A little planting, a lot of weeding

Feeling as though what passes for winter here may be over already, I've started doing some spring planting.  However, whatever time I spend on those activities is eclipsed by the time I've been spending on weeding.  I blame the warm temperatures for the sheer volume of weeds everywhere I look.   It was 84F (29C) yesterday and, with the Santa Ana winds expected to begin blowing again, it could be warmer still today.

All my recent efforts in the garden have been small in scope, mostly focused on filling minor gaps.  The area in front of the Ceanothus in one section of my back border, where I'd previously plunked Aeonium cuttings, was bugging me and, seeing how well sea lavender (Limonium perezii, aka statice) was doing elsewhere, I decided to try it there in place of the larger Aeonium arboreum.

I placed one small Limonium perezii behind my Ginkgo tree 2 years ago and it's now massive, despite no attention whatsoever from me

My local garden center was selling the plants in 6-inch pots last week so I picked up 3 after pulling up 3 clumps of Aeonium arboreum, one of which was already blooming.  I left the Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' cuttings in place, as well as several vincas (Catharanthus 'Blueberry Kisses').  I cut the vinca back almost to the ground - it may or may not spring back.  I also left the Mangave 'Pineapple Express' pups in place to see whether they or the Ceanothus itself would be the first  to cover up the shrub's bare base.

The vinca (Catharanthus 'White Peppermint') I'd planted in an area of the front garden had also largely died back.  As I haven't had great success in growing much there, I decided to try succulents this time.

I recently pulled up several lanky stems of Aeonium 'Velour' elsewere and, as its red color has made it one of my favorites, I popped 3 cuttings in to pick up the reddish color at the base of the Phormium 'Maori Queen' in the background.  I then added 3 'Princess' Echeverias and 3 'Sunburst' Aeoniums, hoping they'll fill out in time.

Last summer, I'd received five Echinopsis divisions from my friend Gerhard (of Succulents & More fame).  I initially kept them in small plastic pots in my lath (shade) house to give them a chance to root properly.  Rather than plant them out in the garden, where they would be still small enough to be stepped on, I decided to put them into larger pots.

The Echinopsis' temporary home

I'd had much better luck growing this Echinopsis oxygona in a pot than I've had with any planted directly in the ground

These 3 pots hold Echinopsis 'Daydream', E. 'Salmon Queen', and E. 'Sleeping Beauty'

The 2 pots on the left hold Echinopsis 'El Capitan' and E. 'Tondelayo'

I'd ordered ten more plants from Grow Organic, the company that purchased the rights to the mail order business formerly operated as Annie's Annuals & Perennials.  FedEx, which handled the delivery, didn't treat them gently and I hustled to get the smaller plants in the ground.

This is a bed I'd painstakingly cleared of (most) weeds the week before.  A gopher had tunneled through the area so, the space, formerly dominated by masses of Freesia bulbs and daylilies, had been significantly battered, leaving lots of empty space.  I planted Annie's Anagallis monellii (3) and Layla platyglossa (2) here but they're tiny.

These 5 plants, 1 Tagetes lemonii, 1 Penstemon, and 3 Verbascum phoeniceum 'Violetta', waited longer to find homes, although the Tagetes found its place yesterday afternoon.

I'm still debating where to put the three Verbascum phoeniceum 'Violetta', partly out of caution because I killed one I tried years ago.  I spent quite a bit of time walking through corners of my garden studying my options yesterday (weeding as I went).  While checking out the options in my back border, which still has lots of empty space since my fall cleanup of the garden, I discovered some things I set aside months ago and completely forgotten about.

I'd dropped 3 Amaryllis belladonna bulbs I'd dug up in an isolated corner.  I discovered that 2 have already sprouted foliage.  They're still sitting there...

Meanwhile, my garden's floral output continues to explode in response to our warm conditions.

The 'Spider Hybrid' Leucospermum may not have beat 'Sunrise' with its first blooms but it's already more prolific

While TV forecasters are talking up the tiny possibility of rain late this week, I'm not laying any odds on the prospect.  However, the chance of a little rain next week seems to be getting more promising, although I'm trying to keep my expectations in check for now.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party