January Favorites

After 4 inches of rain on Sunday, the sun reappeared on Monday, offering an opportunity to give the garden a thorough once over.  With heavy rains at intervals over the past 2 months, the season-to-date rain total in my area is more than twice what we got during the entirety of the October 2015-September 2016 season.  According to the US Drought Portal, my area now is now classified as in "severe drought."  Does that sound bad?  Well, maybe it's not exactly great but it's MUCH better than the "exceptional drought" designation we had when our winter rainy season began in October.

I spied a rainbow peeking out below the exiting rain clouds earlier this week

There are weeds popping up all over.  (I had remarkably few issues with weeds last year - apparently, even weeds didn't like our drought.)  But, in addition to weeds, California poppy seedlings are popping up in several locations, mere weeks after I complained about the difficulties I've had growing those flowers from seed.  It also wasn't hard to find plants to get excited about for the monthly favorite plants post hosted by Loree at danger garden.  Instead I had to winnow my list down so as not to be obnoxious.

So here's what made this month's cut, starting in the back garden:

Agonis cognata 'Cousin Itt' probably gets more than it's fair share of attention in this blog but doesn't it look good here under the tree?  Maybe I'm imagining things but I swear it grew a few inches in height in the past month.  This mass is comprised of just 3 shrubs, all planted in fall 2012.  I have plants in a few other areas but none have done quite as well as these.

Directly opposite the Acacia on the other side of the flagstone path, Rosmarinus officinalis 'Gold Dust' is coming into its own.  I planted 5 4-inch plants here in March 2014.  Variegated leaves are responsible for the gold cast to its foliage.

Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' is a dwarf version of the peppermint willow trees I have elsewhere in the garden.  The foliage has the same light peppermint scent and new growth emerges in a pretty reddish-orange.  The growth spurt visible here is attributable to the rain.  I used 3 shrubs to screen the small patio on the south side of the garden, a job it's done effectively.

This is Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light' (aka coast rosemary).  Like the Acacia and the Agonis, this plant hails from Australia.  I planted 4 of these last year to add some sparkle to the backyard border.

The steep upper section of the back slope still looks awful and now weeds punctuate the empty spaces between dead ivy and honeysuckle vines but there are some stars to be found in the lower section:

The 3 Ribes viburnifolium (aka Catalina Perfume), planted in 2011, are in full bloom.  It isn't a flashy plant most of the year but it holds the slope and it tolerates dry shade conditions.  The leaves are glossy now that they've been cleaned by the rain.

This is one of 3 Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Magic' we planted at the boundary line of the property after we took out the invasive Yucca elephantipes forest that had previously grown there.  These plants, which are outside our irrigation zone, have struggled, in part because the massive Yucca roots continue to decay and the ground here has slowly sunken in response.  However, this shrub looks as though it nearly doubled in breadth overnight in response to January's heavy rain.

Out in the front garden, I found a couple more plants to crow about:

Agave impressa, a solitary growing species, bore the red stripes of a bad sunburn during the summer but it's a healthy green now, surrounded by Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' and other  happy succulents.  The raccoons have been digging in this bed, even through the gravel cover, but they haven't bothered the agaves.

Rhodanthemum hosmariensis (aka Moroccan daisy) is producing loads of white flowers.  Although I love daisies, I almost prefer the pretty buds that stand out against the silvery foliage.  Formerly classified as Chrysanthemum and more recently reclassified as Pyrethropsis hosmariense, the former genus Rhodanthemum is what's still stuck in my head.

Finally, although it already featured prominently in my January Bloom Day post, I have to mention Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' as January is its month to glow - literally.

I have 2 of these plants now.  The first, shown at the top of this collage, is one of the few shrubs I brought with me from our old house, where it'd been confined in a pot.  I put it in the ground in the front garden shortly after we moved in 6 years ago and it exploded in size.  I haven't properly measured it but I'd guess it's about 6 feet tall and wide now.  It's bracts turn red in summer but winter is all about the yellow cone flowers.  I added a second shrub, shown on the lower right, in November 2014.

I'll cut the list there this month but visit Loree at danger garden to discover what she and other gardeners have pulled out of the hat during what's been a very difficult winter in many regions.


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Foliage Follow-up: Stressed out succulents

My Aloe wickensii provided the jumping off point for this month's foliage follow-up, the meme hosted by Pam at Digging.  I know that succulents will frequently turn red when exposed to water and/or heat stress but I didn't know that they could twist and turn themselves like acrobats until I saw this:

Originally planted in 2014, the area in which this Aloe wickensii is planted is more exposed now due to the thinning of nearby trees.  The photo on the left was taken from the side and the view on the right was taken from overhead.

According to an on-line source such shape changes can be a response to extreme heat and intense sunlight.  I felt like covering my head and hiding too after last month's awful heatwave, which occurred on the heels of a period of unusually cool spring weather.

The Aloe sent me looking for other signs of stress among my succulents.  Agave 'Jaws', which sits just a few feet away from Aloe wickensii in the same bed showed little sign of stress; however, upon close examination, I did discover a surprise

I almost stepped on a tiny Agave pup that showed up about a foot away from 'Jaws' (to the left of the larger plant in the photo on the left)

Aeoniums enter dormancy this time of year so their change of shape isn't extraordinary.

These Aeoniums, planted in the narrow space between the outer fireplace wall and the driveway, are curling inward but they're not nearly as stressed as those along the street entering our neighborhood, which look more like round balls.

Shade, especially afternoon shade, seemed to buffer some succulents.

Aloe vanbalenii x ferox, shown here partially in the shade of a peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa) with Sedum x rubrotinctum and Aeonium nobile, doesn't seem the least bit stressed

Agave bracteosa, planted nearby, is assuming a new shape but I think that's a natural progression in this case.  It's common names include Candelabrum Agave and Squid Agave.

The 2 Agave 'Blue Flame' that sit along the street receive a good amount of shade in mid-afternoon.  These 2 are in much better shape than the 'Blue Flame' and 'Blue Glow' specimens I have in full sun in the bed on the southeast side of the house, some of which suffered from "agave edema" when the heat suddenly soared last month.

The lower leaves of Agave impressa yellowed last year after the shrubs behind it died off and it received more sun but the bright red streaks shown here are new

The Agaves in the dry garden on the northeast side of the house showed no signs of stress.

Agave ovatifolia's only threat is being overcome by the spread of the trailing Lantana

And the same could be said for Agave vilmoriniana

All in all the succulents managed June's heat relatively well but I am thinking about moving poor Aloe wickensii.

Visit Pam at Digging to find other foliage highlights.


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

My Street-side Succulent Bed

A couple of weeks ago, I provided an update on my friend Lynda's succulent garden.  Well, Lynda didn't go shopping alone.  I, too, have been adding to my collection of succulent plants.  While some of my purchases have gone into our dry garden, the bulk have been added to the street-side succulent border I first show-cased in July.  It's still a work-in-progress, and probably will be for years to come, but it has filled in somewhat since I shared my first photos of the area so I thought I'd provide an update.

Wide shot taken from across the street

Side view of the border looking south

I've added some larger plants, mostly various types of Agave, but I've filled in with smaller succulents, including cuttings, so the border still looks sparser than I'd like.  It's easier to view in segments.

The most prominent specimens in this northern-most section are Agave 'Blue Flame,' Agave 'Blue Glow' (still relatively small), Calandrinia (Cistanthe) grandiflora (no longer in bloom), and a Chondropetalum tectorum that probably doesn't get the moisture it needs in this setting

Close-up of one Agave 'Blue Glow'

The next section is dominated by an Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' but there's also a Dyckia, Senecio cuttings, and a variety of Graptoveria and Graptosedum

Close-up of Graptosedum 'California Sunset' (left) and Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' (right)

The centerpiece of this section is Agave Impressa, which is surrounded by Dudleya and more Graptoveria

Close-up of Agave Impressa, which got a bit of sunburn during the height of summer

I'm happiest with this section, which contains, among other things, another Agave desmettiana 'Variegata,' 2 varieties of Kalanchoe, Euphorbia tiriucalli, and various types of Aeonium

The same section, viewed from the side

Close-up of Kalanchoe marmorata

Close-up of Kalanchoe thyrsiflora

This last section contains a variety of Aloes, another Agave 'Blue Flame,' Senecio amaniensis, 3 unidentified Sansevieria, and Graptopetalum 

Close-up of Senecio amaniensis with a couple of bloom spikes

Close-up of an Agave pup given me by Lynda - she thinks it's A. pygmae

A few things are bugging me about this border.  First, the plants are more of a hodge-podge than I'd like but that's what comes of trying to make do with cuttings on hand.  Succulents, even small ones, can be pricey.  Second, I haven't managed to hide the drip irrigation lines.  I'm trying to decide whether to cover them with cactus mix, add more groundcover materials or stone, or simply wait for the plants to get larger.  Third, the Pittosporum hedge with which the succulents share space presents a problem.  The hedge material was in horrible shape when we moved in and, after experimenting with cutting back a couple of the shrubs last year, I hacked them all back severely in January.  They've yet to recover and I'm toying with the idea of removing all or part of them.  But that's a big job so I'm going to wait and see if our rainy season gives them a boost.  The shrubs, which I think are Pittosporum rhombifolia (now classified as Auranticarpa rhombifolia), also tend to become chlorotic if not regularly treated.  On the other hand, no hedge or a see-through hedge exposes the area beyond to view from the street and I'm not sure I like that.  I've dabbled with that area now and then but it hasn't received a lot of attention and it's something of a mess.  However, I've slowly been adding succulents there too, so it may eventually become a logical extension of the street-side border.

View of area behind the street-side succulent border

I've added cuttings of Aeoniums (in plentiful supply), Crassula 'Campfire,' and Senecio here

Close-up of Crassula 'Campfire'

It's coming together, albeit more slowly than I'd like.  Patience isn't one of my virtues.


All material © 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

New Succulent Bed

Some things look better viewed in close-up rather than from a distance.  This can definitely be said of my new succulent bed.  Although I bought what I thought were scads of succulents on a shopping trip with a friend last week, the space overwhelmed them and they look, well, puny in situ.

This space runs along the street on the southeast side of our property.  Those spindly shrubs you may be able to make out in the photo above are Pittosporum rhombifolium (I think).  They were in horrible shape when we moved in 3 years ago.  After years of being sheared from the top and sides, they were a thicket of dead wood with chlorotic leaves.  I cut one back last year and, when it responded by putting out healthy new growth, I cut them all back hard in January of this year.  Two were beyond saving and were removed.  The remainder have been slow to fill in.  I may eventually pull more - or possibly all - of them out as they don't match the Xylosma hedge that surrounds the rest of the property but, at present, I'm trying to work with what remains.  I cleared the weeds and thinned out the small-flowered ice plant at the base of the shrubs, leaving a lot of bare soil exposed.  As this is a relatively dry, sunny area, I thought planting it with succulents would be a good idea, especially given our worsening drought conditions.  (My wonderful husband is helping out by installing a new drip irrigation system here so we can eliminate all risk of sprinkler runoff.

I finished planting my newly purchased succulents on Sunday but there's still a lot of bare soil.

3 Agave 'Blue Glow,' Calandrinia spectabilis (aka Cistanthe grandiflora), Portulacaria afra and miscellaneous small succulent cuttings are planted here with 3 struggling Chondropetalum tectorum (aka Cape Rush)

Agave Impressa is surrounded by Dudleya (noID) and Senecio cuttings here

Agave desmettiana provides the centerpiece among Aeonium 'Kiwi,' Aeonium 'Sunburst,' Aeonium nobile, cuttings of the noID Aeonium given to me by a friend, and more Portulacaria afra

Agave 'Blue Flame' is surrounded by Aloe (noID), Sanseveriera (noID), Graptopetalum paraguayense, my noID Aeonium, and another noID succulent

While the slow-growing succulents will get larger over time, I think I need more to fill in some of the emptier spots.  Before I undertake another shopping expedition, however, I'm going to see what I can do with succulent cuttings from elsewhere in my garden.