Sources of cool season excitement

Sources of cool season excitement in the garden are limited.  However, by comparison to much of the country, I know that those of us in coastal Southern California are lucky just to have our gardens remain active.  We don't get frost, much less snow, and we consider it cold when daytime temperatures drop into the low 60sF.  As I prepare this post, a tree-trimming team of six is busy pruning many of my trees and large shrubs.  It's a necessary although nerve-racking process but I'll cover that later this week.  In the meantime, I can offer only a couple snippets regarding events in the garden.

First up is a Mangave preparing to bloom.

Mangave 'Silver Fox' is the fastest bloomer among my modest collection of these plants.  This one was given to me by a friend as a good-sized pup in 2021 after the one I'd planted in 2017 bloomed out.

South Coast Botanic Garden had a 'Silver Fox' of its own in full flower when I visited there last week

Between October 31st and November 6th I got to work in my nearly naked cutting garden.  Seeds were sown and eighty-five bulbs were planted, along with a dozen plugs of snapdragons.  This week I was pleased to see that seedlings are already making an appearance.  It doesn't look like much yet but the germination rates seem faster than they were last year.

In addition to snapdragons, I planted 4 varieties of Ranunculus in bed #1.  They haven't emerged yet as far as I tell but the Calendulas I sowed from seed among them are popping up all over.  The Calendulas will be thinned as soon as they get taller and the Ranunculus show up.

In bed #2, the first of the 5 new varieties of Anemones are peeking up (in addition to those that have returned from last year), as are the larkspur (Consolida ajacis) seedlings.  The hardware cloth is a temporary measure to keep the birds and other critters from harming the seedlings.  It'll come up when it's time to thin the seedlings.

Bed #3 is already showing sweet pea seedlings; however, the Nigella papillosa seeds I sowed have yet to show themselves

A little rain would probably help things along.  The first "atmospheric river" of the season was slated to move into Northern California yesterday.  There's still just over a forty percent chance it'll reach my area this weekend but I'm feeling a smidge more optimistic about it.  As dry as we are, even a little rain would be the source of great excitement.

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