In a Vase on Monday: Seeing purple

I thought I'd have a few lilies in bloom this week but they weren't quite ready to take off yet. So I decided to cut stems of the purple gladiolas I'd been eyeing last week. The trouble was finding other flowers that would show them off. I ended up adding two tall Acanthus mollis stems to balance them out. Combining those and a few other smaller plants were enough to call it an arrangement. I can only hope that the cat won't send the large crystal vase crashing to the floor before the week is over.

It's a very heavy vase but I'm not sure that'd stop a cat prone to pushing her boundaries

Back view: I included stems of the purple-leafed Vitex trifolia but unfortunately it takes a good day for  the stems to recover after they've been cut, hence the droop in these photos

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acanthus mollis, noID Gladious, noID Leucanthemum superbum, Limonium perezi, Nigella papillosa 'African Bride', and Vitex trifolia 'Purpurea'

Arrangement in place in the dining room

It's getting warmer here and the dahlia tubers that are still in temporary pots could use more space to spread out so I think my sweet peas may half to go soon. It's too bad; however, this year's crop was somewhat disappointing. I can already see signs of mildew on the foliage too.

Thanks, as always, to Cathy at at Rambling in the Garden for hosting IAVOM. Best wishes to all for a colorful week!

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

Fabulous February Foliage

As the title of this post indicates, I do love alliteration.  But before spring formally arrives and flowers dominate the scene, February is a good time to take stock of the foliage plants that add so much to my garden.  This won't be a comprehensive review as I've skipped some of the major players that are at risk of overexposure after repeated inclusion in my posts, like Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt'.  I should also note that many of the plants I've included here flower at some point during the year; however, I want to emphasize that these are plants that won a place in my garden in large part because of their foliage.

I'll start with those that shine in different shades of green.

Acanthus mollis was a major player in my former shady garden.  In contrast, the plants have struggled here, although I have at least three clumps like this one that appear in response to rain every year.  They usually fade away as the soil gets drier and our temperatures rise.  I only occasionally get flowers but I value those large leaves, which are relatively unusual in my climate.

I introduced Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lily), a New Zealand native, to my garden in 2011 and it's proliferated, mostly through divisions of my original plants.  I've found it to be an excellent plant for use in dry shade.  The graceful foliage is evergreen and the flowers that appear in May are a plus.

I expect most people grow Echium webbii principally for its brilliant blue flowers but I'd grow this plant even if it didn't flower.  It has a beautiful shape (at least until it gets old and woody) and the foliage gives off a silvery-blue glint in the sun.

Next up are the standouts in shades of silver.

Centaurea 'Silver Feather' is another plant I'd grow even if it didn't flower.  I planted an excess of these in my back garden, underestimating their mature size but, positioned at appropriate distance from one another, they make a stunning statement in the garden.  One of my plants in the front garden died back but I rooted a cutting to fill the empty spot.

I wish these Helichrysum thianschanicum 'Icicles' didn't bloom.  After bloom, they looked misshapen.  I cut them back hard in late summer, not sure they'd survive, but I'm happy with how they look now.

Salvia canariensis var candidissima has fuzzy silvery-white foliage.  It produces interesting flowers in summer.

Variegated plants and those with unusual foliage color also play important roles.

I determined that, in my garden, Cordyline 'Can Can' is happier in a pot than in the ground.  The smaller plant is Cordyline terminalis 'Chocolate Queen', a recent mail order purchase from Little Prince of Oregon.

Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' has great presence in my front garden in bloom and out.  It does get woody over time and in another year or so I expect I'll have to replace it.  I'll try taking cuttings this spring to get a replacement queued up.

Hebe 'Purple Shamrock' is a dwarf evergreen shrub.  It needs a regular trim to keep its shape (something I don't always handle on a timely basis) but it's otherwise a carefree plant.  It produces small purple flowers in summer but, with foliage like that, who cares?

Yucca 'Blue Boy' has wonderful purple foliage.  It's supposed to grow 4-6 feet tall by 3-5 feet wide but mine have stayed smaller (or are just biding their time).

When we acquired this garden just over ten years ago, the only succulent plant in the garden was a single clump of Agave attenuata in the front garden.  In every year since, they've gained a larger foothold.  If I were to venture a guess, I'd say succulents now account for roughly one quarter of the plants in my garden.  Many of these, like the larger agaves, regularly crop up in my posts so I've included just a few of the more demure specimens in this one.

These two 'Joe Hoak' Agaves have been in place since 2015, slowly growing in size.  One came to me as a pup from blogger friend Denise of A Growing Obsession.   

I showed this Crassula Senecio amaniensis in a recent post but here it is again.  I love its shape.  The one in my street-side bed develops long decumbent branches, which is apparently a response to receiving less water.

Years ago, I stuck a tiny cutting of Crassula ovata 'Gollum' below the Xylosma hedge running along the street.  It's become a nice accent with its orange-red tips and I've now used other cuttings as fillers among succulents elsewhere.

Graptoveria 'Fred Ives', shown here in front of three Hesperaloes, remains one of my favorite succulents.  It's tough as well as pretty.

Mangave 'Jaguar', a birthday gift from my husband the year before last, has proven to be a very attractive plant.  I need to surround it with more succulents that'll pick up the copper and burgundy tones in its foliage.

Mangave 'Spotty Dotty' has been happier since I relocated it to this sunnier spot.  Its coloring is unusual, even for a Mangave.

I took numerous photos of Aeoniums in preparing this post but I decided they deserve their own separate post, which I'll share sometime later this month.

That's it from me this week.  I had my first Covid-19 vaccine shot yesterday and I'm starting the weekend with a positive outlook as a result.  I hope you find something to put a positive spin on your weekend too.

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

A progress report

As those of you who regularly read my blog may remember, we had the last of our sod stripped away in late September.  That was followed by months of digging to remove grassroots and sod netting in the affected areas before we added topsoil and amendments.  I reported progress with the backyard area in late November and mid-December.  I'm finally ready to provide a status report on the front yard area.

As a reminder, here's what the area looked like at earlier stages in the process:

From the left: the area with lawn, the area after the sod was stripped away, and the area while digging was in progress

Here are a the most current photos of the same area:

View looking roughly northwest

View looking in the other direction toward the hedge lining the street

We completed our digging at the end of December.  We then added imported topsoil and amendments to improve soil drainage.  A railroad tie and gravel path was laid to connect the existing walkway to the street and a flagstone path was added to make it easier to work in the surrounding beds without stomping on plants.  Planting has begun but is by no means complete.

The area closest to my neighbor to the north, which is sunny for most of the day, has been planted with lots of succulents.

I used cuttings and ornamental grass plugs in most of this area

The Agave attenuata in the photo on the far left was in place when we bought the property but I've added cuttings of Aeoniums, Senecio vitalis and Sansevieria suffruticosa around them.  In the top row on the right, the photo shows 3 Agave attenuata cuttings, a mass planting of Cistanthe grandiflora (formerly known as Calandrinia) cuttings I received from a friend, and Echeveria picked up on a recent shopping expedition.  The bottom row on the right shows a noID variegated Aloe received from a neighbor, plugs of Festuca glauca, and one of 3 new fernleaf lavenders (Lavandula multifida).

The area on the other side of the gravel pathway, screened to a significant extent by the existing Xylosma congestum hedge, is much shadier.  Planting has only just begun in this area.  This far, I've relied mostly on shade-tolerant plants and divisions of plants from the side garden.

Two Acanthus mollis were moved from this area where, since the removal of the Eucalyptus tree in 2013, they were getting too much sun.  I also dug up and divided the huge mass of Arthropodium cirratum (Renga Lily)  shown here, which netted 27 divisions, some of which I replanted and many which I gave away to friends and neighbors.

Clockwise from the far left: One of 3 Acanthus mollis (2 of which were moved from elsewhere in the garden), Abelia 'Confetti', one of the many divisions I took from a large mass of Arthropodium cirratum I removed from the side garden, one  of 4 divisions I made from 2 recently purchased Dianella tasmanica 'Yellow Stripe', and a mass of wooly thyme planted from flats

This is a working area of the garden rather than one for resting and relaxing.  The railroad tie and gravel path is intended for use in moving our trash cans to and from the street.

We were unable to find a contractor to extend the existing paved area over such a short distance so we made do with a path constructed of railroad ties and gravel.  The ties are placed to allow the wheels of the garbage bins supplied by the sanitation department to roll along them rather over the gravel.

A potting bench, inherited from my mother-in-law, sits alongside the garage near a compost tumbler inherited from the house's prior owner.

Garden accents are few but there are a couple.

The cat figure is an old Christmas gift from my husband that's been hidden behind shrubs for months.  The half barrel was moved from the vegetable garden to this area that's so embedded with tree roots it's otherwise impossible to plant.

The biggest source of frustration with the area thus far is the arrival of the raccoons.  They've ignored this area for the 5 years we've had the house.  Did they dig when the area was covered by lawn?  No!  Did they dig once the sod was removed?  No!  Did they dig at anytime during the time we ourselves were actively digging in the area?  No!  But, 2 days after I planted the area, they've laid their claim.

I came across evidence of the digging here this morning (not to speak of the mess they made in the side garden for 3 days running)

All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - April 2014

Our winter and spring temperatures have been "unseasonably warm" according to weather forecasters, although much the same thing was said last year.  I wonder when these conditions cease being termed "unseasonable" and instead become the new normal?  Our spring got off to an early start, especially in relation to the parts of the country hit by the miserable "polar vortex" but, when I looked back at last April's post, I find that most of the flowers blooming now were also blooming then.

For a change of pace, in collecting photos for this month's Bloom Day post, I focused more on plant combinations and less on individual flowers.

Acanthus mollis "Summer Beauty, backed by Osteospermum ecklonis '3D Silver,' a staple in my garden, and white Argyranthemum

A lone Adenophora potaninii is surrounded by Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' and self-sown Alyssum - more Adenophora have seeded in the vicinity of this one but none of these seedlings have formed flower spikes

Alstroemeria (no ID) with Osteospermum '3D Silver' make a strong showing in the backyard

Aquilegia 'Spring Magic' with unnamed Violas and Osteospermum '3D Silver'

Arctotis 'Pink Sugar, surrounded by Convolvulus sabatius 'Moroccan Beauty,' is clashing with the early blooms of self-sown Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' 

Centranthus ruber, a weed here, blooming on the slope with Oenothera speciosa, another weed, Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' and self-sown Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)

Cuphea x ignea 'Starfire Pink' is paired with Geranium 'Tiny Monster' here

Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum' with Osteospermum 'Lemonade'

Another Erysimum, this time accompanied by Osteospermum '3D Silver' and Tulbaghia violacea

Sun-tolerant Fuchsia 'Mrs. J.D. Fredricks' with pink Argyranthemum and Cuphea 'Starfire Pink'

Eeek!  An early-blooming orange Hemerocallis (no ID) clashes with the pink Alstroemeria, which has yet to make its seasonal exit

This unnamed Iris germanica, blooming almost a month earlier this year than last, doesn't mix especially well with the bright pink Alstroemeria nearby 

Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' got the only solo shot in this post, although, if you have a discerning eye, you might notice the white Centranthus peaking out from behind

Limonium perezii backed by Lavandula dentata in the dry garden

Unidentified Pelargonium peltatum with pinkish California poppies, photographed in full sun, the only time to catch the poppies with open petals

Unidentified Pelargonium (originally mislabeled as 'Katie') and more Cuphea 'Starfire Pink'

Assorted Pelargoniums blooming on the slope alongside pale pink Oenothera speciosa, bleached out even when photographed on a cloudy morning

A sea of Phlomis fruticosa with yellow Argyranthemum and a few Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' in the background

'Ebb Tide' rose, producing its first blooms, with annual Linaria

Sisrynchium bellum 'North Coast' and a sunburned Pericallis, which has not enjoyed our excessively warm temperatures

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' with Lobelia and one of the few remaining Anemones

Dainty Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud' with Erigeron karvinskianus, another weed-like plant here, and Geranium 'Tiny Monster'

Sweet peas (Lathyrus Odoratus 'Perfume Delight') fill one of the planters in my vegetable garden (with some snapdragons tucked in behind) 

Hemerocallis and Iris are producing blooms here and there - the heaviest bloom periods for these plants are still to come.  They, and the Arthropodium cirratum and Agapanthus, both already gearing up for what is usually a late spring appearance, will probably dominate my garden during the next month.  For what's currently on display in gardens throughout the US and elsewhere in the world, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens by clicking here.