I'd intended to pay a visit to the local botanic garden this week since I haven't dropped in there since July but, between the election results and what weather forecasters have classified as an extreme Santa Ana wind event, I wasn't up to it. The light was interesting yesterday morning so I decided it was time for some foliage shots of my own garden.
 |
| When I looked out at the horizon on Wednesday, I thought the marine layer was blowing in but humidity was low and air had a dingy tinge to it. It didn't take long to learn that the Santa Ana winds had sparked wildfires to the north of us in Malibu, Camarillo, and Ventura. |
Due to the Santa Ana winds, temperatures have remained on the warm end of the fall spectrum, which means there's very little in the way of colorful fall foliage but we may yet see some by the time we slip into what passes for winter here. For now here are the highlights I picked out, starting in the back garden.
 |
| View of Leucadendron 'Pisa' featuring a skirt of Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' and Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor' and various Aeoniums in the foreground |
 |
| The one remaining Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' in my garden and an Aeonium hierrense occupy the same bed |
 |
| This Mangave 'Red Wing' sits nearby |
 |
| The dwarf Jacaranda 'Bonsai Blue' I've considered removing several times is actually looking good after a hard pruning last year (even though it refuses to bloom) |
The south-side garden offered a lot.
 |
| The 3 dwarf Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' shrubs fleshed out after their hard pruning in late winter. The Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' in the background, which I cleaned up following our scorching summer heat, appears to be on the the rebound too. |
 |
| As long as you ignore the troublesome weeds, this large clump of Agave 'Blue Flame' is looking good, although it's crowding the Agave americana 'Mediopicta Alba' (again) |
 |
| The leaves of Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' are just starting to turn |
 |
| Below the Cotinus (and another Coprosma 'Plum Hussey') sits a good-sized Mangave 'Mission to Mars' |
 |
| The Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' I replanted from cuttings this year surprised me by doing so well. I suspect the credit belongs to all the rain we had from winter into spring. |
 |
| Metrosideros collina 'Springfire' zoomed up in size this year, courtesy of the rain. From this angle, it's fronted by Pennisetum 'Sky Rocket' and Agave 'Mr Ripple'. |
 |
| Vitex trifolia has a smattering of tiny flowers but the purple undersides of the leaves put on a real show |
Some flowers crept into my photos of the front garden.
 |
| The foliage of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope, variegated Nasturtium 'Alaska', and Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' make the biggest statement here in the front garden but the touches of orange color in the flowers of Grevillea 'Superb', Nasturtiums, and Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' elevates the view. Agave 'Jaws' and Aloe cryptopoda are almost hidden. |
 |
| Closeups of the same area |
 |
| Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Indian Summer' (aka coleus) is doing well in this barrel |
 |
Corokia virgata 'Sunsplash' is getting a little crowded by the Correa shrubs surrounding it
|
 |
| The various Plectranthus scutellarioides (coleus) I added along the the path to the front door are doing a good job of accenting the Phormium 'Maori Queen' |
 |
| These 2 containers featuring Mangaves sit in the area in front of the garage. Mangave 'Coffee Jitters' (left), a gift from Gerhard Bock years ago, is embellished with the best-looking Sedum morganianum I've ever grown. Mangave 'Kaleidoscope' (right) is surrounded by a mishmash of cuttings I clipped from other areas of the garden. |
 |
| Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' (aka coral back Japanese maple), situated next to the garage in my cutting garden, is showing more fall color than anything else |
There are also some plants making their presence known in multiple locations.
 |
| The Aeonium arboreum (tree aeoniums) are slowly waking up from their summer dormancy. Those in shaded areas (as shown in the lower row) look fleshier than those that spent the year in full sun. |
 |
| The Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty', which serve as ornamental grass substitutes, are shining in both the back and front areas |
That's it from me this week. Hopefully, the Santa Ana winds will be done with us by the time this post appears Friday morning. I'm planning to bury myself in garden chores this weekend.
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
I've been closely following the sad news of the Mountain Fire, as it's near Andrew's family--thankfully they're out of harms way. Your Mangave 'Red Wing' has such an interesting color pattern with the green in what I assume are the shaded areas.
ReplyDeleteEven though wildfires are a fact of life in SoCal, it's always very sad when they arrive. My in-laws lost their dream home in Malibu, which they helped design, in November 1993. They'd lived there for 20 years and we had many family gatherings there, then poof....I'm glad your in-laws are safe.
DeleteYour garden looks very tidy despite. You will eventually have a big splash of glowing gold from your Ginkgo when it grows more, no? My garden is a mess from the wind which was quite strong here. Minor fallen branches around the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteA family member in Camarillo was enough outside of the evacuation zone to be safe, but lots of smoke and ash. Nothing compared to those who lost everything.
The Ginkgo is still struggling, HB. The summer heat inevitably turns the leaves a toasty brown rather than the "autumn gold" it's meant to have. Its exposed position overlooking the harbor may be part of the problem. The neighbors across the street have a couple of Ginkgos, surrounded by liquidamber trees which offer them a bit of shade, and they put on a good show each year. Their trees are much older than mine and, in time, I'm hoping they'll make the big splash you mentioned, whatever the weather throws at them.
DeleteLovely foliage in your November garden Kris. I particularly love your mangaves. I hope the St Ana winds have passed you by now. As for the rest; oh horrors, it's too awful to contemplate, so take Voltaire's advice. Have you read Candide? He ends up with the very good advice in the face of terrible word events: 'Il faut cultiver notre jardin'. It's all we can do really and fortunately for us, it's what we like to do.
ReplyDeleteI read Candide eons ago, Liz. I should probably read it again! Although my husband tends toward cynicism, I lean toward pragmatic optimism but that's harder to conjure up in some situations. I believed the election would be close and I knew the electoral college could seal the deal for the orange guy, but I'd hoped that the blue wave would materialize to nudge things in the right direction. The results were worse than most people around me thought possible. Even so, there's a huge portion of our population that subscribes to values like mine and, as the orange guy and his supplicants unroll their plan, I'm hoping those that voted for him open their eyes as well. Meanwhile, I'll cultivate my garden and support the values I believe in in whatever way I can. I made another donation to a major civil rights organization the day after the election.
DeleteThe Vitex trifolia was of notable interest to me today - very purple foliage. And, I had to look up the Jacaranda online. I can't believe yours hasn't flowered given all the photos I've seen of it blooming in pots, though some of the bonsai specimens look suspiciously like wisteria. Also had to look up Coffee Jitters too - that's an interesting one too.
ReplyDeleteI've always adored Jacarandas and even tried planting one in my former tiny garden - and it wasn't a dwarf. They're all over SoCal and create a mess in the wrong spots but they bloom reliably in late spring/early summer here. That hasn't been the case with the dwarf in my current garden but I remain hopeful...
DeleteYour garden looks pretty nice to me-the sun is low here so I am awaiting leaf drop to expand the light in my garden. Not to mention the positive attitudes my plants furnish.
ReplyDeleteOur gardens are all the more important these days, Kathy!
DeleteIt seems like a new vantage point in photo 2, "view of Leucadendron 'Pisa' featuring a skirt of Acacia cognata...". I wasn't even sure what kind of tree I was looking at. Turned out to be a HUGE Leucadendron... love it and the pristine bed bellow.
ReplyDeleteMy 'Sango Kaku' had glorious fall color and is now bare, showing off coral-red branches, while the earth and plants bellow are covered with bright gold leaves. Also a good look :-D
Chavli
I think that photo of Leucadendron 'Pisa' and its buddies is indeed a different angle than I've used before, Chavli. 'Pisa's' growth habit is more tree-like than that of most Leucadendrons and it's gradually bared its lower branches. It's hard to prune and I suspect that one day it'll get too ungainly to keep but, for now, I'm working with it. In the spring, it produces luminescent flower-like bracts but most of those are now confined to the top of the tree.
DeleteBeautiful plants and views, Kris. Your Japanese Maple sure is vibrant! Our fall foliage is definitely past peak now, but we're having a pleasant autumn temperature-wise.
ReplyDeleteWe don't usually see much in the way of fall color until mid-December, Beth (if indeed we get any at all). My 'Fuyu' persimmon usually turns a delicious red-orange color but I think the Santa Ana winds have dried up most of the leaves still in their green state this year.
DeleteI love the variety of textures present in your garden, Kris. I hope the winds have abated and didn't do too much damage to your plants, nor cause many fires in SoCal. We're still without significant rain and wildfires are starting to break out here, something that rarely happens. Hoping for rain soon!
ReplyDeleteThe forecasters keep teasing the possibility of rain here, while admitting the chances remain low. I'm sorry your rain is delayed as well and you're experiencing fires. Unfortunately, the extreme Santa Ana winds here last week touched off 3 fires to the north of us in Malibu, Camarillo, and Ventura. The last, called the Mountain Fire, has destroyed more than 100 homes and isn't fully contained yet.
DeleteI'm trying to be patient, Gerhard, but it's testing me!
ReplyDeleteThe foliage on the dwarf Jacaranda is so nice and feathery. I bet you'll get an explosion of flowers on it in the spring. The vitex is SO purple, I love that! And the coleus is really popping there, wonderful combination.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the Jacaranda foliage I've seen locally looks good now that the temperatures have dropped - I don't think I've noticed that before. It's something I need to keep in mind when the foliage starts drying and dropping (i.e. looking bad) prior to the tree's bloom cycle.
Delete