In a Vase on Monday: Flawed but not yet gone

A bad case of mildew and the spread of the dahlia mosaic virus have made a mess of the foliage in my cutting garden.  I've cut a lot of it back, which helps improve airflow, but that doesn't make it look all that much better overall.  As the dahlia season winds down, flower production had declined but it hasn't yet stopped entirely.  I cobbled together two arrangements once again this week but I may throw up my hands and pull everything out of my raised planters within the next couple of weeks just to rid myself of that hideous foliage.  I've already come to the conclusion that most, if not all, of my dahlia tubers will have to be tossed when this season comes to an end so as to avoid more issues with the mosaic virus next year.

'Fairway Spur' is one of my favorite dahlias.  It's a late bloomer and I've just had a handful of flowers from it thus far.  It doesn't help that it the heavy blooms sit atop weak stems that struggle to support them, causing them to snap at inconvenient times.  This week, I was able to cut two of those flowers in reasonably good shape and combined them with flowers cut from the more prolific 'Summer's End' Dahlias, another of my favorites.

I took advantage of some of the more recent Zinnia blooms to fill out the vase

Back view

Overhead view

Top row: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' and Leucadendron salignum 'Winter Red'
Middle: Dahlias 'Summer's End' and 'Fairway Spur'
Bottom: Zinnias 'Benary's Giant Coral', 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose', and 'Queeny Red Lime'

Dahlia 'Cafe au Lait' ('Rose' or 'Royal', I'm no longer sure which) is still pumping out new blooms at a steady rate so I used them for my second arrangement.  I cut stems of the Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' that produced another flush of flowers last week too.  The color mix was a little off with the Callistemon having a peachy cast missing in the dahlias but that was the best I could do.

I got another single stem of the collarette dahlia with a larger bloom than those it'd previously sported.  The dahlia, sold to me as 'Kelsey Ann Joy' is probably actually 'Bumble Rumble' as identified by a social media commentator.

Back view, showing off the Callestemon and Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum)

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Bumble Rumble', D. 'Cafe au Lait Rose/Royal', Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Eustoma grandiflorum 'Light Apricot', and Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'

We had a speck of rain last week, gaining 0.07/inch over a two-day period.  That puts us just over the seven inch total for the 2025 "water year," which ends on September 30th.  That's less than half our average annual rainfall.  The rain was nevertheless appreciated as my rain barrels caught some of what flowed off the house and garage roofs.  I can only hope that the 2026 water year will be better.  Temperatures have fallen, for which I'm also grateful.

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

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

Hip hip hooray! Annie's mail order plants are back!

In mid-September I received a notice from GrowOrganic.com, advertised as the "Online Home of Peaceful Valley Farm" located in Grass Valley, California.  They anoounced that they were going live with the mail order business they purchased after Annie's Annuals and Perennials suddenly closed its doors in October last year.  They offered a discount code for use on my first order and, when they published "Annie's Annuals & Perennials Best of Fall Collection" on September 20th, I submitted an order.  (You can find their webpage here.)  Did I "need" to order new plants now, with summer's hold on us is still in place?  No, I did not but I ordered anyway.  My order was promptly processed and my first shipment arrived as promised on Wednesday afternoon.

They're using the Annie's brand, at least for now.  Even the shipping boxes are the same as those used by the original Annie's operation.

I don'r remember a "this end up" label like this in the old days, though

My order was packed in the same fashion as my prior Annie's orders.

The internal packing was the same too, except that 2 plants had been laid on their sides on this occasion

Here's a better view of what I ordered.

I purchased 4 varieties of plants, 9 in total.  Annie's always only sold mail order plants in 4-inch pots, which I prefer when I can get them that way.

Believe it or not, I've got spots designated for everything included in this order, which isn't always the case:

The three snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus 'Double Azalea Bronze') will go into my cutting garden, where there's enough space for them given recent losses.  It's earlier than I'd like to plant snapdragons, which are cool season plants here, but I love them and my dahlias appear to be seeking an early exit.

Annie's snapdragons have been more resistant to rust than any of those I've purchased locally

The three Carex divulsa will edge the area that formerly held two overgrown and woody Coleonema album in the front garden.  I already have one specimen of this Carex elsewhere (which came from the original Annie's) so I know it handles partial shade and low water well.

The grass-like plant is attractive but also easy to care for

The two coyote mints (Monardella villosa) will be planted in empty spots in a very dry area in my back garden next to the flagstone path.  The evergreen plant is said to be a good selection for a "no-water path," which would make it perfect for the spot in question.

In the interest of full disclosure, I tried growing this plant once before and it died; however, I think I failed to give it enough water when it was in the early stages of getting established that time

The single Mexican marigold (Tagetes lemmonii) will replace the woody specimen I pulled earlier this year when it was no longer flowering as well as it had in prior years.

Tagetes lemmonii provided flushes of bright yellow-gold color in spring and fall in its former position.  The Gazanias currently in that spot don't do the job.

Everything will be tucked into place and well-watered this weekend.  The marine layer has returned and it was noticeably cooler yesterday.  I'm expecting more of the same today.

I can't claim that the Annie's/GrowOrganic order is the only one I've placed recently.  I've actually gone bonkers with bulb orders recently, including three to Dutch sellers, two of which called out six percent tariffs on their goods.

I ordered 83 bulbs from K. van Bourgondien, including Amaryllis (Hippeastrum), Orienpet Lilies, Dutch Iris, Crocus, and Tazetta daffodils

John Scheepers will supply another 101 bulbs, including more Dutch Iris, Alliums, Ipheion, species tulips, and a single Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)

What I ordered from Van Engelen are pricier bulbs sold in bulk, including Scilla peruviana, more Orienpet Lilies, and more Amaryllis.  I like to give Hippeastrums as holiday gifts and they're less expensive ordered well before the holidays.

I tallied up the expense of the fall bulb orders and, given two pre-orders of dahlia bulbs to ship in spring, I decided I'd best tuck my credit card away for awhile.  When it's not uncomfortably warm, I've been chipping away at pruning chores, boring and often arduous.  Every time I turn around, I find more plants that need such attention.  I'm going to call on my tree service to schedule the larger scale jobs I can't handle.  Although it still feels a lot like summer here, my internal clock is telling me I need to get cracking on preparations for our cool season.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend as September comes to its end.

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

Wordless Wednesday: Cloudy Views

Early morning, southeast view, September 18th

Sunset, northeast view, same day

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

In a Vase on Monday: Rescue Operation

A tropical storm blew through Southern California late last week.  It prompted flash floods and mudslides in the foothills and mountain areas to the east of us, as well as other parts of the US Southwest.  My own area received only a trivial amount of rain (0.03/inch) but the winds pulverized my cutting garden on the northeast side of our house.  I was shocked to see what it did to my tallest zinnias, flowers I was sure I'd be cutting as giveaways for neighbors into late October or early November.  The winds didn't treat my dahlias well either.  I've already pulled out many of the zinnias and cut back several of the dahlias.  I made use of the less damaged flowers to fill this week's vases.

I cut my flowers on Saturday this week as I was already in the process of cleaning up my cutting garden.  All the 'Mikayla Miranda' Dahlias that remained presentable following the storm are shown here.

Back view: I used stems of Vitex trifolia as my foliage filler.  The shrub flowers but mine has yet to produce many this season; however, its purple and olive green foliage is its main attraction.

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda', Digitalis purpurea (still producing periodic blooms!), Symphyotrichum chilense (which I tried to eradicate a few years ago), and Vitex trifolia

My second arrangement is a compilation of the least damaged of my pinkish dahlias.

Before the winds kicked up, there were half a dozen of the tall 'Cafe au Lait Rose' Dahlias suitable for cutting.  On Saturday, there was but one left and even it looked a little ragged from the back.

Back view: I used 4 stems of 'Benary's Giant Wine' Zinnias to fill out the vase.  Relatively few of those zinnias are left now.

Overhead view

Top row: Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', noID Pelargonium, and Dahlia 'Molly Raven'
Middle: Dahlias 'Care au Lait Rose' and 'La Belle Epoque'
Bottom: Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Wine' and 'Queeny Red Lime'

Although the 'Benary's Giant Wine' Zinnias took the hardest hit, a lot of the 'Queeny Red Lime' Zinnias were also knocked over.  I crammed many of these flowers into a small vase.  Much of the damage was due to the fact that the cage supporting the five foot tall 'Cafe au Lait Rose' Dahlia shifted in the wind.

I added a couple of 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose' Zinnias and the Rumohra adiantiformis fern fronds from one of last week's vases to the 'Queeny Red Lime' Zinnias

Temperatures fell following the storm, although humidity levels soared.  Our marine layer moved in again yesterday and it was gloomy throughout the afternoon.  There was a forty percent chance of showers but none materialized.  There's another chance of rain on Tuesday but I'm not counting on it.  Meanwhile, the increased humidity seems to have encouraged another flush of bloom from Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid'.  Hopefully, the Callistemon flowers and some dahlias will still be available for cutting next week.

When it get hot, these Callistemon blooms tend to quickly turn turn a buff brown color

The temperatures are expected to remain in a comfortable range of the low-to-mid 70sF (22-24C) for the balance of the week but I've been fooled by forecasts before.  

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

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

Agave 'Blue Glow': Full of Surprises

I've grown a lot of 'Blue Glow' Agaves.  They're generally regarded as solitary plants, which means they don't usually produce pups or offsets.  To my recollection, I've previously had only one produce a pup after a lengthy confinement in a small pot.  Like most agaves, 'Blue Glow' is deemed to be monocarpic, which means it produces a single bloom stalk and subsequently dies.  I've had other agaves follow that routine but I'd never had a 'Blue Glow' bloom until 2023.  And even then, it defied its reputation by not dying.  I wasn't entirely surprised by this as a neighbor's plant also continued to live on after it'd bloomed as I described here in a 2022 post.  As mine didn't look too bad after that initial bloom stalk was removed, I left it in place and, in December 2024, it began to develop two more bloom stalks.  When those flopped over a few months ago, I harvested a handful of bulbils from the dying stalks and we cut them down.  By this time, summer was upon us and I didn't want to ask my husband for help in removing the plant so I left it in place until we had a brief stretch of cooler temperatures last weekend.  My husband did the lion's share of the work in removing it, getting stabbed from multiple directions in the process.

Photo of the agave in question in July.  Note the pups popping out from various angles.  I complicated the removal process by asking my husband to preserve those intact to the extent possible so I could try harvesting them.

My husband tackled the plant from below using an electrical saw, leaving the upper portion largely intact   

I initially couldn't get a grip on the individual pups to pull them apart from the larger clump and I almost gave up of the idea of harvesting them.  However, once I started twisting each pup's rosette in circles, one after another finally broke away.  I didn't retrieve all of them but I collected five good-sized rosettes that way.

The largest of the harvested rosettes is shown on the left and the smaller ones are shown on the right.  All had at least some attached roots.

I gave them a couple of days to dry out before I cleaned them up.

I cleaned them up around the base, removing dried and damaged leaves and giving the stems cleaner cuts.  This is what they looked like afterwards.  Many of the leaves were wavy, presumably because they grew cramped by the leaves of the mother plant.

I subsequently potted them up.

I lined up the pots in a mostly shady spot near my lath house for the time being

Closeups on the individual rosettes, shown clockwise from the largest to the smallest.  All are larger than most of the 'Blue Glow' Agaves I've seen at local garden centers in one-gallon pots for $30 to $35.

I'll give them time to establish healthy roots in the pots before deciding what to do with them.  Assuming they survive this transition, I may plant two or three elsewhere in my garden and give the others away.  I've already promised myself to give the plants a greater amount of space if I plant them out.  As their parent plant turned out to be a clumper rather than a solitary specimen, they may also require greater space as they mature.  I'm not yet sure what I'll do with the empty spots I have in the south-side succulent bed.  I'd originally planned to put the 'Sun Glow' Agave I put aside several months ago into the spot vacated by the 'Blue Glow' we've now removed but I'm not sure I want it so close to the mature plants I still have there.

The empty spot is backed by a Metrosideros 'Springfire', which is getting bigger every year, and surrounded by 2 other 'Blue Glows' with an Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie' and an Agave 'Mediopicta Alba' nearby.  There's also another group of 3 'Blue Glows' just outside the frame of this photo on the right. 

I may use smaller succulents or even a small-flowered Pelargonium in the empty spot for a softer touch.  When the other agaves bloom and require removal, my husband would certainly appreciate room to maneuver when "we" tackle that chore.

Interestingly, although most online sources still declare that 'Blue Glow' Agaves are solitary plants, there are some that state otherwise.  The most comprehensive discussion I've found so far is one posted on Flora Grubb's site, which you can find here.  In short, Grubb contends that 'Blue Glow' Agaves remain solitary only until they bloom.

This is a wrap for my posts this week.  We're looking at a hot and sticky Florida-like weekend following a brief tropical storm's passage through here in the wee hours of Thursday morning.  Forecasts had called for a quarter of an inch of rain in my location but we got just 0.03/inch; however, the humidity level has soared.  High winds also took out over half the 'Benary's Giant Wine' Zinnias in my cutting garden, which was a surprise as those plants and flowers had looked indestructible but perhaps their sheer height was the issue.  Oh well, Mother Nature is nothing if not unpredictable. 

Have a good weekend.  My recommendation: limit your news consumption.

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

Hardscaping in Progress

The title of this post doesn't apply to my garden but rather to a property across the canyon, readily visible from my backyard.  I used to walk through that neighborhood on occasion but this home is located at the dead end of a spur road and I've never seen it in person.  The house was under renovation for years but, when it was put up for sale in 2021, I looked up the listing online as I was curious about the garden surrounding the house.  The only "garden" shots included in the listing were small fenced areas close to the house.  From a distance, it appears that the land is more sloped than flat and most of the plants I can see appear to be common coastal scrub.  Like mine, the property is a over half an acre in size.

Earlier this year I noticed that the homeowners were doing a bit of puttering with plants but I didn't see much in the way of significant activity until this summer.  A concrete mixer moved in at one point and it looked as though raised planters might be under construction.  I wondered if the homeowners might be planning to terrace the area below the house (which I can't see).  After a lull, hardscaping activity started in August.

Another step was added to the pink stairway extending from the driveway and rails went up in mid-August

A couple days later a raised platform was under construction

Several days later, another stairway attached to the raised platform was being constructed

By September 1st the platform had become another patio level and handrails were in place

It looked as though the new patio space was closed off on the right by a wood fence for a few days

However, instead of ending the patio where the fence stood on September 4th, work on a raised walkway began days later.

The right side fence came down and construction moved along the wall adjacent to the driveway

My latest photo on September 15 shows a continuation of the raised walkway, feet above the bare ground, just above where the slope drops further down

The workers have been there every day.  Luckily, they don't make a lot of noise but I'm still unclear on whether there are any plans for the garden landscaping around the hardscaping.  There's a lot of land to work with both below the new structure and in the upper areas of the lot.

There's a huge sloped area above the house and driveway.  The photo on the left shows another stairway leading to the upper reaches of the property and a concrete gulley.  I spotted another garden platform higher up (shown on the right).  Initially, I wasn't sure it was part of the property as boundary lines often aren't clear in our area.

However, when I noticed pots matching those on the upper outlook on the main level patio, I realized that the upper area must also belong to the same homeowners

I do hope to see some landscaping at some point.  Surely they don't plan on leaving the area below the new, lower-level patio or the new raised walkway empty to collect weeds?  

As California's Board of Forestry and Fire Protection works to complete the regulations associated with "zone zero" by the end of the year, I also had to wonder if the homeowners new patio and walkways have been checked against the draft guidelines.  (A new Los Angeles Times article concerning "zone zero" guidelines can be found here.)  Although those guidelines won't apply to existing structures immediately, it sounds as though compliance will be required within three years of their publication.  In the case of our own property, that highlights the issue of the connection between the gate and fence on the northeast side of our house.  Even if the State doesn't have the resources to enforce the new regulations, it appears that insurers are poised to take up the issue when it comes to approving fire insurance coverage.  There may be some challenges on the horizon for all homeowners in high fire risk areas like mine in the upcoming years.

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