Summertime focus on foliage

In my part of the world, heat combined with a prolonged dry period, results in a fair number of torched and shriveled plants by late summer.  While some will come back, many will give up.  In prior years, I've spent a lot of time trying to minimize the losses by supplementing the twice weekly run of our irrigation system with hand-watering but for a variety of reasons I haven't done that this summer.  I hope I'll find suitable replacements for the plants that perish but yesterday I decided to focus on what looked good, which in general meant foliage plants.

Most of the photos I snapped were in our front garden, which I suppose makes sense as I want the front garden to make a good impression year round and therefore I rely more heavily on shrubs in the front garden.

My husband removed the very dead Leucadendron 'Safari Goldstrike' in the front garden when I was down with COVID and the 'Multicolor' Agaves and Aloe labworana, previously half-buried under the tall shrub, appreciate the change

The Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) looked terrible in July but it's perked up recently, possibly due to the the part-time return of our morning marine layer

I wish I'd bought more 'Feather Falls' Carexes when I came across them last year.  They look good backed by this Phormium 'Maori Queen' and surrounded by Coprosma 'Evening Glow'.

Coprosma 'Evening Glow' (left) has done much better than C. 'Fire Burst' (right), which is prone to bare legs

Some of my Phormium 'Maori Queen' look great, like the 2 shown here, but I may remove 2 others that have gradually been enveloped by Lomandra and just look messy

Centaurea 'Silver Feather' looks better since I cut back its floppy flower stems

The 'Copper Glow' Leptospermums on either side of the front walk always look good but they still need a good pruning

Even with 2 pruning sessions a year, Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' pushes the boundaries of the spaces I've allocated to them.  I'd asked the gardeners to leave their pruning to me and had signs posted on both shrubs earlier in the year, removing them once I thought the message had an impact.  It seems they left the one on the left alone but someone recently chose to sheer the one on the right like a hedge when my husband and I were out.

Having success with coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) in various shady areas, I've been adding more.  I successfully overwintered the 'Florida Sun Rose' (upper left) and 'Flame Thrower Chili Pepper' (upper right) last year.  Those on the bottom row, 'Stained Glassworks Velvet', 'Glennis', and 'Indian Summer', were added this year.

There were a few more plants in the front area alongside the garage that I took note of too.

With a little more cosmetic work, the Agave attenuata that suffered from "agave edema" last year when covered with tarps by the tree service pruning the Arbutus tree are looking good once again.  I've kept photos of the disfigurement of the leaves on the trunks I removed to share with the tree service on their annual visit in the fall.

Manfreda maculosa and an unknown Sedum spring back every year

I relegated this houseplant, Schefflera 'Neon', to this corner of the garden several years ago when it was in serious decline.  I fully expected it to die but it now looks pretty good with no attention from me whatsoever.

It's not that there weren't any foliage standouts elsewhere in the garden.  Here are some of those I identified:

I took this photo of a collection of Leucadendron and Grevillea in mid-July when the light was perfect.  The spiky Grevillea shrubs in front are 'Scarlet Sprite'.  The Leucadendrons include 'Chief'', 'Ebony', and 'Blush'.

I never got around to replacing Jacaranda 'Bonsai Blue' but I did cut it back earlier this year.  It didn't bloom at all but it's shape is more attractive now.

Lomandra longifolia 'Breeze' was my go-to grass substitute when I began planting this garden.  I've got them in both the back and the front garden areas.  As I generally grouped 3 in each spot, some of them are looking a bit cramped after all these years.  I may remove a couple of the smaller clumps this fall.

After 7 years in the ground Metrosideros collina 'Springfire' in the south-side garden has finally experienced a decent growth spurt

I hard pruned the 3 Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' shrubs shown here again this year and they've finally fleshed out again.  The Aeoniums edging this bed are in their dormant stage but most will recover once temperatures cool and rain returns.

I have varieties of Aeoniums all over my garden, some sadder than others.  The clump on the left is an unnamed Aeonium arboreum.  I believe the one on the right is A. 'Copper Penny' but it's barely recognizable at the moment.

The south-side succulent bed I renovated earlier this year is coming together, although it could use a bit of a cleanup.  This is the view from the back, focused on Agave americana 'Mediopicta Alba' and A. 'Blue Flame'.  The A. ovalifolia I planted just outside the lower frame of this shot is still teeny.

Lest you think I've lost my fixation with flowers, I rely on my cutting garden for floral color at this time of year.

I didn't have room for all my dahlia tubers in the raised beds and barrels in the cutting garden (left) so some ended up in containers elsewhere (right).  The cutting garden and the containers are the only spots that are getting extra water this year.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend and, if you're in the US, happy Labor Day!

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

Another garden tour two-fer (Puget Sound Fling)

After visiting the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden and the adjacent Pacific Bonsai Museum, the Flingers landed in Milton, Washington to tour two private gardens, also adjacent.  The first was the Andersen Garden, inspired by the time the owner spent working and traveling in Italy.  Many of her garden's most prominent features brought back memories of my own, all-too-short, visit to Italy almost three decades ago.

I loved this long colonnade topped off with Wisteria on one side of the house

This pathway along another side of the house was also framed by a colonnade of sorts

Classic Roman and Greek imagery was conjured using statuary.

While I can't claim this is my style, it definitely underscored the Italian theme

Some segments of the garden reflected more personal themes.

This Remembrance Garden was developed by the owner in honor of her mother.  I understand that the plants were selected based on their names, variety and color. 

 

The owner also dedicated a section of the garden to pets loved and lost, which brought tears to my eyes.  I have the ashes of 4 cats I need to do something with.

Ample trees provided comfortable shade.

This patio had a bench that offered a place to sit and enjoy the garden

Water features added peaceful notes.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a pond with a birdbath/fountain in the middle but I liked it!

There was a stream too.  Every time I see water features like these I wonder about incursions on the part of raccoons but perhaps those critters are more courteous in the Pacific Northwest - or the owners have dogs to keep them at bay.

There were plenty of spots to sit and relax.

I can imagine plunking down to read here, something I rarely do in my own garden.  It was kind of the owner to offer bottled water to her visitors too.

I didn't ask if this was a fire pit or a spot to toast marshmallows or something else but it looked nice

There was a very large sports court/event space at this end of the garden

Although I'd have been seriously tempted to replace the sport court with plants, there were plenty of nice ones to admire.

Top row: vibrant Crocosmia, dark-leafed Hydrangea, and a Hydrangea grown as a standard
Middle: gorgeous lime-leafed Cotinus (maybe 'Golden Spirit'?) with flower closeup
Bottom: Potted Osteospermum, Pericallis, Fuchsia, Begonia and Calibrachoa 

The front of the garden along the street side had a giant hedge of what I believe is Magnolia grandiflora

The next garden was just steps away.  The boundaries between these gardens were fuzzy in a few cases so it's entirely possible that photos from one garden slipped into my summary of the other but I hope I sorted most of these out.  The guide we received described the Risdahl-Pittman Garden as an "eclectic plant playground" and I loved it for just that quality; however, I was chagrined to find how few photos I collected during this visit.  I can only blame low blood sugar as our lunch stop was pending.

Like the Andersen Garden, the Risdahl-Pittman featured a good deal of lush lawn and shade provided by trees.

Mixed border containing what I think was Ceanothus and Hydrangea among other plants

 

More large Hydrangeas

Narrow paved pathways under the trees

And a lovely pond

There were art pieces here and there but they were more subtle and abstract than those in the prior garden.

The Seattle-Tacoma area is Chihuly country so decorative glass art was relatively common in the gardens we toured

As I indicated, plants were my central focus.

Getting an early start, Eriocapitella hupehensis (aka Japanese anemone) looks beautiful in the shade.  The last of the plants I inherited with my garden is scorched almost beyond recognition.

This is the lily I went gaga over during this Fling (shown in the first photo with Persicaria 'Painter's Palette').  An Instagram commentator identified the lily as Lilium 'Zeba'.  I've already pre-ordered the bulbs, intended for delivery next February as I recall.

Clockwise from the upper left, my best guesses: climbing Hydrangea, Hypericum perfortum seedpods (aka St. John's wort), Astilbe with other flowers, cool moss on a rock (that'd never happen here), Inula magnifica or Telekia speciosa (none of the ID apps agree), and a groundcover Persicaria

Lunch at VanLierop Garden Market was next up.  That was the only lunch I ate rather than inhaled.  The food was great, as was the company, and I think I simply needed a break.  Unfortunately, that meant that I never took the opportunity to meander through the market area and I failed to take any photos.  To make up for my omission, you can find good coverage of the market from Pam at Digging and Loree at danger garden here and here.

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

In a Vase on Monday: A change in direction

Saturday evening I had a clear idea what I was going to do to fill two vases.  However, on Sunday morning I changed my direction on both.  Maybe the arrangements I'd originally envisioned will materialize next week.

The first arrangement I went with was inspired by Dahlia 'Lady Darlene'.  The plant produced its first two flowers late last week.  The first bloom was humongous and I couldn't deny it its time in the limelight.  In contrast, the dahlia I'd originally eyed for my first vase still has a little way to go before it's fully open.

The older, fully developed flower of 'Lady Darlene' is on the left and the newer bloom is on the right

I dressed up the back view with a single bloom of Dahlia 'La Luna'.  I also tucked in another, very short-stemmed Dahlia 'Excentric', visible on the lower left.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Cuphea 'Honeybells', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Florida Sun Rose' (aka coleus), Dahlia 'Lady Darlene', D. 'La Luna', D. 'Excentric', Zinnia elegans 'Raspberry Limeade', and Z. e. 'Benary's Giant Wine'.  The last was a brighter, lighter version of the zinnias I cut last week but it has to be the product of the same seeds I sowed back in June.

The second arrangement features Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda', which is one of my favorites.  It's currently producing a mass of flowers and I noted evidence that a grasshopper has been nibbling on the petals of a couple of its blooms so I decided to cut them before they were lost.

I added stems of Polygala myrtifolia (aka sweet pea shrub) and Symphyotrichum chilense to fill out the arrangement.  Some readers may recall that I tried to remove the aster in 2021 - well, 2 years of good rain brought it back.

This back view could have used a cleanup but so it goes

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Leucadendron laxum, Symphyotrichum chilense, Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda, and Polygala myrtifolia

We were lucky to have lower-than-average temperatures from last Thursday through the weekend but they're expected to climb again as the workweek kicks off, possibly continuing through the end of the month and into September.  I gather that there's a nominal chance of monsoonal moisture blowing into Southern California, although absent that happening, forecasts continue to suggest a dry fall season.

For more IAVOM creations, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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