An easy fix

The garden and I reach a low point in August.  Even in good years (namely, those with decent rainfall), the garden looks badly stressed by this time of year.  I usually spend a lot of time dispensing emergency rations of water but this year, with virtually the entire State of California in severe drought, I think twice before administering any aid.  I gave the lemon tree at the bottom of our slope, which I suspect has been in place for 25 or more years, a good soak last Saturday when my husband (who usually pays no attention to plants) expressed concern that it was dying.  Two days ago, I accepted the fact that my favorite Correa, 'Sister Dawn', planted in 2018, was dead.  Large sections of creeping thyme in various areas have died out.  I could go on.  Wishing to avoid the bleak newscasts for at least awhile, I decided to see what I could accomplish in the garden to put a positive spin on its appearance.

Rather than tackle one of the areas that looks really bad, I decided to start with an area that looks relatively good.  My hope was that, with a little work, it could look even better.

This is the dry garden on the northeast side of the house.  The issues here aren't readily apparent in this wide shot.

Even in this closeup shot, the problem may be hard to see.  But there's a large, nearly invisible Agave ovatifolia lurking behind that Cistus shrub in the center.

The whale's tongue agave and the octopus agave next to it are still visible in this rear view photo, taken partway down the concrete stairway that leads to the back slope but, with the Callistemon viridiflorus in the foreground getting larger, that may not be the case for long

My first objective was to remove the Cistus 'Victor Reiter' I'd planted from a 4-inch pot in 2016.  It grew taller than I'd envisioned and didn't get enough sun to bloom well, and of course it was blocking the view of my oldest Agave ovatifolia.  I thought of relocating it but I didn't have an immediate placement in mind so I took cuttings instead.

I took twenty cuttings in all, storing them in this area behind the garage that gets only morning sun.  This is admittedly not the best time of year to take cuttings but I hope at least a few will root.

Other than periodically getting poked by the nearby agaves, the Cistus came out with relative ease.  Agave ovatifolia regained its rightful place as a focal point.

Ta-da!

And here's a closeup from the same vantage point used in my second photo

There's now an empty space in front of the agave that needs to be filled.  There are half a dozen agave pups I can't identify there but I'll probably pot them up to give away as they're too small to have any impact.  I noticed I have grass seedlings in another section of this area so I may transplant one or two of those here.

NoID agave pups.  There are several other agaves nearby, any of which might be the parent.

I'm fairly certain that this grass seedling is Melinus nerviglumis (aka ruby grass).  Unlike the Cistus, it doesn't get very big so it might be a good fit in the empty spot in front of Agave ovatifolia.

After a midday break, I tackled cleanup of the area behind the Agave ovatifolia.  In addition to pulling weeds, I trimmed back rosemary and lightly pruned both the 'Hachiya' persimmon tree (currently laden with fruit) and Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey'.

As shown in the "before" shot on the left, the tall Coprosma was interfering with the massive arms of Agave vilmoriniana.  The photo on the right was taken after I cleaned things up.

I pulled out a lot of self-seeded Dorycnium hirsutum (aka Hairy Canary Clover), potting up one viable seedling to fill an empty space where another clover died last year.

Assuming the seedling on the left survives being roughly yanked out the ground, I'll transplant it in the empty spot shown on the right once our rainy season (hopefully) starts

Dorycnium is a lovely plant in and out of bloom but it's a rampant self-seeder and a vigorous spreader.  I cut back some of the plants swamping other plants during my cleanup operation as well.

The photo on the left shows a clover covering a clump of grass and infringing on nearby agaves.  The photos on the right show the clover in two areas after it was cut back.

The ivy growing into the area from the back slope needs to be cut back as well but that's a job for another time.  At least the day's cleanup effort left me in a more positive frame of mind.  I can't solve climate change or the world's other problems but at least I can accomplish little things that improve the appearance of my garden.  Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

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

July Favorites

I'm still in my summer doldrums, where it's hard to see my garden's pluses.  The sun's glare shines a spotlight on its imperfections and, despite all the mulch and soil amendments I've added, my sandy soil sheds water faster than I can deliver it, leaving many plants looking perennially parched.   The mimosa tree's pink flowers have turned brown and continue to drop fuzz under its wide canopy.  Nonetheless, the favorite plant selection hosted monthly by Loree at danger garden encouraged me to take a closer look at what I've got and I found plenty to be pleased about.

I see this Agave ovatifolia (aka whale's tongue agave) first thing every morning through the bathroom window.  It looks good regardless of the season.  It was one of the first plants I put in the dry garden on the northeast side of the house after I cleared the area of weeds and the plastic sheeting buried several inches below compacted soil and gravel.  Planted almost 5 years ago in August 2012, it's still only 18 inches tall and about 28 inches in diameter.  Although it wasn't labeled as such, my guess is that it's the cultivar known as 'Frosty Blue'.  

In March 2012, I planted 3 Cuphea 'Starfire Pink' in the backyard border, where they've performed admirably ever since.  They're not actually in peak condition in the middle of summer but, if you could see the mass of bees and tiny butterflies that swarm the plants from early morning into evening at this time of year, you'd understand how they ended up on my July list.  Annie's Annuals & Perennials recently featured this Cuphea on its "indestructable plants" list.  Mine get watered 2x a week during the summer months by our automated irrigation system but I don't consider it a water hog and it takes our hot summers in stride.  As an aside, the unidentified butterfly is smaller than the average skipper and seemingly impossible to catch with its blue wings open.  Amy of A Small Sunny Garden has seen it in her garden in the Sonoran Desert too. It's underside wings appear similar to butterflies identified alternatively as the Hammock Skipper and the Cassius Blue but on-line input makes both IDs unlikely.

So far, Dahlia 'Loverboy' is the most vigorous of the Dahlias I purchased by mail order as tubers this spring.  Several others have yet to flower and a few plants, most notably 'Otto's Thrill', don't look as though they'll even reach bloom size this year.  'Loverboy' is identified as a semi-cactus type.  I don't usually go for red flowers and this one wasn't originally on my shopping list but, when many of my top picks sold out before I reached check-out, I picked this one as a substitute on the fly.   'Loverboy' may be a turning point in my relationship with red flowers.

The Echeverias are looking good in mid-summer.  All 3 of these are in pots kept in afternoon shade.  Left to right, they are: Echeveria 'Afterglow', E. cante, and E. 'Raindrops'.  

Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) has been the star of my summer garden for several years now.  In prior years, the pink forms outshone the blue, white, and yellow varieties but this year the blues have it.  The semi-succulent leaves help the plants survive our summer heatwaves.  The blue form appears to appreciate some afternoon shade.

The sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) I planted from seed in April finally began to bloom this month.  The first to do so are 'Lemon Queen', shown here.  Half a dozen or more flowers have opened since I took these photos.  So far, none of the plants have toppled over or broken in the wind but I did have to add supports to some of the taller stems.

Okay, I featured Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' in last month's favorites post but, when I caught a photo of the leaves in the early morning sunlight, I had to share it again.  It makes great use of the early morning and late evening sunshine and, in my opinion, should always be sited to take advantage of it.

Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherry Brandy' has provided me a lesson in patience.  I planted 2 six-packs (plugs) of these plants in early November last year.  They've previously bloomed off and on throughout the year for me but this time they made me wait until summer to bloom.  However, this is the only Rudbeckia that's ever done well here so I'll forgive it the delay, especially as every source I've consulted indicates that my prior experience was unusual and that it normally blooms summer to fall.

This is Sedum oxypetalum (aka dwarf tree stonecrop), which I picked up earlier this year at the local Cactus & Succulent Society show and sale.  The plant is suitable to treatment as a bonsai subject to keep it smaller than its projected mature size of 2-4 feet tall and 1-2 feet wide.  While mine is placed in full sun, it tolerates shade as well.  It also has low water requirements.  The flowers are a bonus in my view as its foliage and tree-like form is what attracted me to it.

My Zinnias, most grown from seed, are even splashier than the Dahlias in my cutting garden.  They do need a substantial amount of water to thrive, which is why I've restricted them to these raised planters in what formerly functioned as my vegetable garden.  However, they handle summer's heat with aplomb.  The variety of colors and flower forms also makes them useful in floral arrangements.

With the exception of succulents, buying new plants in summer is at the top of my list of garden don'ts; yet it's a rule I break just about every year.  Featuring any such recent purchase as a "favorite" within a month or less of purchase also seems inadvisable as it could easily be dead before summer draws to a close but, because I can't help myself, here are 3 additions to my list of favorites this July.  Perhaps I should refer to them as "plant crushes" rather than favorites as they could be history in no time.

The burgundy beauty in these 2 photos is Alternanthera 'Little Ruby'.  I added 5 of them at the edge of the narrow bed that runs outside our dining and living room windows.  I like how they pick up the purple in the stems and leaf undersides of Plectranthus 'Zulu Wonder' (left) and complement the deep burgundy of Pelargonium peltatum (right).  They get morning sun and afternoon shade.  I've grown other Alternanthera as ground covers with relative success.  They're short-lived perennials here and most have gotten by with moderate water but the descriptions of 'Little Ruby' all refer to moist, well-drained soil so I have some concern in that regard.  Hopefully, I'll keep it from going belly up before the winter rains return.

The grass-like plant in the middle of this photo is Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty', a new hybrid.  I picked it up and put it down several times before I took it to the check-out stand.  It was a pricey plant but I've had great success with Lomandra 'Breeze' so I found I couldn't pass this one up.  It's a low-water evergreen plant that grows no bigger than 3x3 feet and it's good in sun or partial shade.  I've planted it among succulents on my front-facing slope, replacing Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln', which apparently wanted more water than it got in this location.

Mandevilla 'Sun Parasol Apricot' was another impulse purchase.  I first saw it in early June and managed to walk away but I ran into again a week ago at my local garden center, offered in its own hanging basket at a lower cost than the plant in the nursery pot I originally saw.  As the succulent planter I had hanging by the front door was in need of an overhaul, I decided this could be a summer substitute.  Mandevilla generally do well here year-round, although I've never grown one in a hanging basket before.  According to on-line sources, it should be allowed to dry out before being watered. which gives it improved chances of survival. 

That's my July list.  I can only hope things look as positive at the end of August.  Visit Loree at danger garden to see what's found her favor this month, as well as links to related posts by other bloggers.  And, for what's looking good across the pond, check Chloris' top 10 list for July at The Blooming Garden.

Best wishes for a wonderful weekend!


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

New Plants!

Fall is widely regarded as the best time to plant in Southern California, although you wouldn't necessarily realize that scanning the stock available in local nurseries and garden centers.  Daytime temperatures are generally cooler and there's a promise of winter rain, both of which help plants get established.  I admit that I go a little crazy with plant shopping at this time of year and, despite periodic spates of ridiculously hot fall weather here and gloomy forecasts of low winter rainfall, this year has been no exception.  I've already featured the results of some of my plant shopping expeditions (see here and here) but there have been more so I thought I'd give you a peek at some of my other recent purchases.

I'd mentioned that I was considering a smoke bush for a difficult area on the south side of the garden, partially shaded by a large Arbutus 'Marina'.  I found one last month.  Although it wasn't in perfect condition when I bought it, it seems to be settling into its spot just fine so far.

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' is planted in the bed formerly occupied by a very large Eucalyptus (removed in 2013).  The debris around the plant consists of small prickly bits left over from a light pruning I gave our citrus trees, which I've strewn here in another possibly futile effort to deter the raccoons from digging.

I also picked up a Duranta erecta for the partial sun area behind the street-side hedge.

The tag on Duranta erecta 'Lime' (aka 'Gold Mound') says it won't grow taller or wider than 2 feet.  Of course, I believed a similar tag on the specimen on the right.  Planted several years ago, it's now close to 6 feet tall.

The Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite' I added to my dry garden last year has done well so I decided to add 2 more plants.

I could only find 'Scarlet Sprite' in large (3-gallon) containers but eventually caved and bought them anyway.  At least the 2 new plants shouldn't take too long to catch up in size with the the original plant (shown in the rear of the photo on the right).

The local botanic garden held another of its special fall plant sales, which a friend and I attended the weekend before last.  She left empty-handed but I did not.

I picked up an unusual trailing Salvia, S. cacaliifolia (aka Guatemalan Leaf Sage).  It has ivy-like leaves, no odor, and isn't sticky.  It also needs regular water so it went into a large pot to be watered by hand.

I also picked up this Agave 'Kissho Kan' at a very reasonable price.  The variegation isn't as pronounced as most I've seen but it's still a handsome agave.

On our way home, my friend and I stopped in at a clearance sale held at a small local nursery and I came away with yet another agave.

This agave wasn't labeled and 2 larger specimens of what appeared to be the same species had different labels.  The nursery owner thought it is Agave angustifolia 'Marginata' but I think it may be the variegated form of Agave tequiliana, in which case it'll get too big for its current spot in my garden.  

Late last week, I made a trip to a nursery in Huntington Beach in search of a Mahonia for the vacant spot in the area recently cleared of a dying hedge.  I left with the Mahonia and 2 other plants.

I've wanted a dwarf Jacaranda 'Blue Bonsai' since the plant became widely available last year but I waited to see if the price would come down.  It didn't but I caved.  I didn't get it planted before Sunday's rain but hope to get it in place next weekend.

I picked up this Leucadendron salignum 'Summer Red' to add some height and softer texture to the succulent garden on the south side of the house.

And here's Mahonia x media 'Charity'.  I'd scoured the nursery in a fruitless search for Mahonias, only to have a huge display of these plants set up in the front parking lot pointed out to me as I was checking out with my other purchases.   They were on sale for half-price too.

Is that all, you ask?  Nope.  Plants also arrived by mail!  The first delivery was a complete surprise.

I received a box containing 8 bulbils from Pam Penick's famous Moby, a massive Agave ovatifolia that bloomed earlier this year.  Six of these tiny plants will be passed along to other local bloggers at a meet-up we have planned in early December and 2 will be planted out in my garden when they gain some size.  Moby's progeny have been widely distributed - he's taking over the country, one garden at a time.

I received advance notice of the second delivery.  Loree of danger garden contacted me on election night to say she had a Tetrapanax papyrifer seedling if I wanted it.  The offer, which I gratefully accepted, was the only bright spot in what proved to be a very depressing evening.  Her package arrived this week.

Loree packaged the seedling with expert care and it arrived in perfect condition.  I've tucked the seedling into a pot out of the wind that can buffet plants here while it gains some size.

So, is that it?  No, but this post is long enough so it will do for now.  For those of you in the US, Happy Thanksgiving!


All material © 2012-2016 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

Foliage Follow-up: Back-lit Beauties

One thing that becomes especially clear to me every Bloom Day is that, despite my intention to put increased emphasis on foliage when renovating my garden, I'm still a flower fanatic.  Foliage Follow-up, sponsored by Pam at Digging, is a helpful kick-in-the-pants reminder of the value of striking a balance between flowers and foliage.  I need regular reminders.

This month, as I was taking last-minute photos of some flowering plants, I also snapped a few foliage shots.  The most striking of these were the ones in which the sun back-lit the plants' leaves.

A mature clump of Agave attenuata sits near the boundary I share with a neighbor

My relatively small Agave ovatifolia makes the trailing Lantana next to it in my dry garden look more striking

Leucadendron 'Chief' taking on its summer color in my dry garden is shown here catching the last of the afternoon sun

Leucadendron 'Ebony' shows a touch of red when back-lit

Leucadendron 'Jester' pairs prettily here with Melianthus major and Phormium 'Amazing Red'

Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' remains one of my all-time favorite plants - this one, still small, was added to my front garden late last year but it already has a presence in the garden

Is it coincidental that many of these photos featured Leucadendrons?  Perhaps.  I do have a LOT of them.  But these plants also have a stained glass quality that never ceases to draw my attention.

Visit Pam at Digging for more ideas in using foliage.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party