Friday, August 29, 2025

August Foliage Favorites

I may be obsessed with my dahlias at this time of year but I'm not so preoccupied as to ignore the foliage plant standouts, especially when the garden as a whole can't be said to be looking its best.  I planned a rather short post on my current foliage favorites but it grew longer than I'd intended.

Here are my picks:

I've planted a handful of Japanese maples over the years.  Only 2 thrived and one is a dwarf variety that looks toasted by this time of year.  However, this Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' is looking better than ever right now.  In partial shade next to the garage, it's protected from drying winds and the hot summer sun.

I acquired this Agave capensis through the Huntington's International Succulent Introductions (ISI) program in 2015 as a tiny plant.  My recollection was that it was described as a solitary agave but, after rechecking the ISI listing, I discovered it was described as "solitary or clumping."  My plant has clearly become a clumper.  It's not yet the "busy mess" the ISI referenced but it may be on its way there.

This is Agave 'Mr Ripple', which I acquired at a Los Angeles Cactus & Succulent Society sale in 2016.  It's still on the relatively small side but it's produced a small pup about a foot away. 

This Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie' came from Annie's Annuals & Perennials as a 4-inch plant many years ago.  I planted it too close to the maintenance path but hopefully it'll bloom out before surgery is necessary to prevent legs from being stabbed.

I cut the 3 Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' in this bed back hard each year (due to its proclivity to harbor thrips) but it bounces back every year, even when we get pitiful rainfall.  The plants edging the border are a mix of Aeoniums headed into their dormant period.

This hybrid Aloe vanbalenii x ferox has grown larger than I'd originally anticipated but I've made room for it.  I got it at a plant sale in 2016 when South Coast Botanic Garden still had a volunteer propagation group that held annual spring and fall sales.

I planted Caladium 'Heart & Soul' bulbs earlier this year but didn't record where I put all of them.  So far, 3 have shown up in this border.

I caught this combination of Carex oshimensis 'Feather Falls' and Phormium 'Maori Queen' in the right light.  This particular Carex has done well in my garden and I wish I could find more of it.

Centaurea 'Silver Feather' tends to sprawl but it makes a statement

I encountered a neighbor in my driveway recently who wanted to take a photo of the Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' on the left.  The gardeners are inclined to shear it into that shape but I prefer the looser look of the specimen in my back garden (right).

Not all the Coleus scutellarioides in my garden are looking good but some are.  Clockwise from the upper left are 'Colorblaze El Brighto', 'Chili Pepper', 'Florida Sun Rose', and 'Glennis'.  The last 3 have been in place for over a year.

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' is a little floppy but I appreciate the dark color accent it provides

I've gone back and forth about my decision to plant Dasylirion longissimum (aka Mexican grass tree) here but I like it better since we removed all the 'Blue Flame' Agaves around it

I still have concerns about how big this Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' has gotten (despite bi-annual pruning) but I do love the plant

These are 2 of my 'Lavender Lady' Mangaves, both looking perfect

I'm impressed with this Mangave 'Red Wing' too

Two more of my Mangaves of note: 'Moonglow' (left) and 'Praying Hands' (right)

Finally, this fern was a bit of a surprise.  It's a Rumohra adiantiformis (aka leatherleaf fern).  According to my records, I planted 2 of these here in November 2014; however, I'd lined out my entry some years ago, believing that the plants were gone.  It's reappeared and looks pretty good despite this year's low rainfall.  I don't "do" ferns as a general rule as the majority I've planted haven't lasted long.  Clearly, I need to plant more Rumohra


So that's my foliage review for August and my wrap-up for the week.  Best wishes for a pleasant weekend and a enjoyable Labor Day holiday if you're in the US.


All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Late summer visit to the local botanic garden

The heat finally backed off a bit yesterday, peaking at 81F (27C), so I elected to move my usual daily walk from my own neighborhood to the local botanic garden.  I booked my second and probably last visit to the SOAR butterfly exhibit for the summer season for 10am but took a quick and fairly haphazard spin around the garden before the exhibit opened.

I'll share just a few highlights.

This Brazilian orchid tree (Bauhinia forficata) has clearly been in the garden for a long time but it's the first time I can recall seeing it in full bloom


The garden's sea squill (Drimia maritima) were putting on a great show, much more impressive than the 5 bulbs that've already bloomed out on my back slope

I had to hunt down the name of this massive tree covered in yellow flowers.  It appears to be a golden raintree (Koelreuteria paniculata).  It's reportedly native to China, Korea, and parts of Mongolia and Russia. 


Before heading into the SOAR exhibit, I checked out the Fuchsia Garden.

I couldn't find a name for this floriferous Fuchsia but a gulf fritillary butterfly (Dione vanillea) was busy showing its appreciation


In prior years, the occupants of the SOAR butterfly exhibit changed over the course of its May through September run but there were fewer noticeable changes this year with a lot of the species present in May still prominent in late August.

I checked the board included in my June post and found that the late August board showed many, albeit not all, of the same butterflies

While many of the plants geared to appeal to butterflies and other pollinators outside the enclosure have largely finished their bloom cycles, a few new arrivals were trying to make up for the shortfall.  The plant on the left may be an Anisacanthus.  The one in the middle is some kind of Senna and the third looks like an aster (Symphyotrichum) of some kind.

There were still a lot of plants to appeal to the tropical butterflies inside the SOAR enclosure too


I'm sure I missed some of the butterflies but I did my best to profile those that I was able to catch with my camera.  There were far fewer humans to skirt around than there were back in May but then the early time slot for my visit may have played a role there.  The IDs are my best guesses based on the garden's list at the entrance to the exhibit and my own research.

Catonephele numilia (aka blue frosted banner)

Dryas julia (aka Julia butterfly)

Heliconius charithonia (aka zebra longwing)

Heliconius doris (aka doris longwing)

Heliconius hecale (aka tiger longwing)

Heliconius ismenius (aka Ismenius tiger)

Heliconius melpomene (aka red postman)

The large Morpho peleides (aka blue Morpho)

The Morphos liked to hang out at the feeders with their wings closed, occsionally including other butterflies

This is the best photo I managed of Parides childrenae (aka green celled cattleheart)

Siproeta epaphus (aka rusty tipped page)

Siproeta stelenes (aka malachite butterfly)


I walked by the plant kiosk area on my way out.

No deals to be found


However, I was glad I didn't miss seeing the orange flame vine as I crossed through the parking lot back to my car.

Combretum farionsum


There's still no obvious action on the Children & Family Garden that had originally been slated to open in 2024, which was disappointing.  As far as I could tell nothing at all has happened for months.  However, the garden is advertising a new animatronic dinosaur exhibit planned to launch in November and another visit from the giant Trolls in March but I haven't heard a word about the status of the new children's garden, much less any plans for a fall plant sale.


All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Monday, August 25, 2025

In a Vase on Monday: Dodging the grasshoppers

While some of my dahlias are blooming one flower at a time and a handful still just have buds, there are others that are blooming faster than I can cut them even though I've given away several bouquets in the past week.  In an effort to stay ahead of the grasshoppers that have a taste for dahlias, I cut those with the most abundant blooms.

Dahlias 'La Luna' and 'Summer's End' put on a sunny front

I cut the first bloom of Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' to dress up the back view

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', D. 'La Luna', D. 'Summer's End', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Lime'


Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda' seems to be one of the grasshoppers' favorite snacks so cutting those flowers for a second arrangement was a given.

Front view

I dressed up the back view with a wider range of flowers, including foxglove and lisianthus stems

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Eustoma grandiflorum, Digitalis purpurea, Dahlia 'Blue Bell', and D. 'Mikayla Miranda'


Last week's heatwave held on through Sunday as predicted, although yesterday's temperature peaked a smidge lower at 92F (33C).  At least we never hit the highs the inland valleys did but temperatures in the mid-90sF kept me out of the garden beyond the early morning hours.  It looks as though our morning marine layer is expected to creep back into place for several days this week, which should deliver cooler temperatures.  We can hope that anyway.

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



All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Friday, August 22, 2025

Compliant

In late March I published a post addressing an ordinance adopted by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors calling for the creation and maintenance of "defensible space clearance" surrounding homes and other buildings in areas within a "high or very high fire severity zone" as designated by the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  Effectively, that designation applies to the entire peninsula on which we live.  In capital letters and red print, the letter we received from the Fire Department was described as a "NOTICE TO DESTROY HAZARDOUS BRUSH, DRY GRASS, WEEDS, COMBUSTIBLE GROWTH OR FLAMMABLE VEGETATION TO INCLUDE NATIVES AND ORNAMENTALS."  The partial list of vegetation "known to be flammable" included: Acacia, Cedar, Cypress, Eucalyptus, Juniper, Pine, and Pampas Grass.  Additional information was provided concerning homeowner responsibilities, annual inspections, a $151 inspection fee to be billed on the 2026 property tax bill, and a description of penalties to be assessed if a property owner cited for non-compliance fails to correct any issues described in the citation within thirty days.  Inspections of properties along the coast were expected in June.  You can find my original post here and associated posts regarding the actions I took here and here.

Even prior to the new ordinance, we'd received annual walk-through inspections (with no associated fees).  I've spoken to those inspectors on a couple of occasions, receiving input I was asked to pass along to a neighbor on one occasion but never any criticism of my own landscape.  I watched for the inspectors in June but never saw anyone, although I spotted a fire department vehicle hustling through the neighborhood on one occasion that month.  I subsequently spoke to a neighbor who told me he'd been cited and he referred generally to other neighbors he thought may have been cited as well.  My husband and I received no citation; however, we finally received a notice in early August (dated July 3, 2025) notifying us that we were found "compliant" with the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Fire Code.  We were also advised that the local fire station may conduct further inspections throughout the fire season and that, if we were to sell our house more than six months following the official notice of our compliance, we'd need to request another inspection.

So I didn't get much in the way of guidance!  I can only make rudimentary assumptions based on the actions taken by selected neighbors.  If anyone in our neighborhood received formal notice of non-compliance with an inspection citation, I haven't heard about it but then how many people would advertise that?

Here's what I noticed with respect to neighbor properties.  As I don't have any recent "before" photos you can only rely on my personal assessments.

This unirrigated area previously included masses of Asphodelus fistulosus (aka onionweed).  The homeowner told me he thought it was attractive, which it is for about a nanosecond in early spring.  He pulled all of it up and cut back the woody Echiums.  When we talked he told me that the inspector focused exclusively on the front garden, never venturing into the back garden.

This neighbor pruned the trees, increasing the space between them, and also pulled the weeds in his front garden

These neighbors had the most extensive work done, although my guess is that much of it may have been unrelated to any citation.  It included the removal of 2 dead and one dying Eucalyptus and pruning all their pine, palm, and California pepper trees (Schinus molle).  The only thing I found odd was that they didn't remove  the 2 large junipers lined up against the house. They have a wide pickle ball court and patio area between the house and the succulent bed running along the street so their home seems generally well-protected in the event of a wildfire.

Their palm trees were beautifully groomed by the tree service crew.  In fact, it appears that virtually everyone with a palm tree in the surrounding area had their dead fronds removed.

This neighbor across the street from the prior property had general pruning done

This neighbor had all her tall pine trees nicely pruned for the first time I can remember

No work was done here other than the owners' own weekly sweeps of debris.  I've always had concerns with the Eucalyptus trees here, one which looks to be no more than a foot from the house and the other which sits right along the street.  None of the trees appear particularly healthy and they're not well pruned.  There's only one way to drive out of our neighborhood and, if one of those trees falls into the street, it could have dire consequences.

By comparison, this Eucalyptus in another neighbor's garden is well-maintained.  These trees are questionable in a high fire risk area to begin with but at least this one is healthy.

This one-plus acre lot has been empty for decades and the owner doesn't maintain it at all to our knowledge.  The city comes in annually and cuts down the weeds and overgrowth, presumably billing the owner.  Whoever did the work this year left ample debris behind and I really hope the Fire Department filed a citation.  Penlities include a $500 administrative fee, an assessment of $1199 added to the owner's tax bill, and another inspection fee of $51.59.

Another California pepper and 2 palms received severe haircuts here

This is an old photo of the house down the street from me with the wide expanses of Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) and succulents.  (The agaves are much taller now.)  I expected the Fire Department inspector to order removal or at least a hard cutback of the grass nearest to the front of the house but all of it is untouched.  Their Pampas grass is also untouched.


A landscaper took measurements of the front area of this property a year ago and I've been looking forward to seeing a garden emerge ever since.  One large Yucca elephantipes was removed several months ago and bags of rock were dropped off but nothing has happened since.  The large shrubs by the house could use a trim but I'm guessing there may be nearly a 5 foot space between them and the house and thus didn't trigger a citation. 

This neighbor pruned a tree and cleared many of their shrubs of pine tree debris but left a lot of the dry needles in place on the ground.  I saw this in another garden too.  According to some online sources, pine needles can ignite even without direct fire exposure.  (You can see more in this video.)


I'll be having many of my trees and several large shrubs pruned as usual this fall.  I'll have the dead Ceanothus arboreus at the bottom of my back slope removed at the same time.  I also plan to dig up the Cistus ladanifer close to the house as soon as I find a replacement as there seems to be general agreement that it's flammability is greater than other Cistus due to the particularly volatile oil in its foliage.  I still have a fair amount of replanting to do as well in the areas I cleared in early May but the remainder of that work is on hold until cooler temperatures return and the prospect of rain is back on the horizon.

I'd like to point out that, if you look into plant flammability, there are a lot of contradictions to be found in the available literature.  I've pulled a variety of lists for reference in making my own judgments but it's maddening at times.  I can only hope that there'll be more scientific study in this area, especially given the increasing risk of wildfire as our climate continues to warm.   Should you have an interest in the subject, here are links to just a few resources I found:

For those of us in California, the impact of the "zone zero" legislation (Assembly Bill 3074) is still pending.  The State Board of Forestry has been assigned the task of developing guidelines for its implementation, which would restrict the use of combustible materials within five feet of residential structures in high fire risk areas.  When those guidelines are developed and approved, they'll immediately apply to all new structures.  I've heard they'll be applied to existing residences within one to three years (depending upon the source you consult).  There's some controversy over the value of the "zone zero" approach but, if adopted, my guess is that insurance companies presented with decisions about renewing fire insurance policies may require it.  A couple views on the "zone zero" approach can be found here and here.


Fun, huh?!  Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.


All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party