The garden is DEMANDING attention!

My garden has gotten away from me.  Not only do I have all sorts of empty spaces in need of tending but I've got weeds all over the place, the cutting garden requires assistance with its seasonal transition, and the back slope somehow exploded out of control.  I've been tackling the weeds and deadheading flowers here and there in the back and front gardens when I have a few minutes but this week I focused on the cutting garden as the dahlia tubers were ready to move out of their temporary pots and spread their roots.

I cleared most of two of the raised planters to make room for eleven of the sprouted dahlias.  Two other tubers were transferred to barrels in the cutting garden as well.

I left some of the Calendulas in place at each end of this bed and supplemented the soil before transplanting 6 dahlia tubers here.  The infant dahlias include: 'Creme de Cognac' (2), 'Kelsey Ann Joy', 'La Luna', 'Miss Brandy', and 'Summer's End'.  I sowed seeds of 4 varieties of Zinnia elegans in this bed too.

I left 3 foxgloves and a handful of larkspur in place in this bed.  I added the following 5 sprouted dahlias: 'Blue Bell', 'Cafe au Lait', 'La Belle Epoque', 'Mikayla Miranda', and 'Molly Raven'.  I've added 3 varieties of zinnia elegans to this bed.

Last year, this bed was crowded with larkspurs (Consolida ajacis) but, for whatever reason, few seeds germinated this year.  The foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) I planted months ago as plugs haven't grown much so I removed all but 3 to make room for more dahlias. 

Dahlia 'Caproz Pizzazz' found a home in the barrel on the left after I removed all its contents other than the red Pelargonium peltatum.  The middle barrel received a Dahlia 'Labyrinth'.  The third barrel contains one of the foxgloves that has done well and the Argyranthmum 'Mount Everest' I moved from the first barrel to make room for the dahlia I planted there.

As the sweet peas have finally taken off, I'm going to give them another three or four weeks before I clear that raised planter to receive three or four more dahlia tubers.  I expect to give away a lot of sweet pea posies within the next few weeks.

Like last year, because the sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) took so long to vine, I failed to thin the plants so they're overcrowded once again

I've ignored the back slope for close to a month.  I was shocked when I headed there earlier this week.  Even walking down the concrete block stairway presented a challenge.  I spent a couple of hours clearing the pathways and cutting some of the overgrowth but several additional hours of attention is needed before it gets too hot and the fire ants make work even more difficult.  Although the hedge that lines the neighbor's wire fence gets routine irrigation, the rest of the area is dependent on rainfall and we've had little of that this year so I didn't expect exuberant growth.  I've done no hand-watering of the area at all in almost a year.

This is a view of the slope looking up from the lower area (in front of the lemon tree) after my initial cleanup effort.  The Arctostaphylos bakeri 'Louis Edmonds'  in the middle of the bed to the right of the stairway has leapt in size since last year despite our low rainfall.

Clockwise from the upper left: The Aeoniums fleshed out nicely; the Centranthus ruber is a buoyant as ever; one of the top heavy artichokes collapsed under its own weight once again; and the hybrid 'White Lady' Pelargoniums have spread themselves about 

The saddest discovery was this:

Ceanothus arboreus 'Clifford Schmidt' appears to have died while I wasn't paying attention.  It was in full bloom in early April!  I love this plant and can't entirely account for its sudden demise.  The lemon tree on one side and the Pittosporums on the other are fine.  However, I'd had a peach tree that had given it some shade cover removed in November and I speculate that the sun exposure combined with low rainfall and no hand watering may have been contributing factors.  I'll cut it back to see if it recovers but I'm not hopeful.

On the good news side of things, the Agapanthus in my garden are marshaling forces for their annual stampede and the first Shasta daisies are making an appearance, as well as the first gladiolas.  Even the lilies are gearing up to put on a show.  Hopefully these plants will fill the floral gap until the dahlias and zinnias get around to flowering.

A noID Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum) with fringed flowers

Gladiolus nanus

A noID white gladiola popped up in with the bed with the sweet peas

Two varieties of lilies among many that have produced bloom stalks.  The taller ones are Lilium 'Zelmira' and I think the smaller ones are 'Orange Planet'.  There are at least 5 more varieties gearing up to bloom elsewhere in the garden this summer.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend!

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

Lotus hirsutus: Great groundcover or potential pest?

Given the newly empty spaces in my garden I've been considering both what plants I can use to fill them and how I might simplify my landscape in the process.  When I first began planting my current garden over fourteen years ago, it was all about buying every plant I fell in love with and finding spots to put them later.  More recently, in addition to fire safety, I've become concerned with streamlining plant care and maintenance through the use of more mass plantings.

As I looked around at my more prolific, low care plants, I zoomed in on Lotus hirsutus, commonly known as Hairy Canary Clover (formerly classified as Dorycnium hirsutum).  It's a vigorous groundcover, very drought tolerant, and pretty with and without flowers.  The fuzzy silver gray foliage is particularly soft to the touch.  I'd argue that it's even softer than lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina).

Closeup of the clover-like flowers

In addition to the plant's other attributes, it's beloved by bees

There's a lot of this plant in my garden already, much of which has spread itself around, which is one of my concerns.  My recollection was that I'd purchased only one or two plants over the years but according to my spreadsheet I've purchased the plants six times between 2011 and 2018, corroborating San Marcos Growers' assessment of the plant as "short-lived."  That's actually comforting as it suggests that the plant won't overrun my garden, while the fact that it self-seeds allows me to spread seedlings about where they can be useful.

The majority of the purchased specimens were placed in the dry garden on the north side of the house.  I can't say with any certainty which, if any, of those shown below are original and which are self-seeded.

I vaguely recall planting one of my purchased plants along the edge of the gravel path here.  I cut them back as needed when they encroach on the path.  The only downside is that the tiny plants that pop up in the gravel can be more difficult to remove than they are elsewhere.

I think the plant seeded itself here but it looks nice with the self-seeded pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa)

I may have placed another plant or seedling here, or this could be a self-seeded plant - they do like to place themselves along path edges

This one definitely planted itself here, in a shaded area of the same path

I've already transplanted two Lotus seedlings in one of the empty spots in the north-side garden and I'm contemplating adding more.

This is the area previously occupied by 3 humongous rosemary shrubs.  I didn't intentionally go with a pink theme here but with 2 large Leptospertmum 'Pink Pearl' shrubs, a Protea 'Pink Ice', a Grevillea sericea, and 3 Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite' in the same area, adding more Lotus hirsutus could help knit the area together.  I've already placed 2 Lotus seedlings there.

I potted up this large seedling for future use.  Like the 2 plants in the prior photo, it's struggling a bit after being yanked out of the ground; however, based on prior experience, there's at least a 50-50 chance the seedlings will recover.

The plants have long tap roots, which can be difficult to get up intact.  I tossed this one because I clearly broke part of that tap root.

These are 2 of the areas where Lotus transplants may be useful.  The area on the left under one of our persimmon trees is one spot but I need to remove more ivy first.  The area on the right alongside the concrete block stairway leading down into the back slope had been occupied by prostrate rosemary.  Lotus seedlings or Aeonium cuttings are both options there.

I need to remain mindful about pulling the Lotus seedlings where they're not wanted because they've spread into some areas I didn't expressly select.

Large Lotus hirsutus in the front driveway

I may have intentionally planted the Lotus in the prior photo but I definitely didn't plant these

I didn't plant the Lotus along this narrow path on the front slope either but, as few things grow well there other than weeds, I'm leaving them in place and simply pulling seedlings as needed

I also didn't plant the Lotus here but then this part of the garden on the west side of the driveway is an amalgamation of self-seeded plants, including Polygala myrtifolia, Lavandula stoechas, and Festuca glauca.  One day I'll get around to replanting the whole area but it won't be anytime soon. 

The Lotus has made some attempts to take hold in the back garden too.  I've removed all but this one, which I should probably replace with something else before this self-seeder gets even more comfortable here.

Despite some reservations, I'm currently leaning toward using more Lotus in the north-side garden but not elsewhere at the moment.  What self-seeders have you found useful?

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

In a Vase on Monday: Ensemble Casts

My garden's floral display is in the process of transitioning from spring to summer.  The spring bloomers are either fading or have been used too often already in my weekly vases.  Most of the summer bloomers are either just getting started, still in bud, or unable to serve starring roles on their own.  So my vases this week consist of ensemble casts, with each element collaborating with the others and no one plant playing a starring role.

My first arrangement is all about the blues in my garden.

The Agapanthus throughout the garden, most of which I inherited, already have bloom stalks and the first buds have begun to unfurl.  They started me off with blue flowers joining in from other corners of the garden.

Back view: Other contributors included stems of Ceanothus, Consolida ajacis (aka larkspur), Salvia, Billardiera (aka Australian blue creeper, formerly classified as Sollya heterophylla), and various sweet peas, finally making an appearance 

Overhead view: I added Nigella papillosa to add a touch of white

Top row: noID Agapanthus, Billardiera heterophylla, and noID Ceanothus
Middle: Consolida ajacis, Nigella papillosa 'African Bride', and Salvia 'Mystic Spires'
Bottom: I sowed seeds of 5 varieties of Lathyrus odoratus, including 'April in Paris', 'Lord Nelson', and 'Royal Wedding' but I can't definitively account for the one on the far right

My second arrangement started out as a hodge-podge but, in the end, I found I liked it more than I'd expected to.

I started the second arrangement by harvesting the remaining sturdy stems of a pink Alstroemeria I inherited with the garden and the white snapdragons not yet too blemished by rust, then threw in several stems of ivy geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum)

Back view: I added stems of Nigella and Calendula just because I'll be pulling out both in the near future to free space in my cutting garden

Overhead view: I added 2 stems of immature Daucus carota to see if the flowers would open when cut at this stage.  The Daucus self-seeded once again this year.

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Radiance', Antirrhinum majus, Callendula officianalis, noID Alstroemeria, Daucus carota 'Dara', Nigella papillosa 'African Bride', and Pelargonium peltatum (which is more dark pink than red as it appears in my photographs)

My sweet peas got a late start this year and, with one significant heatwave already registered, followed by a shorter, more moderate heatwave less than two weeks later, I don't expect them to hold up long so I've been cutting them almost as quickly as the flowers appear.  It also appears that birds are beheading a lot of the blooms even before I can cut them.  For those reasons, I popped a lot of shorter stems into a third vase for the kitchen island.

Their scent is of course wonderful with Lathyrus odoratus 'April in Paris' contributing the strongest note

The past weekend's weather couldn't have been better (except perhaps if we'd received a miraculous overnight rain shower).  It looks as though that trend may continue through next week.  I'm hoping that'll be the case anyway.  For those of you in the US, best wishes for a pleasant Memorial Day!

For more IAVOM creations, visit the leader of our merry band, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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

Filling some of those empty spaces

Earlier this month, in response to an ordinance enacted by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors requiring property owners in high fire risk areas to develop "defensible space clearance" around their homes, I had a crew in my garden to remove approximately twenty plants.  Although I'm approaching the process of replanting the newly bare areas with care, I couldn't stand leaving the most prominent areas empty for long.  As the State of California is also looking at changes to create "zero zones" five feet wide around structures in the highest risk areas, some of what I do now may have to be adjusted when guidelines are introduced so I don't want to invest in any plants that might be too precious anyway.  As we've had two moderate heatwaves already this month, it's also not the best time to be installing new plants.

I'll start with the bed directly outside my home office window.  Despite the crew's efforts to grind down shrub and tree stumps, there was more work than I expected involved in removing the large underground roots of what I assume was Leucadendron 'Pisa' before supplementing the soil and replanting.  With so many thick, widely spread roots, there was never any chance of that 'Pisa' leaning over!  Much as I mourn the loss of the shade that shrub provided, there's no point planting a tree or another tree-sized shrub in its place.  Everything I planted there is relatively low-growing.

About half of the original plants remained, including a Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' (aka mint bush), a trailing Ceanothus, 2 Alstroemerias, a lanky Hemerocallis 'For Pete's Sake', several variegated Lantana' Samantha', several Hippeastrum bulbs, and a variety of succulents.  With the exception of a new Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', the new plants are essentially fillers.

View of the same renovated area from the opposite direction

From the upper left, closeups of the new additions include: an Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', cuttings of Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi', 2 Alstroemeria 'Inca Coral', 3 Chrysocephalum 'Desert Flame' with 2 Petunia 'Bee's Knees', 8 plugs of Eustoma grandiflorum 'Light Apricot' (aka lisianthus) with Leucanthemum paludosum 'Snowland', and a Leucanthemum x superbum 'Sweet Daisy Izabel'

The next bed that stood out like a sore thumb sits on the south end of the front garden.  The area affected by removing a second Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' and a Salvia lanceolata was somewhat smaller than the bed in the back garden.  There were fewer issues with leftover roots but I discovered that the area was riddled with the bulbous roots of asparagus fern, which the birds insist on relentlessly propagating.  I spent several hours digging those out and, even so, I've no illusions I got them all.

The largest elements remaining in this bed include a Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', a Grevillea 'Superb', an Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', and several Cuphea 'Vermillionaire'.  I mirrored this planting in the cleared area with another Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' and a similar Cuphea.

This is the replanted area.  You'll notice that the brick edging ended midway.  I hadn't bothered to extend it because the area in the foreground was previously hidden beneath the massive Acacia.

My husband bought me a load of new bricks to complete the edging.  That's a job for another day.  I also dug out several flagstones that had been buried deeply within the bed and used the stones to widen the path in this area.

The new plants include the Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', an Achillea 'Terra Cotta', 3 Cuphea 'Cubano Presidente', 6 plugs of Gazania 'New Day', an Arctotis 'Red-Orange', and 4 plugs of Eustoma grandiflora 'Light Apricot'.  I may add an Agave in a container as a temporary placeholder.

I'd like to fill in the large area of the north-side garden that was originally planted with three massive rosemary shrubs but we still have an open issue with the fence that divides this area from the cutting garden.  Merging the two areas by removing the fence altogether doesn't appeal to either me or my husband.  "His" spa (which I seldom use) would be open to anyone walking through the garden and I think any integration of the two areas would require wholesale changes to both areas I'd prefer not to make.  As a result, we're currently considering replacing the wood fence with a concrete block wall and a metal new gate.  Any new plants I might install now could be harmed during the construction process so, thus far, I've limited myself to plants I won't mind losing.

In addition to cuttings of Aeonium 'Kiwi' used as border edging, I added just 2 seedlings and a single new plant

Closeups of one of the 2 Lotus hirsutus (aka hairy Canary clover) and the new Scaevola 'Fashion Pink', which I just could resist when shopping at the garden center

There are a couple of areas next to the garage and the front of the house I still plan to work on during the coming weeks but, in the meanwhile, I've given priority to the removal of my remaining Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima), reportedly a highly flammable plant.  I'd started removing it even before the new ordinance was introduced but I've stepped that up with the plan to have all of it gone by June.

Before and after shots of the area occupied by 3 clumps of the grass in the back garden

I removed another 4 clumps of the grass in front of the catio and 3 clumps on the other side of the flagstone path next to the south patio (which I immediately filled in with succulent cuttings).  My husband made another attempt to dig out the wisteria vine (on the left) I've been trying to remove for years.  I'm planning to try another application of vine killer to get to the roots growing under the house.

As summer is already moving ahead here, I also need to refresh my cutting garden to accommodate the new season's flowers.  I planted my dahlia tubers in temporary pots in late April.  Eighteen of them have sprouted and the majority of those need to be moved to the raised planters in the cutting garden, which means clearing out the spring blooms that remain there.

The sweet peas in one of the raised planters have only just started to bloom in earnest so I'm holding off on that space for another few weeks but most of the current contents of the other 2 planters will be pulled.

I'm hoping to get at least half of the sprouted dahlias installed this weekend.  Temperatures came down into the upper 70s (26C) yesterday and they've expected to slide lower this weekend.  I hope the weather is on your side this weekend too.

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

Wordless Wednesday: Sure signs that summer's here

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