A different sort of plant giveaway

Last week, I started pulling out the mass of Aeonium arboreum that's blocking a major pathway in my cutting garden.  It's going to take a long time to reduce the plants to a manageable number.  As these succulents are heavy, I can't overload the green recycle bins with all of them at one time, even if I could stand handling the repetitive nature of the task in one go.  I put aside the best rosettes to give away but, even throwing out those that weren't in perfect condition, I didn't think the neighbors would flock to take armloads home, especially as I've given these cuttings away many times over the years.  So, when I read an article in a local magazine about a parkway succulent garden being created in front of a mosaic wall four miles away, I contacted the woman managing the project and offered the Aeoniums and a host of other succulents.  She said she'd accept them all and I took her at her word.

This is my car, packed and ready to make the delivery

The project manager told me she expected to be weeding the new garden during certain hours but no one was there when I arrived.  However, I'd been told I could leave them at the bus stop nearby even if no one was there so that's what I did.

In addition to 2 flats piled high with Aeonium arboreum and A. 'Kiwi' cuttings, I left cuttings of Euphorbia 'Sticks on Fire', pups of Agave mediopicta 'Alba', potted bulbils of 3 other agaves, Crassula ovata and Senecio amaniensis in one-gallon pots, and a relatively large Agave attenuata division

I didn't spend much time looking at the garden, something I regretted after the fact.

It's a relatively new garden and they're planting only succulents as the parkway strip isn't irrigated

I spent a lot of time looking at the mosaic wall.  The mosaic was created with public support over a two-year period.  The artist is a former fire fighter, Julie Bender.  She got help and input from some three hundred local residents.  You can find a history of the mosaic wall on 25th Street in San Pedro here.

Partially hidden, this section proclaims Welcome to San Pedro, Los Angeles.  San Pedro was incorporated into the City of Los Angeles in 1909 but it's retained its own personality.

Brown Pelicans punctuate the 200 foot long expanse of the mosaic mural at intervals.  San Pedro is a port town and this section of the mural shows boats of various kinds.

The SS Lane Victory, a cargo ship used in WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, now berthed in San Pedro as a museum, is shown here with other ships and boats.  The USS Iowa, a retired battleship, is shown elsewhere.  It's docked at the Port of Los Angeles and also serves as a museum.  The Vincent Thomas Bridge between the South Bay and Long Beach is also shown in the upper left.

In addition to palm trees, houses, and an air plane, this section shows the Korean Friendship Bell in the upper left area.  I'm guessing that the large white structure on the right represents the Point Fermin Lighthouse.

An angel carrying a light is one of several larger figures, probably representing the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles, known as Angel's Gate

Two mermaids, one featured in a wheelchair (tended by a person tagged with the names of churches) and the second marked with graffiti

Other large figures include what I've dubbed as the "serviceman" (representing people in military and public service as indicated by tags covering his uniform), the "worker" (tagged with the titles of various tradespeople), the "cook" (tagged with names of restaurants) and the "teacher" (tagged with names of schools in the area)

Details included scenes from a beach (left) and the cliffs in San Pedro with houses and roads above and small buildings at sea level (right).  In other areas, houses were tagged with family names.

The lower areas showing the cliffs were put together using pieces of tile interspersed with mirrors

There were large areas covered in irregular tiles bearing facts relevant to the history of San Pedro

There were also lots of tiles bearing names of people and their opinions on a wide variety of subjects.  One series offered definitions of what makes a person a "real" San Pedran.

The garden project manager hopes to extend the succulent garden.  I hope my contribution helps her and volunteers assisting her with their project.  And I still have more than enough Aeonium rosettes to satisfy any one of my neighbors that may want them.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party