Cleaning up, clearing out, and giving away

I dislike clutter in any form, possibly because I grew up with a mother who became something of a hoarder.  While life in my childhood home never led to visits by the fire department or public safety officials, I grew uncomfortable with piles of unused and useless stuff.  If something sits around too long without serving any purpose, I'm inclined to throw it out, give it away, or if appropriate, donate it to one agency or another.  On occasion, if my husband can't find something, he asks if there's been a "Peterson purge."  (For the record, I don't touch his office, his workshop, or "his" garage.)  I recycle plastic pots at my local garden center, which is happy to accept them.  And, when it comes to plants, flowers, and produce from the garden, I offer that up to my neighbors via periodic giveaways.

My latest giveaway, undertaken this week, was triggered by a plethora of persimmons.

The more astringent 'Hachiya' persimmons (Diospyros kaki) had a banner year.  The heavy fruits make the tree look beautiful but they're less attractive as they crash to the ground and, once the raccoons and other critters have "harvested" the 'Fuyu' persimmons, they swarm that tree, breaking branches as they go.

The crop of 'Fuyu' persimmons was relatively light this year and the raccoons made quick work of picking the fruit, well before it was fully ripe.  I gave half a dozen fruits to friends but the critters took most of the rest.

I harvested the persimmons in stages and tried to protect the picked fruit from the critters but anything left unattended was fair game as far as the raccoons were concerned

In addition to the persimmons, I decided to add a mix of other things kicking around the garden to my giveaway.

This spot along the rock ledge front of my street-side succulent bed was the best I could come up with to fit everything in the same general area

Here's a closer look at what I included:

I put the persimmons all together on one end.  There are still more 'Hachiya' persimmons on the tree that were harder to reach.  I'll make the additional effort to pick them before they fall if I see there's adequate interest in the fruit.

As you can see, there were very few 'Fuyu' persimnmons to offer

Last year, some people assumed that 'Hachiya' persimmons could be eaten just like the non-astringent 'Fuyu' fruits.  This year, I took extra care to emphasize the necessity if giving the former time to turn soft so there would be fewer surprises.

I placed the mixed succulents, Halloween candy, and Renga lily plants together

Most of the succulents are agave pups of one kind or another, with a couple Mangaves thrown in.  I labeled all of them as best I could.  I tried to give some of these away unpotted with zinnias in September but there were few takers so I potted them up to develop roots before trying again to interest neighbors in them.

We had NO Halloween visitors at all this year so I had 2 bags (100 pieces) of candy on hand.  I put the candy out for delivery people to take earlier in the week before including the rest in this giveaway.  If nothing else, the candy may give people a moment to consider the fruit and plants.

Lastly, I included 4 of the Renga lily (Arthropodium cirratum) divisions I saved earlier this year when I cleared the planting bed outside our living room area at the back of the house.  I've kept several to use elsewhere in my own garden and handed one pot off to a neighbor directly.

The 'Fuyu' persimmons were a big draw last year but I don't expect the prolific 'Hachiya' persimmons to go as fast.  Unless someone is familiar with them, the astringency of the fruit is likely to be off-putting, although I've been told they're a nice ingredient in baked goods.  The succulents are small and mostly prickly so they may not be appealing either but I purposely planted them in small pots to make them at least nominally more attractive to passersby.  Renga lilies aren't plants that are familiar here even though they do well in our climate but I'm hoping that sharing a photo of their flowers will interest some people.  As to the leftover Halloween candy, I wouldn't be surprised if it's already gone.

Anything that doesn't go by late Sunday afternoon will probably end up in my garbage or recycle bins.  I'm just happy to be be rid of some of my garden clutter.

Best wishes for a lovely weekend.

Postscript: I finished laying out my giveaway goods at 10am on Thursday (after the usual neighbor walking hours were over).  I left an hour later to meet friends, returning near 2pm to finish this post for automatic publication on Friday morning.  When I headed out for my own daily walk around the neighborhood at 4pm, I discovered that everything, with the exception of 5 of the small succulents, was gone.  To say the least I was surprised.  I haven't yet checked the status of the 5 succulents this morning.

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

Further steps to manage our fire risk

"Zone zero" is back in the news here.  California passed its "zone zero" law in 2020 with the intention of creating five feet of "ember-resistant" areas surrounding homes located in very high fire risk areas.   The State's Board of Forestry and Fire Protection was tasked with creating regulations and timelines for implementing the law by January 2023.  That due date came and went as discussions moved to the back burner.  I vaguely recall some general discussion of the topic back then but the wildfires in Southern California in January reignited the sense of urgency to publish the regulations and get moving on implementing them in 2026.  However, according to an article published in the in the Los Angeles Times on November 3rd, the discussion remains heated and the current deadline of December 31, 2025 is likely to be missed once again.  Among other things, critics believe the emphasis on healthy, well-irrigated plants may be overblown and actions to harden homes would be more meaningful.  They point out that there's little scientific research to demonstrate which actions with respect to plants are effective in controlling ignitions of home structures.  In addition, while it could be relatively easy to regulate landscaping around new homes, it could be difficult to impose the same regulations on existing homeowners who could face significant financial burdens to alter their hardscaping and landscapes.

I recently learned that my own house is in a "green" zone due to a reappraisal of fire risk zones in my area.  At present, our property isn't subject to any regulations the State eventually adopts, which I assume includes those related to "zone zero."  So why do I care about the pending regulations?  I care because some homes in my own neighborhood do fall into high risk zones and it's hard to understand how fires affecting homes within a few minutes walking distance wouldn't present a real threat to my own home.  In addition, I've seen what wildfires can do.  My in-laws lost their home of twenty years to a wildfire in 1993.  And I'm nervous every time residents living around us set off illegal fireworks.

According to the LA Times article, even "zone zero" critics agree on certain aspects of the regulations under discussion, including the need to remove wooden structures attached to a house.  We previously removed a wooden arbor on the south side of our house but this week my husband and I agreed to address two other such structures.  The fence bisecting the north side of our garden is the first of these.

I thought my husband was going to contact the contractor we used when we renovated our house in 2019 to seek help or a referral to do the work but, just an hour or so after we spoke, I discovered he's already jumped in and started on the fence!

The fence's gate and its connection to the house is gone but the effort involved reinforced the need for outside help with removing the rest of the fence and the second project

The fence itself is beefier than it may look at first glance.  There are multiple posts backed by wood planks on both sides.

These photos show the new views without the gate.  The one on the left is looking roughly northwest into my cutting garden.  The one on the right shows the east side area looking at the spa with a view of the Port of Los Angeles in the distance.

This is what's left of the gate and the boards that had connected the fence to the house itself

Views of the west and east sides of the fence that remains.  At its end, our fence connects to another wood fence that separates our property from than of our neighbor on the north side,

Blending the cutting garden with the north-side dry garden may be a challenge, albeit not insurmountable.  My most immediate concern is whether the 2 tall Leptospermum 'Pink Pearl' shrubs can remain there.  I love them but they'll look even more awkward with the fence gone.  As it is, they already crowd with the persimmon tree (Diospyros 'Fuyu') on the west side of the fence.

The other area of concern is the arbor attached to the front of the house.

Our contractor argued in favor of taking this arbor down when we renovated the house in 2019 but I objected because I felt it provided a sense of enclosure.  It offers a little shade but no real cover from the elements.

 

My husband sees signs of rot in the wood and, when I looked at the overhead beams I was surprised to see what I believe is lichen growing on them

The wood mulch surrounding the Magnolia tree in the front garden should probably go too, although some critics question the necessity of that.  There was grass there when we moved it but it didn't thrive even with the heavy watering the prior owner gave it and we took it all out.  I've tried a couple of groundcovers there with limited success as competition with the tree's roots is fierce.

Photo of the area in question taken in early October.  Before I take the step of hauling in gravel, maybe I'll try adding something like Carex divulsa (aka woodland sedge) in spots there first.

I'm not entirely happy with the area I cleared at the back of our house outside the living and dining room windows earlier this year; however, I've finished tweaking it for the time being.  As the plants settle in and fill out, I may feel better about it.

I added more succulents; replanted the Helleborus 'Phoebe' that'd been choked out by a massive Arthropodium cirratum; added one of the divisions from that Arthropodoium; and planted a few more burgundy-flowered ivy geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum)

Meanwhile, I continue to be plagued by critters doing their own work in my garden.

While the skunk hasn't been since Halloween, the raccoons are back digging up my beds and stealing persimmon fruit.  My cat alerted me to their return Monday night and I thought I'd chased them away but I was wrong.  The 'Fuyu' persimmons are all but gone but I've been harvesting the prolific 'Hachiya' persimmons in hope of giving them away.  The raccoons decided that dumping the first bucket I'd collected was easier than climbing the tree.

And the gophers have returned to the back garden now that all my old sonic devices are dead.  I've thrown balls of nasty-smelling gopher repellent into the holes but I probably need more of those and possibly a few new sonic devices to send them elsewhere. Where are the coyotes when they could be helpful?!

As may be apparent, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment.

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

In a Vase on Monday: A November surprise (but without pizzazz)

I disposed of all but one of my dahlias about two weeks ago, the majority because they showed signs of the mosaic virus, and a few others simply because they hadn't performed well.  The one I left in place was purchased on a whim from my local garden center in April, labeled as 'Caproz Pizzazz'.  The photo attached to the tuber's package showed a flower with deep magenta petals touched with pinkish-white.  I planted it in a half-barrel in May and it grew well but stubbornly refused to produce any buds.  I was ready to toss it with the rest of my tubers when it surprised me with a single bud a few weeks ago.  That bud finally opened late last week, revealing the fact that it is most definitely not 'Caproz Pizzazz' (which you can see here.)  As pickings to fill vases are very limited now, I cut that bloom for the first of this week's vases.

I asked Google AI to identify white dahlias with lavender petal tips.  It offered 6 possibilities, one of which was 'Ferncliff Illusion', which is the one that most resembled the dahlia shown above.  In addition to its color, both flowers are dinnerplate varieties. The dahlia has unexpectedly developed a few more buds so I've left it in place for now.

Back view: Vitex trifolia has an annoying habit of drooping after being cut but it's still pretty and it usually straightens up eventually

Overhead view: Among other things, I added 2 stems of Medinilla myrinatha (aka the Malaysian or grape orchid) to the mix.  It's not as flashy as Medinilla magnifica but it's survived in my garden for years and gets points for that.

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Ivory Bells', Cosmos bipinnatus, Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Dahlia 'Ferncliff Illusion' (maybe), Medinilla myriantha, and Vitex trifolia

I considered Camellia sasanqua flowers for a second arrangement as they've just begun to bloom but the flowers of Senna bicapsularis have reached their peak so I decided to make use of them.  Although I featured a couple of stems in a vase two weeks ago, they were still in bud at that point.  They're making a bolder statement now.

I filled in with stems of 2 of the ever-blooming Grevilleas.  The addition of a single Rudbeckia up front was due to accidentally cutting its stem as I was tidying up the plant.

Back view

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', G. 'Superb', Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', Rudbeckia 'Juliana', and Senna bicapsularis

The green Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) I cut last week are still looking good so I stuck them in the small vase on my kitchen island to accompany the Leucadendron 'Jester' stems I cut two weeks ago.

The Lisianthus haven't been prolific this year but at least they have a long vase life

Following a moderate heatwave last week with temperatures in the low 90sF/32C), temperatures have dropped over the last couple of days, courtesy of dense morning marine layers.  Current expectations are that our temperatures will remain in the 60s to low-70sF throughout most of November. However, Weather West predicts that Southern California (if not necessarily the northern part of the state) will remain dry for the "foreseeable future."

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

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

Happy Halloween?!

I'm finding it hard to get excited about the holidays this year given that every news release leaves my head spinning and sends my blood pressure up.  Halloween isn't my favorite holiday in any case but I usually invest a little time decorating for it mid-month.  This year, I just pulled out a few things yesterday.  Our neighborhood isn't teaming with children to begin with but there are more now than there were when we moved in and I didn't want to disappoint those that show up on the 31st.

My decorations, such as they are, arranged in the front porch area

Last year, the neighborhood offered a lot more decorations for kids to enjoy, including one house with a front yard full of blow-up monsters and the like.  This year, there's nothing like that going on.  I noted only four houses with any kind of decorations and they were all low-key.

Spiders and ghosts on a front gate

I liked the little bats surrounding this front door.  Two other houses sported scarecrows.

I wasn't aware that chocolate prices have gone through the roof, which puts its own edge on the holiday.  I'd forgotten to pick up candy on my last trip to the market and asked my husband to get two bags while he was out.  He mentioned their price to me when he got home.  We didn't "need" two bags of candy as we're unlikely to have that many Halloween visitors but I like to leave the leftovers for delivery people during the holidays.

According to an NBC news report, cocoa prices that had typically ranged from $2K to $3K per metric ton reached $10K earlier this year.  Tariffs have impacted the candy production supply chain but crop diseases in West Africa attributed to climate change are a bigger factor as that region of the world produces 70% of the world's cocoa.

Meanwhile, my own garden offered me some spine-chilling sights I could've done without.

I noticed that 2 of the 5 Agave desmetiana 'Variegata' I planted here as pups in 2019 are in the process of developing their own bloom stalks.  As the others are approximately the same size and were installed at the same time, there's a good chance they may follow on the heels of the first 2, which means I'll probably face an entire do-over of the area in 2026.

My persimmons are ripening fast but the critters are getting to the fruit even faster.  The Diospyros 'Fuyu' offered a much smaller crop this year and the critters have taken most of them.  The fruit of the 'Hachiya' variety is more plentiful but less appealing to most people as it's very astringent until it's mushy.  Once both persimmon varieties are riper, I'd planned to give them away in November with a variety of plants and some of the leftover candy.

I'd assumed that raccoons were digging holes up all over my garden but on Wednesday night I discovered that a skunk may be responsible.  My cat alerted me to its presence and I turned on the outside light nearest this bed and caught photos of it at work with my cell phone.  My photos make it appear they were taken in daylight but it was close to 10pm.

Banging on the window briefly sent the skunk packing but he almost immediately returned.  I risked a spraying by going out on the patio to create more noise before heading to bed but I suspect he returned after I left.

The next morning, I discovered the skunk had done a thorough job of turning up the soil and pulling out entire plants in that bed and others even though I'd previously pinned hardware cloth over much of the bare soil.  I spent nearly an hour cleaning up after it yesterday morning.

I also discovered that the bloom stalk of this Yucca 'Bright Star' has stressed out the plant.  I expect I'll end up removing it once the flowers are spent.

In spite of news reports and the price of chocolate, I hope you find some reasons to smile this Halloween, be it a piece of candy or a child's smile.  In the US, the clocks roll back this weekend and I'm looking forward to that!

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

Local rambles around town

My sister-in-law was here for a short visit last week.The last time she visited, we took her to the Getty Center but on this occasion we remained closer to home.  We took a long walk through South Coast Botanic Garden the first day.  The garden is in the process of transitioning from one set of events to another and I felt the emphasis on those rather than the beauty of nature and the garden itself, but I can't say that bothered my husband or my SIL, who don't have the same expectations of the garden as I do.  However, the weather was perfect and the walk itself was comfortable.

These are the only plant-related photos I took during this visit.  Construction of the new children's garden remains completely stalled and much of the garden is still cordoned off.  That may explain why the garden's administrators are leaning so hard into event traffic.

The biggest ongoing event is the "Magic of Jack O' Lanterns," which is a nighttime lights show and festival managed by a contractor.  It requires special tickets and ends on November 2nd.  

Dogtoberfest was open to dogs and their owners on Saturdays and Sundays during October.  I think it's officially closed now but some of the props were still in place.  

Astra Lumina, another light show, is returning to SCBG in November and is expected to run through the holiday season.  Although some features of that display were never removed, the contractor's staff was actively working on installation of the light connections when we visited.  You can find information on the contractor's site but, oddly, it isn't yet showing on SCBG's own site. 

The newest event, Dinosaurs Around the World, is scheduled to go live on November 1st, and continue until February 1st, 2026 but this was the only sign of it we came across during our visit.  Said to feature 13 animatronic dinosaurs, this one was half a dinosaur missing his electronic bits hanging out near some of the Jack O' Lanterns event stations.  However, on the way to a medical appointment on Monday, I saw plastic-wrapped dinosaurs being unloaded at the back of the garden.

The next day we decided to visit San Pedro, an area surrounding the Port of Los Angeles that we can see from our back garden.  I suggested stopping at the 25th Street mosaic mural.  I don't think my husband was impressed by the idea but he went with it as our first stop.  The only reason I was aware of the mural was that I answered a call for succulents to fill the hell strip that lines the street in front of the mural back in January 2024 when I happened upon an article on the effort in a local magazine.  I wrote a post about that, which you can find here.

I was even more impressed by the effort that went into the mural during this visit.  My husband and my SIL were impressed to.  I took more photos of the details this time but you can get the big picture in a video featuring Julie Bender, the woman who directed the project with the help of 600 volunteers from the local community (which you can find here).

Volunteers helped create individualized mosaic pieces.  These focused on boats, a big part of life in San Pedro, both past and present.

Houses, some containing family names and addresses

Snippets of memories and views on what it means to live in San Pedro were tucked in throughout the mural

The mural also included lots of historical highlights

San Pedro's former destination location was the Ports O' Call Village, a spot I can remember visiting as a child and at least once with my husband as an adult.  It was demolished in 2018.  My husband had the impression that the West Harbor development that's meant to replace it was further advanced than it is. It's intended to include restaurants, a famous fish market (temporarily relocated), retail shops, an open-air theater, and a three-acre pedestrian walkway. In fact, it's still under construction and isn't currently expected to open for business until 2026.  So we ended up at the Cabrillo Way Marina and walked there.

Lots and lots of boats, some qualifying as yachts in my view.  I spotted one paddle boarder and got a fuzzy photo.

Needless to say, I didn't get much done in my garden last week.  I did finish clearing the raised planters in my cutting garden but, as we've now got a bit of a heatwave going on - our temperature peaked at 90F/32C yesterday - I've held off on doing much in the way of replanting the beds or sowing seeds.

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