tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post268280991991617771..comments2024-03-28T01:13:28.497-07:00Comments on Late to the Garden Party: The Fountain Bed Re-examined Kris Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07097260283693156795noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-34425213226935159832014-08-27T14:34:55.496-07:002014-08-27T14:34:55.496-07:00Lovely borders! Your plants are so exotic that it ...Lovely borders! Your plants are so exotic that it would be a great challenge for me to grow them in here. The grasses are my point of interest at the moment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-15435983760932166972014-08-19T21:20:06.700-07:002014-08-19T21:20:06.700-07:00The first May heatwave (unusual so early in the ye...The first May heatwave (unusual so early in the year) was unexpected and the second was just plain mean. But planting in spring here is always a bit of a crap shoot; however, sometimes it's the only time you can get the plants you want. Nurseries here have a bad habit of offering plants only when they're headed into their bloom cycles. I am putting more and more emphasis on drought tolerance, however.Kris Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07097260283693156795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-44327359076037873772014-08-19T21:15:02.502-07:002014-08-19T21:15:02.502-07:00The Euphorbia is still small but it looks like a k...The Euphorbia is still small but it looks like a keeper, Deb.Kris Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07097260283693156795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-5782663150246437592014-08-19T21:14:04.978-07:002014-08-19T21:14:04.978-07:00That's so kind, Tammy! Wouldn't it be won...That's so kind, Tammy! Wouldn't it be wonderful if Mother Nature took a more measured approach all around? The El Nino projections keep changing - at first forecasters predicted a wet El Nino (good for California but not so good for the west coast of South America) but they've been back-stepping on that projection. We should prepare for the worst and hope for the best, I guess.Kris Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07097260283693156795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-91164081169240937642014-08-19T11:02:13.664-07:002014-08-19T11:02:13.664-07:00I think your plants had a poor chance of success b...I think your plants had a poor chance of success being planted in spring before an unexpected heatwave! But you have seen the ones that will cope so perhaps you should look at other members of their families.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-15762032754032004722014-08-11T12:26:58.993-07:002014-08-11T12:26:58.993-07:00The overall sweep of your garden is magnificent! Y...The overall sweep of your garden is magnificent! Your attention to detail shows. I love the 'Blue Lagoon' Euphorbia. debsgardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15656883577922890561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-43690035466734022452014-08-10T20:18:36.814-07:002014-08-10T20:18:36.814-07:00I wouldn't even know what to recommend except ...I wouldn't even know what to recommend except for a cactus. I can't believe your plants actually turned black! That's insane! The weather guessers are calling for another brutal winter on the East coast and rain for CA. I'd gladly take a cold winter if it meant the west got much needed moisture.Casa Mariposahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16647089868277238456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-24620133044703491442014-08-10T15:44:43.650-07:002014-08-10T15:44:43.650-07:00Thanks Deanne. I still irrigate regularly but I&#...Thanks Deanne. I still irrigate regularly but I'm trying to trim my water use wherever I can and changing my plant choices is part of the process. Based on recent conversations with neighbors, it appears I'm doing better than some but I think the water restrictions implemented this month are just the beginning - unless, of course, we get a really wet El Nino this year.Kris Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07097260283693156795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-87359674419365577272014-08-10T15:40:36.608-07:002014-08-10T15:40:36.608-07:00Thanks for the list, Alison! I'll look for th...Thanks for the list, Alison! I'll look for the Knipfofia. The Asclepias is a great idea. Calendula 'Solar Flashback' looks a little like 'Bronzed Beauty' - they'd probably be nice mixed together if I can find seeds for the former in my local nursery. I'm not sure about adding more grass - I've got Stipa tenuissima and Carex testacea now.Kris Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07097260283693156795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-35663921310396584102014-08-10T15:31:45.158-07:002014-08-10T15:31:45.158-07:00Thanks for the suggestions! I should try Eryngium...Thanks for the suggestions! I should try Eryngium again - it was short-lived in my old garden but this one has a lot more sun to offer.Kris Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07097260283693156795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-9475042646025127332014-08-10T15:29:26.274-07:002014-08-10T15:29:26.274-07:00I thought about your recent post on the difficulty...I thought about your recent post on the difficulty of finding accurate information on plants as I considered the contents of this bed, Emily. "Drought tolerant" is an especially attractive label for buyers here right now and I think some sellers exaggerate just how drought tolerant some plants are in the interest of making sales - or it may be that drought tolerant in an area like yours and an area like mine are fundamentally different but growers/sellers don't address drought in terms of degrees. Last night, I came across a post on-line showing the "drought tolerant" plans a California gardener used in her front yard and found the Acorus on that list. Another list showed Zinnias as drought tolerant annuals Not here!). Looking more deeply into a plant's origins is certainly helpful, as you pointed out, but it means a lot more planning and a lot less impulse buying.Kris Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07097260283693156795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-79464175176867645762014-08-10T13:44:12.921-07:002014-08-10T13:44:12.921-07:00Your borders are filling out well. I'm impress...Your borders are filling out well. I'm impresses at how well things are doing considering the drought you are dealing with. Deanne Fortnamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17792741755739983035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-84412847403324897672014-08-10T09:07:09.576-07:002014-08-10T09:07:09.576-07:00What Emily said, all of my Acorus love wet conditi...What Emily said, all of my Acorus love wet conditions. Some orange suggestions that I have growing in my dry sunny bed: Kniphofia 'Mango Popsicle" stays small and blooms later than my enormous Kniphofia caulescens, and would look good in your bed, I think; and Asclepias tuberosa, which also stays short in my conditions. Both have gotten very little water this summer and still bloomed and look great. I'm not sure how they would like southern California, though. I also grew Calendula 'Solar Flashback' from seed this year, and got lots of bronzey flowers. How do ornamental grasses do in your area? I planted a handful of Schizachyrium 'Blue Heaven' this year and they are doing well and are very blue. Thanks for the link, also.Alisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16323262555906240701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-62727595131976499802014-08-09T20:12:16.630-07:002014-08-09T20:12:16.630-07:00I think your new bed has filled out well and looks...I think your new bed has filled out well and looks great! But...that plant tag gave you bunk advice, I'm sure. I have Acorus panted in a virtual swamp and I think it likes it there. Sammie070502https://www.blogger.com/profile/07840565341523291549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574540292918761182.post-21665185374842969932014-08-09T14:50:09.472-07:002014-08-09T14:50:09.472-07:00Yay for plants doing so well! What about adding mo...Yay for plants doing so well! What about adding more Aloes? As for blue what about Eryngiums?Mark and Gazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09427245730390252976noreply@blogger.com