Fall color comes in various forms

With cooler temperatures, we've finally seen a bit of colorful foliage in my part of coastal Southern California.  My garden is still mostly green but I appreciate the bright touches where I find them and wanted to share them.  I haven't restricted myself to foliage color either.  Some flowers and berries put on a great show at the start of our all too short cool season as well.

I showed Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' (aka coral bark Japanese maple) in my foliage post earlier this month but its color is more pronounced now.  It's yet to start dropping leaves en masse but I suspect that's coming soon.

The color of Aloe vanbalenii x ferox isn't provided by its leaves but by the budding flower stalks

The berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolium (aka diamond leaf pittosporum) have been later to develop this year, possibly due to delayed pruning on my part

The color of the smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple') is more vivid now than it was weeks ago

Closeup of the Cotinus foliage.  The water droplets were delivered courtesy of another 0.07/inch of precipitation on Wednesday.

Along with the Japanese maple, the 'Fuyu' persimmon (Diospyros kaki) is at the top of the list of the most colorful trees in my garden

In contrast to the 'Fuyu' persimmon, the foliage of my other persimmon, Diospyros kaki 'Hachiya', is muted in color but its fruit is more colorful.  The fruit I wasn't able to reach is gradually being "picked" by critters.  (Like many people I know, the critters appear to like the 'Fuyu' fruit better - they took care of the fruit of that tree much more quickly.) 

My Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold', planted in 2021, is still struggling to live up to its potential

Including Grevillea 'Superb' in the lineup of this post is a bit of a cheat as it blooms year round but I couldn't resist.  All it takes are cooler temperatures and a tiny amount of rain to make the shrub shine.

Nandina domestica (aka heavenly bamboo) contributes both colorful foliage and bright red berries at this time of year.  Regrettably, the poisonous berries of the Nandina are off limits for inclusion in floral arrangements, especially with a young cat now in residence.

This succulent was labeled as a Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii) but, based on the leaves, I think it's actually a Thanksgiving cactus (S. truncata)

Tagetes lemmonii (aka Mexican marigold) blooms in spring as well as fall but it deserves a shout out during both seasons

Our ornamental pear tree (Pyrus calleryana) is notably absent from this survey as it's off to a particularly slow start this season.  My blueberries are also unimpressive at this time but then I think they may have been in their pots too long.

Overall, my neighborhood is relatively short on fall color too but there are some notable exceptions.

The sweetgum trees (Liquidamber styraciflua) across the street put on the best show to be found in our neighborhood

There are 3 Ginkgo trees tucked into that neighbor's mix too.  Their success gives me hope for mine.  These trees were already mature when we moved in almost 14 years ago so I'm giving my 3 year old tree a break.

This tree is in another section of that same garden.  My best guess is that it's what's known as the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima).  It's considered invasive in California but it is pretty.

I can't identify this shrub growing within a mass of other shrubs in another neighbor's garden either.  My phone app thinks it may be a blueberry but I've never seen any berries on it.

The fall color in this garden is composed of the Aloe arborescens (candelabra also) in the mix.  The Bougainvillea, hard-pruned by this neighbor many months ago, and the spires of Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire' make this a dramatic color mix.  Bougainvillea bracts and the Euphorbia "sticks" are always more colorful at this time of year.

Still another neighbor has a great crop of tangerines ripening up

The colorful element here is another flower, the red "bottle brushes" of a Callistemon.  This neighbor lives 2 doors down from us but I could swear that I've never noticed it in flower before..

Pyracanthas shine this time of year.  I had our self-planted shrub cut down to the ground but I appreciate the large, thorny shrubs in other people's gardens.

Beyond the trees fronting the road directly across street, fall foliage color is in short supply in my neighborhood.  Bougainvillea is the notable exception in providing flashes of color but then those shrubs aren't specifically characteristic of the fall season.  The bright berries of Pyracantha are the most prominent elements this time of year.  I'm surprised that I haven't seen Japanese maples anywhere nearby but then I only have two of them myself.  (The dwarf variety doesn't color up much.)  I've tried introducing additional Japanese maples in my garden but I've discovered that they need protection from the intense summer sun, as well as the powerful bouts of wind we get at times, and I just haven't found any other areas that allow them to thrive.

If you're in the US, I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you have the opportunity to celebrate the holiday throughout the weekend.

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

In a Vase on Monday: Mixing things up

I participated in a lovely Zoom meeting with a half dozen of the IAVOM contributors on Sunday morning Pacific time.  It was great to see everyone, if only virtually.

It was on the cool side on Sunday, in the low-to-upper 50sF (11-14C), so I didn't dilly-dally in the garden when it came time to pick flowers, not that there were all that many options available to me this week.  My first arrangement was inspired by a particularly attractive Protea bloom.  As usual, the challenge was to find something to pair with it.  I ended up combining plants hailing from different parts of the world, rather like our Zoom conference.

The flowers of Protea neriifolia 'Pink Ice' in my north-side garden have dried up but its cousin, Protea 'Claire', had the beautiful bloom, which is shown front and center here.  That plant also has 3 more nice buds. 

I hadn't planned to use more Camellia flowers this week but the back view needed a flourish and I discovered 3 stems bearing multiple flowers

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left, with species origins in parentheses: Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna' (South America), Camellia sasanqua (South Asia), Coprosma repens 'Fireburst' (New Zealand), Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' (New Zealand), and Protea neriifolia 'Claire' (South Africa and Australia)

My second arrangement is smaller.  It was inspired by a lavender-tinged lisianthus and provided an opportunity to use the bush violets (Barleria obtusa) that are suddenly fading away.

In retrospect, the lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) looks a little dingy next to the bright white of the snapdragons

I think I like the back view better

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Felicia aethiopica, Eustoma grandiflora, Antirrhinum majus 'Speedy Sonnet White', Salvia discolor, S. 'Mystic Spires', and Barleria obtusa

The bomb cyclone and atmospheric river that hit the Pacific Northwest and Northern California hard Friday and Saturday largely petered out by the time it reached us in coastal Southern California.  Blogger friends in Northern California mentioned getting from two to seven inches of rain.  We got a total of eight one-hundredths of an inch, which doesn't come near to a good soaking.  The storm system was over and gone by Sunday morning when I woke up.  (The cat sounds her personal alarm just after 6am each day.)

View looking southeast toward the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles as the sun stretched above the cloud bank

View looking at the northeast section of the harbor with boats and cranes still half-hidden by clouds

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

Anxiety & Appreciation: My annual tree trimming exercise

I expanded my annual "tree trimming" exercise this year to include several shrubs that have gotten too large and unwieldy for me to handle on my own.  Although I have great trust in the company I've used since February 2013, there's always some collateral damage associated with the process.  Last year several large Agave attenuata rosettes and one Agave colorata suffered severe cases of what's often called "agave edema."  They were so damaged that I removed them.  I made a point of showing the arborist photos of the damage when we discussed this year's plans and he took precautions to prevent a repeat of that problem.  But the sheer volume of the debris created during the pruning process and the height from which many large branches fall, as well as the cleanup required at ground level, means that some plants on the ground will inadvertently be broken, stomped on, or dislodged.  This year wasn't as bad but then maybe I'm finally getting more accepting of the balance of the good and the bad associated with the process.

Here are the before and after shots, starting with the three shrubs I included in the trimming process this year:

My husband was disappointed that the height of the Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' in the back garden wasn't reduced but my objective was only to thin it down to reduce the heaviness of the branches

The same was true in the case of the 2 tree-sized 'Copper Glow' Leptospermums in the front garden

Ten trees were pruned:

This view shows the smaller of the 2 Arbutus 'Marina' in the back garden.  I delayed pruning this year principally because these trees were laden with flowers in September and I didn't want to disappoint the hummingbirds that flocked to them well into October.

This is the larger of the 2 Arbutus in the back garden

This is a shot of the interior of that tree's canopy.  I have all 4 of our Arbutus pruned each year to improve air flow and prevent the black soot that otherwise develops on the leaves.

This is a before and after comparison of the Arbutus on the north end of the front garden.  The succulents below the tree were those so severely impacted last year.  There were no problems of that nature this year.

The "before" photo of the Arbutus (left) on the south end of the front garden was marred by sun spots but it otherwise clearly shows the tree's appearance prior to pruning.  It sits atop a moderate slope so pruning it without causing damage to the area below it is particularly difficult.

The Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) doesn't look much different does it?  All I had done there was to have a few dead branch tips removed.

These before and after shots of the 3 citrus trees bordering the cutting garden (a Mandarin orange, a navel orange, and a lime) also don't look much different.  However, all the dead branches were removed, which I could see when I viewed them close up, even if the change isn't reflected in these wide shots.  The trees are also in need to feeding, which I'll do in early spring.

These are photos of the Magnolia grandiflora in the front garden

This photo taken from the path leading to the front door shows how open the area below the Magnolia's canopy is now.  The light level is much better for all the plants below the tree.

The canopy of the ornamental pear tree (Pyrus calleryana) was thinned and some of the lower branches were cut off or shortened.  Before the pruning, I couldn't walk below some of them without ducking in places.

The crew also cleaned up the cherry laurel hedge that runs along one section of the property line in the front garden:

The 5 Prunus caroliniana shrubs that make up the hedge just get sheared to neaten them up but the crew has to be careful of the lath house, which they were.  My husband recently made repairs to the roof, which was damaged by last year's heavy rainfall.

There were also three removals on the agenda:

This peach tree came with the garden, although we didn't discover it until the massive Yucca was removed along the property line at the bottom of the slope a few years after we moved in. It grew larger and larger with intractable ivy crawling up its main trunk.  It never produced edible fruit and I didn't manage to successfully treat its annual leaf curl problem so it went on the removal list, as did a sapling it spawned.  The "after" photo is marred by sun spots but it shows how nice the Pittosporum 'Silver Magic' looks now that it's no longer hidden by the peach tree.

The removal also opens up space for the Ceanothus arboreus and the lemon tree located nearby.  I still have to cut back some of the tangled ivy left behind and should probably apply a stump killer to the base of the trees' trunks so they won't grow back.  As it is, I discovered that there's yet another peach tree sapling higher up the slope that I'd failed to identify.

The crew also cut a giant self-planted Pyracantha on the moderate slope facing the lath house flush to the ground.  I originally thought it was a Cotoneaster - until its vicious thorns showed themselves.  I'd tried to maintain it at a manageable size but it outgrew my efforts to contain it.

Its removal left a large area to be replanted

The stumps are still there so that's another problem I need to address

A lot of the smaller succulents below the Arbutus at the top of the slope and surrounding the Pyracantha were damaged or otherwise in need of a refresh.  Fortunately, the larger succulents nearby, including the Agave desmettiana, were undamaged.

I appreciate the airier look to my garden after the trees have been trimmed, as well as the additional light at ground level.  In addition, I think the trees and shrubs will be healthier for the work performed and I'm glad to be rid of the Pyracantha and the peach tree.  I've already returned everything we moved in advance of the work yet there's still a considerable amount to be done to put the garden in order, most notably a cleanup and replanting of the area previously covered by the Pyracantha and the area below it.  I'll probably rely heavily on succulent cuttings from elsewhere in my garden but this may be a plant shopping opportunity too!

As an aside, with the holidays approaching and various other stressors piling up, I'm tentatively planning to cut back my weekly blog posts from three to two per week at least through the end of the year.  At present, I expect to post on Monday and Friday each week.

Best wishes for a safe and pleasant weekend, whatever your weather.  I know that parts of the Pacific Northwest and Northern California are being hit hard by a Bomb Cyclone.  It's still not clear how coastal Southern California will be affected but it's looking more like we'll at least get at least a little measurable rain out of this system.

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