Wordless Wednesday: The season's launch or just a tease?

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

In a Vase on Monday: Finally!

Leonotis leonurus (aka lion's tail) finally gets time on the central stage this week.  The plants in my garden are admittedly past their prime at this point yet there were still enough stems to make an impact.  I'd been uncertain what to pair with the plant's bright orange flowers from the start but the first blooms of another zinnia variety offered a suitable companion - pure serendipity in this case.

Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Lime' arrived in time to provide just the right contrast to the furry flowers of the Leonotis, which arrange themselves in whorls along the plant's stems

Back view: Lion's tail has been used for a wide variety of traditional medicinal purposes from treating tuberculosis and muscle cramps to diabetes.  It also has some psychoactive properties and has been banned in Latvia and Poland.  (More on the plant can be found here.)

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Lime', Z. e. 'Queeny Red Lime', and Leonotis leonurus

I'd planned to put together a second arrangement using Agapanthus but, despite the cooler-than-usual July temperatures, the majority of my Agapanthus flowers have already taken a hike.  Instead of the heat taking them out, I think the persistent winds we've had of late have hurried their demise.  I've been cutting down the shaggy flowers en masse.  There are a few named varieties popping up here and there so, perhaps, I'll get another arrangement featuring them sometime in August.  A few Amaryllis belladonna made an appearance this week which could've provided a subsitute; however, after pulling weeds and deadheading flowers, I ran out of time.  And, with leftovers from last week's vases, I didn't have a good spot for another arrangement anyway.

Last week's arrangements were winnowed down for another round, although I don't think the remaining 'Zeba' lilies (left) will last much longer.  The zinnias in both vases should last awhile longer, though.

While parts of the US continue to experience intense heat and other extreme weather events, our part of coastal Southern California has been very lucky this month and it looks as though that pattern will hold through at least this week.  I've got a busy schedule so I may not have an opportunity to take advantage of our Goldilocks weather working in the garden but I'll try to squeeze some work in.

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

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

Another project ticked off the list (mostly)

I finally tucked back into clearing and planting up the long, narrow bed adjacent to the house that runs outside our dining and living room areas.  It was never a showpiece but it's highly visible from inside the house, as well as every time I walk out the back door.  From the time we moved in, it'd been dominated by a large red powder puff shrub (Calliandra haematocephala), which was sheared every couple of months to prevent it from overwhelming the walkway.  It seldom produced any flowers as a result but it did serve to hide the back side of the TV in the living room from sight.

This isn't the best photo but it's one of the few "before" shots I have.  The bed is approximately 3 feet wide and 25 feet long.

The regular shearing of the Calliandra caused dry, dead foliage to constantly build up inside, below, and around the shrub so I included it among the twenty-plus shrubs we had removed in early May in an effort to minimize our exposure in the event of a wildfire, along with the other three Calliandra shrubs planted elsewhere against the house and garage.

View of the bed after the Calliandra had been removed

I subsequently removed the Ageratums with the purple foliage myself but that's where I left things until this week.

Ageratum corymbosum in better days

My main hang up over moving ahead to replant the area was some apprehension about handling the merged mass of two plants, a large clump of clump of Renga lilies (Arthropodium cirratum) and a valued hellebore (Helleborus 'Phoebe').

Poor photo of the mass of plants in question

After trying and failing to dig up the hellebore in one piece, I focused on digging out the clump of Renga lilies, which proved to be far easier to remove.

I got 9 divisions from that one clump of Arthropodium.  I removed the scruffy bits and potted all the divisions in 7 one-gallon pots.

This photo shows the one remaining Arthropodium that'd been part of the clump, the droopy Helleborus 'Phoebe', a mass of Liriope muscari (aka lily turf), and a noID fern, all left in place

Then I started replanting, using cuttings and divisions taken from other plants.

Photo of plants now filling the area formerly occupied by the Calliandra

The "new" plants include: a mix of Aeoniums (A. arboreum, A. 'Jack Catlin', A. 'Kiwi', and A. 'Kiwi Verde'), Agave attenuata, and Agave bracteosa

In addition to the Liriope and Helleborus, I've left some other established plants in place, including the Arthropodium clumps shown in the left photo and other Agave attenuatas, a few Aeonium 'Sunburst', a mass of Campanula portenschlagiana, and various Narcissus and Freesia bulbs (currently invisible)

While the Renga lily divisions all have nascent roots, I'm giving them time to develop larger root masses before I add a few back into the bed.  I don't anticipate adding more three of those plants.  The rest will probably be planted out in the front garden.

Here are views of the bed at present:

View of the replanted bed from the north end looking south

View of bed's mid-section

View of the bed from the south end looking north

Much as I love my garden and as helpful as it is in offering me a way to de-stress, I've been having a harder time focusing on it of late, despite our remarkably pleasant below-average temperatures.  Even though I've significantly reduced my news consumption I can't help feeling distressed, angry, and sad about what's happening in the war zones overseas and the cruel treatment of people at home under the so-called leadership of those in political power.  The treatment of law-abiding immigrants collected by masked ICE agents based primarily on race, without regard to their contributions to our community, and the fear the agents generate even among US citizens, make me sick.  All the independent surveys I've viewed over the last few weeks show that I'm far from alone there but either those in charge don't care or they're choosing to listen only to the sycophants who insist on feeding their delusions to serve their own short-term goals.  It'd be pitiful if it wasn't so immoral and disgusting.

Rather than spend my time on constructive tasks, I've been roaming my cutting garden counting the buds on my dahlia plants.  My last count was 23 buds but about half of the plants have yet to show anything.  They buoy my spirits, even if only briefly.

The most promising buds are those produced by Dahlias 'Creme de Cognac', 'Labyrinth', 'La Belle Epoque', and 'Mikayla Miranda'

May you find pleasant ways to spend your time this weekend.

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

Wordless Wednesday: Split personality

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

The last of the lilies

Last year, while attending the Puget Sound Garden Fling, a garden tour geared toward bloggers and other people specializing in social media focused on plants and/or gardening, I fell in love with a lily.  I saw it in one Pacific Northwest garden after another but I never got the name of the cultivar until I posted a photo of it on Instagram when a commentator told me it was 'Zeba'.  I searched for it online, found a source based in Holland, and placed an order for three bulbs.  I planted them soon after the bulbs arrived earlier this year.  When I placed the order I wasn't one hundred percent certain 'Zeba' was an exact match for the lily I remembered but, when it bloomed at last, it was!

All three bulbs produced bloom stalks and I cut two of them for this week's first arrangement.  I'd only planned to use one but all three blooms of the first stalk were already fully open so, to give the arrangement a longer vase life, I caved and cut a second stalk with only one of its three flowers open.  I intend to leave the third stalk alone to shine in the garden for as long as it lasts.

I opted for a looser arrangement on this occasion to allow the lily stems to sprawl

Back view: I surprised myself in choosing to combine the lily with Zinnia 'Queeny Red Lime'

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Achillea 'Terracotta', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', Lilium 'Zeba', and Zinnia elegans 'Queeny Red Lime'

I'd originally cut Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Wine' to combine with Lilium 'Zeba' but I decided I liked the lily with Zinnia 'Queeny Red Lime' better so the 'Benary's Giant Wine' stems landed in a separate vase (sidelining Leonotis leonurus once again).

I chose to combine this Zinnia with stems of Leucadendron 'Jester' but they're almost too alike in color.  These 'Jester' stems came from a shrub grown in full sun and the color is more red than pink.  When grown in partial shade the foliage leans toward pink.

Back view

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Radiance', Crassula pubescens, Leucanthemum x superbum, Leucadendron 'Jester', and Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Wine'

I've got buds on some of my dahlias but dahlia buds seem to take forever to mature...Maybe Leonotis will eventually get its time in a vase next week.  If you're looking for more IAVOM creations, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for contributions from other bloggers.

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

Jumping from one project to another

Summer is usually my slowest season in the garden, limited to simple tasks like deadheading flowers and watering.  That's because it's usually hot as Hades by July and August.  But, thanks to a persistent morning marine layer, we've been remarkably lucky so far this month, at least by comparison to other areas.  The marine layer is much less common later in the summer season than is our "June Gloom."  When it continues beyond June, it's called "No-Sky July" but that's bit of a misnomer as the marine layer usually breaks up by early afternoon, if not earlier; however, even then it keeps our afternoon temperatures down to a comfortable level.  And, when temperatures are comfortable, it's hard to justify lolling about, especially when I have so many projects that need to be tackled.  

Many of the areas we had cleared of big shrubs in early May remain bare.  I planted the narrow bed adjacent to the garage with succulents in early June using a lot of cuttings and divisions I had on hand but I wasn't satisfied with it.  I added more succulents in late June.

It's less bare now but I'm still not entirely satisfied.  I moved many of the original plants around and added others I picked up at OC Succulents (as shown in this post).

I spruced up a nearby urn at the same time.

I added 3 'Little Gem' Cremosedums to the pump up the mix of succulents here

On the other hand, I continue to drag out the process of filling in the empty midsection of the bed adjacent to the back of the house, even though it's readily visible from the living room.  One of the four large Calliandra shrubs (aka red powder puff shrubs) had occupied a stretch nearly five feet wide in that bed.  I subsequently removed three Ageratum corymbosum shrubs that occupied a few additional feet there myself, leaving the space looking sadder still.

These photos show the Ageratum at its peak.  I loved both its "ever-purple" foliage and its flowers but the plants didn't look great during the summer months.  They also deposited lots of very dry leaves that collected next to the house.  Unfortunately, even the best of the 3 plants was too old and woody to transplant.

I took cuttings of the Ageratum in the hope that they'll root so I can plant them elsewhere, further from the house.  The plants originally came from Annie's Annuals & Perennials and the company that purchased Annie's mail order business has yet to start mail order operations.

This is what the midsection of that bed looks like at the moment with all those shrubs gone.  I cut 2 good-sized pups of Agave attenuata from elsewhere in my garden to plant there, with the intention of adding more succulents in and round them.  I'm also planning to divide some Arthropodium cirratum (Renga lilies) to mirror others already in place at both ends of the long bed.

I'd hoped to address that bed this past week but I got distracted by other projects.  Barring a surge in our temperatures, I hope to get back to it this coming week.

In the meantime, I turned my attention to a few other tasks.

I removed a mass of Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde' that had been growing in front of several Agave bracteosa (aka squid agaves) in the back border, filling the empty space with creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum 'Elfin').  The thyme won't obscure the view of the agaves as the succulents did.

At the rear of the same border, I chopped down the Salvia africana-lutea and had my husband dig out its stump when it didn't cooperate with me.  Although I liked the Salvia, it grew too big for the space and was crowding the even larger Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' next to it.  I'd already removed the flammable Mexican feather grass (Nasella tenuissima) there.  I still need to replenish the soil and replant here, although I've already thrown some succulent cuttings in there.  I plan to add more succulents to hold the soil in place before our rainy season starts (which means I still have lots of time!).

I also removed the Mexican marigold (Tagetes lemmonii) in the front garden, shown here when it was still in good shape in June 2024.  The shrub declined significantly in 2025 and wasn't blooming much at all anymore.

As the Tagetes had hidden the plants behind it, most notably a newish Leucospermum 'California Sunshine', I elected to fill the space with more of the Gazanias already there, at least for now.  I'm thinking of planting another Mexican marigold in the back garden when cooler temperatures return in the fall.

My husband completed his renovation of my lath (shade) house last week.  On Wednesday, I cleared out all the plants that had cluttered the small south patio (as shown on the left), leaving the area open once more (right).  I'm still in the process of reorganizing those plants inside the lath house and repotting many of them.

Like the lath house renovation, the schedule for attacking the agave overcrowding issue in the south-side garden was set by my husband.  I'd shown him the troublesome issues with the 'Blue Flame' Agaves, (and my feeble effort to remove one rosette), although I posed it as a future project.  However, having completed his renovations to the lath house, he decided he was ready to roll on removing the agaves.  As there was no way I felt I could handle the removals on my own, I accepted his schedule.

These are before and after photos of the first section, which we tackled together last week.  He did the heavy work using an electric saw and a shovel, while I toted the debris to our recycle bins.  I'd estimated that there were 6 large rosettes of the 'Blue Flame' Agaves to remove.  Below those, we discovered another half-dozen mid-sized rosettes and a dozen or more smaller pups.  'Blue Flame' really is a thug!

This week, while I was working on other projects, my husband decided to go after the remaining 'Blue Flame' Agaves (shown here in a "before" photo on the left).  Given their thuggish behavior, he argued in favor of removing them all at once in lieu of the 2-3 I'd originally targeted.  I agreed and he did the job on his own, although he's awaiting delivery of a Root Slayer we ordered to take out the remaining 'Blue Flame' carcass.  

I've no idea (yet) what I'm going to do to fill the holes in my south-side garden.  There's still the bloomed out Agave 'Blue Glow' to remove to so that has to be taken into consideration.  I already have an Agave 'Sun Glow' on hand, which will definitely end up somewhere in the mix but I may try smaller succulents and other plants there in the interest of easing the maintenance challenges I've had with this bed in recent years.  Depending upon the plants I select, I may need to delay some of the replanting until fall in the interest of ensuring the long-term survival of the new plants.  After all, I can't depend on our summer temperatures staying comfortable and we're unlikely to see any rainfall until October or November.

On the good news side, I recently received a box of plant prospects from my blogger friend, Gerhard Bock.  I've known Gerhard for years now and he's visited my garden on a couple of occasions.  He's an altogether great guy, an accomplished gardener, and very generous.  If you're not familiar with him, you can find his blog at Succulents and More here.  He can also be found on Instagram here.  I admired his low-growing Artemisia pedemontana, which I'd never seen before, and he responded by offering to send me cuttings.  But he sent more than that!

He sent expertly packaged cuttings of the Artemisia, some rooted and others ready for rooting in water.  I potted up the rooted ones immediately upon delivery.  Those I plopped into a glass of water are already about ready for potting too.  He also sent me seeds of his Mexican tulip poppies (Hunnemannia fumarifolia), which I'd also admired in photos on his blog.

Even more exciting, he included 5 different varieties of Echinopsis pups.  He's had wonderful success growing these flowering cacti as you can see for yourself in his blog post here.

So, even with unfinished projects nipping at my heels, my week is ending on a positive note.  In addition to Gerhard's gifts, the garden delivered two nice surprises.

One of my Epiphyllums apparently enjoyed its vacation in the front garden as it's produced a bud.  I'm guessing this is 'Monastery Garden' but these plants aren't labeled so I won't be certain until I see the flower open.

This is the first bloom of the 3 stalks from the 3 Lilium 'Zeba' bulbs I planted earlier this year.  I fell in love with this lily during last year's Puget Sound Garden Fling.  A commentator on Instagram identified it by name for me and I ordered the bulbs when I returned home, receiving them months later from Holland.  I wasn't absolutely sure they were the right bulbs until this flower opened on Wednesday.

Best wishes for a pleasant and comfortable weekend!

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

Bloom Day - July 2025 (Late Edition)

I'm a day late with my Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post and left some blooms behind but I couldn't bring myself to skip the occasion altogether.  It's been an odd month from a weather perspective.  While we had a few brief very warm stretches in June, with temperatures reaching the upper 80sF (31C), July has been surprisingly comfortable by and large.  That hasn't always been true of Southern California's inland valleys but along the coast our morning marine layer has been helping us out.  The sun still shines bright by early afternoon but the temperatures remain cooler than usual for this time of year.  I'm knocking wood that trend continues awhile longer as the garden is already struggling to deal with summer dryness and we don't need the added challenge of any major heatwaves.

As it is, some of the flashiest flowers in my garden have already headed out the door.

Clockwise from the upper left are Orienpet lilies: Lilium 'Conca d'Or', 'Friso', 'Montego Bay', and 'Pretty Woman'.  Both 'Conca d'Or' and 'Montego Bay' only produced single flower stalks this year.  The wind snapped the former off at the base on Sunday afternoon and I cut the sole stem of 'Montego Bay' for a vase the same day.  Only the 'Zeba' lilies I planted from bulbs earlier this year have yet to flower.

Clockwise from the upper left, other plants on their way out include: Leucanthemum x superbum (top 2 photos), Leucospermum 'High Gold', and Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman'

There are still lots of plants putting on a good show, though.  Here are some of the mid-summer stars:

While some of the earliest Agapanthus blooms have turned shaggy, there are plenty still looking good.  The only named variety I have is 'Twister', shown on the bottom right.

Billardiera heterophylla (formerly classified as Sollya heterophylla, aka Australian bluebell creeper) has abundant tiny blue flowers.  It'll be covered with small purple drupes (fruit) later this summer.

I'm never quite sure when Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' will take off but the hummingbirds always alert me when it does

Cenchrus orientalis (formerly classified as Pennisetum orientale, aka Chinese fountain grass) has a remarkably long bloom period

I didn't photograph all my Cupheas but 'Vermillionaire' is looking particularly good this summer

Daucus carota 'Dara' (aka wild carrot) self-seeded liberally throughout my garden this year

Most of my foxgloves have underperformed this year but this Digitalis purpurea is trying to make up for them all by itself.  I think this is the 4th flush of blooms it's produced.

Last year I was unimpressed by the Leonotis leonurus (aka lion's tail) but the plants are doing very well this year

Hybrid Monarda 'Peter's Purple' is the only member of the genus I've managed to grow in my current garden

Myrtus communis is a humble shrub but its fluffy white flowers are appreciated

I cut back Salvia canariensis var candidissima hard last month and it's already bounced back

Santolina virens 'Lemon Fizz' is a little messy but I enjoy both the flower and the foliage colors

I sowed seeds of several varieties of Zinnia elegans this year but 'Benary's Giant Wine' and 'Queeny Red Lime' are first out of the gate

A handful of succulents are also putting on a good show.

Clockwise from the upper left are: Aloe distans, A. lukeana, Crassula pubescens, and C. p. ssp. radicans

Of course, I can't forget the old standbys that bloom for much of the year.

Many of the Gazanias in my garden are now self-sown mixes but the 2 in the top row are 'Yellow Flame' and 'White Flame'

Some Grevilleas bloom year-round.  Clockwise from the upper left: Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', G. sericea, and G. 'Superb' (bottom 2 photos).

Lantana 'Lucky Yellow' (top 2 photos) is exuberant at the moment.  The bottom 2 photos feature 2 smaller varieties, 'Irene' (left) and variegated 'Samantha' (right).

Many of the Pelargoniums bloom off and on all year.  All but one of these are ivy geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum).  The exception is the one on in the second row on the left, for which I have no ID. 

Polygala myrtifolia (aka sweet pea shrub) continues to mount its battle for world domination in my front garden (while also creeping into the back garden whenever I'm not watching)

As usual, I've thrown the best of the rest into color-themed collages:

Pinks, clockwise from the upper left: Arbutus 'Marina', Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Dark Pink', Cistus 'Grayswood Pink', C. skanbergii, Cuphea 'Honeybells', and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland'

Blues, clockwise from the upper left: Consolida ajacis (aka larkspur), Lavandula 'Provence', Plectranthus neochilus, Globularia x indubia, and Thymus serpyllum

Whites, clockwise from the upper left: Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Achillea millifolium, Diplodenia 'Sundenia White', Eustoma grandiflorum, Magnolia grandiflora, and Osteospermum 'Violet Ice'

Yellows, clockwise from the upper left: Achillea 'Terracotta', Arctotis 'Large Marge', Argyranthemum 'Aramis Apricot', Berlandiera lyrata (aka chocolate daisy), Chrysocephalum apiculatum 'Desert Flame', and Petunia 'Bee's Knees' 

Reds, left to right: Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', Hemerocallis 'Sammy Russell', and Leucadendron salignum 'Blush'

So that's it for my late post.  To enjoy more flowers, call on Carol at May Dreams Gardens for connections to other contributors' Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts.

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