back of the border and, as his birthday present to me, my husband has begun building cages to surround the plants the blankety-blank bunnies keep eating.  The rabbits have already consumed the lower leaves of numerous lilies and left 2 lily plants entirely bare.

In addition to corralling leaves on the north end of the back garden, I performed a similar cleanup on the lower level of the front garden and nearby in the street side succulent bed.

This slope is steeper than it may look and leaves from the massive Arbutus "Marina' above get stuck in every nook and cranny between the succulents

The 2 tree-sized Auranticarpa rhombifolium also drop gobs of leaves in this very dry area near the property line.  More dropped between my initial sweep of the area and taking this photo.  There's a big empty space I need to fill too.  Thus far, even the Agave pups I've tried here have struggled to survive.  I think I'm going to try an olla watering approach to support the next plant I place in this spot.

I finally got around to pulling the self-seeded bunny tail grass in my south side succulent bed too.

I didn't sow any bunny tail grass (Lagurus ovatus) seed this year but last year's nearby plants chose to self-seed all through this succulent bed.  I saved a handful of the seedheads I pulled as they're perfect for dry flower arrangements.

I've still got cleanup to do in my north side garden, where the leaves of the guava tree litter the succulents below but this weekend I'll be giving priority to cleaning up the cutting garden to get rid of the cool season plants that are well past their prime.

I managed to create 3 small posies with the flowers left on the sweet pea vines yesterday, which I brought to friends I met for lunch.  On the restaurant's patio, the flowers attracted considerable attention, which I thought was a nice final salute to the sweet pea season.

In addition to spending time with good friends on Thursday afternoon, I've taken time to appreciate the fleeting blooms that aren't likely to be around on Bloom Day in June.  Here's what caught my eye:

Planted last fall, Iris germanica 'Gypsy Lord' enjoyed a brief moment of glory

I planted 10 bulbs of Sprekelia formosissima (aka Aztec lily) earlier this year.  Just one made an appearance.  I seem to remember seeing these flowers in posts from Texas bloggers later in the year so perhaps I'll see more of them this fall. 

My daylilies have been slow to bloom this year, which I'm blaming on low rainfall but clockwise from the upper left are the handful that have made a showing: Hemerocallis 'Elizabeth Salter', 'Russian Rhapsody', 'Spacecoast Behavior Pattern' (which should get the award for most ridiculous name ever), and 'Spanish Harlem'.  The last is my most prolific daylily but, at the speed it's blooming, it may finish up soon.

Gladiolus nanus 'Nymph' seemed to disappear for a few years before paying me a return visit

Best wishes for a safe and restful weekend.

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party