Revealing my renovated succulent bed

I've been groaning over the succulent bed adjacent to the garage in our front garden for several years.  It's gone through numerous tweaks since I first planted the area in 2016 following removal of the lawn but it's never come together as well as my other succulent beds.  I finally started a wholesale renovation of the area in February when I removed the majority of the existing succulents, potting up what I wanted to keep and giving away or tossing out others.  I provided a status report in March after I'd dug in more than a cubic yard of succulent soil, augmented my rock collection, and begun replanting some of the succulents I had on hand.  Since then, I've been shopping and planting.  Noting that this is an immature garden with empty space I hope to see slowly disappear as the plants mature, I'm glad to finally reveal it in its current status.

This is a view of the bed from the southeast corner looking northwest toward the property line.  The Anigozanthos 'Fireworks' in front looks like it's done with its first flush of flowers.

This is a slightly different view from the flagstone path that intersects with the brick path used to move our trash bins to the street

View from the west end of the trash path looking at the potting bench and trash bins lined up against the garage

West end of the bed.  The new Chondropetalum tectorum (dwarf cape rush) on the left is planted in the area formerly occupied by a large Abelia shrub. I added a new Rhodanthemum hosmariense (Moroccan daisy) in front of the rush this week.  The small, white-flowered Westringia, a gift from a friend, was planted a decade ago.

View from another flagstone path behind the renovated bed looking south.  That large pot on the right needs replanting but that's a project for later.

East end of the bed with the trash bin path in the background.  I couldn't do much to disguise the irrigation pipes on the right, although I added a Crassula ovata (jade plant) on the near left, which may eventually grow large enough to detract attention from the pipes.

I conducted an informal survey of the plants in this area.  My photos are organized roughly in order of their species and I didn't capture every plant but here they are for my records.

Clockwise from the upper left: Miscellaneous Aeonium rosettes that originally decorated that piece of driftwood; Aeonium nobile and cuttings of A. haworthii 'Kiwi'; small plant sold as Aeonium 'Atropurpureum'; the Aeonium 'Sunburst' cutting I took that looks more like 'Moonburst'; the crested Aeonium 'Sunburst' I got at the C&SS sale; and cuttings of Aeonium 'Velour' from elsewhere in my garden

Clockwise from the upper left: Agave attenuata 'Raea's Gold'; large Agave 'Blue Glow'; small 'Blue Glow' (one of 2); Agave bracteosa 'Monterrey Frost' (a gift from Hoover Boo of Piece of Eden); large pup of Agave pygmae 'Dragon Toes'; and one of 2 Agave titanota 'White Ice' moved from my north side garden.  I also planted 2 small pups of 'Dragon Toes' (not shown). The remnants of the clump of Agave attenuata I inherited with the garden is still in place.

Clockwise from the upper left: Aloe arborescens 'Variegata', A. distans, A. dorotheae 'Red' (also from Hoover Boo), A. 'Rooikappie' divisions, and A. sinkatana (zubb) x jacunda

Left-right: well-established clump of Billbergia 'Borracho' and new Chrondropetalum tectorum 'El Campo'

Clockwise from the upper left: Corpuscularia lehmannii, noID Cotyledon (3), Crassula perforata (3), C. rupestris (2), C. streyi, and Curio ficoides 'Mount Everest'

Clockwise from the upper left: Echeveria 'Afterglow' (3), E. 'Blue Prince' (3), E. 'Serrana' (3), E. agavoides (a dozen), E. 'Mexicano' (3), E. 'Violet Queen' (3), and Graptopetalum pentandrum (3)

Clockwise from the upper left: Osteospermum 'Serenity Coral Magic' (2), O. 'Serenity Dark Purple' (3), Pelargonium formosa, and Phormium 'Rainbow Sunrise'

Groundcover materials left to right: Aptenia cordifolia (red apple, 6 plugs), Sedum spurium 'Tricolor' (12 plugs), and Senecio serpens cuttings.  I also have a dozen plugs of Crassula 'Little Missy' on order by mail.

Along the way (with help from my husband), I removed a large Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher' that came with the garden.  Constant shearing had turned it into a tall twiggy mess.  There are still two other Abelias on the other side of the peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa).  I've cut one back by half already and plan to do the same with the second one.

The shrub in the front was reduced by half in height and width.  The shrub behind it shows what the other 2 shrubs originally looked like.

It appears that I now have a gopher problem in this area too.  After discovering that on Wednesday and having a tunnel collapse under my foot on the other side of the garden near the lath house on Tuesday, I'm finally coming to accept that my attempts to move the gophers out using deterrents isn't working any longer and a more serious approach may be required.

On that note, best wishes for a peaceful weekend.

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