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.
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| 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. |
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| View of the same renovated area from the opposite direction |
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| 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.
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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.
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| In addition to cuttings of Aeonium 'Kiwi' used as border edging, I added just 2 seedlings and a single new plant |
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| 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.
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| Before and after shots of the area occupied by 3 clumps of the grass in the back garden |
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| 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.
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| 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
You've done so much! The area outside your office window is much better to gaze at, that must have felt good to get that done. The wider path looks so great, worth all the effort. I need to attack my overgrown rosemary a.s.a.p.
ReplyDeleteMuch as I like rosemary, I'm glad my shrubs are now gone, Tracy. I introduced small plants as fillers in my first years of gardening here and overdid it, oblivious at the time about how big those shrubs would get.
DeleteNice work! In an established garden like yours the empty spots are so visible, I understand your need to fill them, even if only temporarily.
ReplyDeleteThere's still a LOT to do but I'm glad I could at least make a dent in the areas I walk through multiple times each day, Loree. Thus farI've largely ignored some of the more hidden areas, like the upper area of the back slope ;)
DeleteOh my that 'Superb' is gloriously big! What happy hummers must be fighting over it! Here the fire people would tell you 'Wilson' and 'Superb' are too close to the structure, tho it seems like the rules are different in LA.
ReplyDeleteThe fire people here say a block wall is an effective fire break, and I think it was in NYT or LAT or KTLA showing a home in Pacific Palisades that did not burn was surrounded by a 3' tall masonry wall--part (tho not all) of the reason it survived. The wind drives embers DOWN so they collect at the base of walls before they can pile up and collect against a house and set it on fire. Fire science advances...
First flower buds on Dahlias here--the ones I planted in the ground last spring. I think they will do better this year being more mature. Some in a shadier area not so advanced.
Have a lovely weekend, Kris.
I'm concerned about the Grevillea 'Superb'. I planted it in the early days here, not expecting it to get as big as it has. I've already cut it about as far from the house as a can. I doubt it'd survive relocation. I'd be crushed if I had to start all over with a new plant. As it is, I planted another one years ago, which didn't flourish as the original one has.
DeleteI've tried growing my dahlias in a couple of borders but I just don't give those areas sufficient water to make them happy. Combine that problem with the gopher threat and I'm happier digging the tubers up each year and replanting them in the cutting garden's raised planters even though it admittedly takes longer to get blooms.
I know you mourn L. 'Pisa', I get it, but to be honest: every single photo of post removal of the Leucadendron, is looking better to my eyes than it did before. I just love how your magnificent views fully open up in the small sitting area.
ReplyDeleteResearching replacement to the fence and gate can be exciting, maybe more for your husband than you, but still :-D
I hope the heat of summer doesn't get in the way of your plans!
Chavli
My husband has a guy in mind for the new fence, if he's available. He did work on our back patio when we renovated the house in 2019 and redid our chimney last year. He can be very choosy about the jobs he takes, though ;)
DeleteSempre bello vedere il procedere del tempo nel tuo giardino e malgrado abbiamo climi completamente diversi trovo sempre piante che usiamo entrambi come l'Achillea e l'Abelia.
ReplyDeleteTi auguro un buon proseguimento dei lavori in giardino!
Thanks Gabriel. There is still a lot to do to fill the empty spaces. And the possibility that more plant removals may be required remains as California continues to consider the steps necessary to make our area more fire resistant.
DeleteYou've made some wise choices and demonstrated considerable restraint in figuring out what to put in those spaces, especially with a potential fence replacement coming up. I've got a bunch of empty spaces to fill after removing a bunch of shrubs that died, but with a new roof coming in August, I need to reign in my desire to move forward until fall. I think I might build a few protective cages for some of the more vulnerable plants, but the rest will have to fare as best they can on their own.
ReplyDeleteI (briefly) considered waiting until fall to fill all the empty spots when I should know more about how the Fire Department will be responding to the new county ordinance and cooler temperatures should be make it easier for new plants to get established but I can't claim that level of patience ;)
DeleteYou've been busy Kris ! I think your new install in the L. 'Pisa' area turned out nice-it's hard to patiently wait for things to fill in isn't it ? Since I've been planting things too close together for about 30 years I've accepted the inevitable editing that eventually is required and continue to overplant.
ReplyDeleteSome of what I planted are temporary fillers, annuals or short-lived perennials but I tend to overplant too, Kathy. there are probably other things I'd like to try in some of these spaces but, with summer already nipping at us, I'm wary about planting anything with a significant pricetag at this time of year.
DeleteWow, so much work!! And it sounds like most of the replacement plants were already waiting in the wings?
ReplyDeleteI did have a lot of small plants in the wings, mainly because I went on a mail ordering binge late last year. By the time the plants arrived in early spring, I knew I was going to remove a lot of existing plants due to the LA ordinance on firescaping so I potted just about everything up. I still have plants that need to go into the ground.
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