New year pruning projects

My husband gave me a new pair of pruners for Christmas and I almost immediately put them to work on one project after another (mostly) between rainstorms.  I took my pruning of the three Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' on the south side of the house a bit further than I'd planned.

I started this pruning project when it was raining - and remembered to take this "before" shot after I'd already begun hacking away at the shrub on the left.  These shrubs are very twiggy and had a lot of dead material in the middle.

This is the "after" shot.  I filled 2 green waste bins with the pruned material and the 3-inch pile of dried leaves I swept up from the surrounding area.  As these shrubs have a minor problem with what I think are thrips, I elected not to put the dead leaves in my compost bin.

 

I've pruned these shrubs once before, in January 2020, and I was afraid I'd taken it too far on that occasion but they sprang back quickly and I'm counting on them following suit this time.

The photo on the left was taken in January 2020 after I finished pruning.  The photo on the right was taken less than 3 months later in April 2020.

 

While working on the south side of the house, I cut back the sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora) and the smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple).  I also gave the Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' a minor cleanup.

These are 2 views of the same Coprosma after I'd trimmed the dead stems that had been hidden by the overgrown Agonis 'Nana' shrubs.  It looks very leggy now but I've learned from experience that Coprosma doesn't generally come back when you cut into bare wood.  I might replace it but then, if I wait awhile, the Agonis foliage will cover up its bare legs again.

 

I'd planned to hold off on pruning Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' until it "bloomed" but it was pretty clear to me that the shrub on the north end of the house wasn't going to do that so I went ahead.

This was what the Leucadendron looked like after a gardener went after it with an electric hedge trimmer

I cleaned out a lot of dead material from the earlier hedge trimming episode in the process of taking down the shrub's overall height and softening its square edges.  While I'll miss the daisy-like "flowers" this shrub produces in winter, I hope it'll be looking like itself again by July when it usually sports its new red foliage.

 

I've worked on the most difficult project, pruning the two Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' at the front of the house, in stages.  I took yet another whack at it yesterday.

This is the "before" shot taken just after Christmas

I cut both Leptospermum shrubs back prior to year-end but, even though I filled 2 green waste bins with pruned stems, I'm not sure the difference would have been evident to the casual viewer.  This photo was taken yesterday after I went at the shrub on the left a second time.

The difference is somewhat more obvious in this comparison between the photo of the left shrub in late December and yesterday.  I plan to take another run at the shrub on the right side of the front path later this week.  Next year, I think I'll put both shrubs on the list for the professional tree trimmers to handle.

 

I already have my next pruning project lined up.

This is Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'.  It's "flowering" now so I'm going to leave it alone until it's done.  The bees seem to like the flower-like bracts.

 

In the interim, I plan to work on some projects that are more fun, like planting empty areas once the soil dries out a bit.  Meanwhile, my husband's working on a project of his own.

The repairs to the roof and chimney after storm #7 and prior to the arrival of storms #8 and #9 were only partially successful.  We believe that chinks in the mortar between the stones in the 72 year old chimney are the real problem.  My husband put up this tarp in the middle of storm #8 with me pacing below holding my phone to call 911 if he fell.  He agreed to get a professional to handle the rest of the patching, yet he was back up on roof working on that himself yesterday.

 

What about you?  Have you got any post-holiday projects in the works?

 

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Sprinting to the finish line

Most of my dahlias are showing signs of finishing up their season.  Flower stalks have grown overly tall; blooms are getting smaller; and foliage is mildewing.  The majority peaked right in the middle of our last heatwave.  Some bloomed out so quickly they ended up in my compost bin.  Faced with too many blooms to use even after handing some off to friends, I left six bottles filled with dahlias and zinnias on the curb for neighbors and other passers-by to take last week.  Yesterday morning I cut all the dahlias that were in full bloom, filling six vases for the house.  Two of those contained blooms that were past their prime but I'll share the other four here.

Vase #1:

Dahlias 'Belle of Barmera' and 'Labyrinth' played the starring roles in this arrangement

'Belle of Barmera' has pretty blooms but its foliage is hideous and I don't think I'll be making room for it next year

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Labyrinth' (a winner by any measure), Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Correa 'Wyn's Wonder' (aka variegated Australian fuchsia), Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Blush'

Vase #2:

Dahlia 'Mr Optimist' was the inspiration for this vase but, when I discovered aphids on two of the blooms and tossed them, I added two other dahlias to fill out the arrangement, using Alstroemeria 'Inca Sunshine' to mediate their differences

Back view: I also used zinnias as fillers

Top view: I initially had reservations about this arrangement but now it's my personal favorite this week

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Dahlia 'Mr Optimist', D. 'Loverboy', D. 'Candlelight', Lantana 'Samantha', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', red and yellow Zinnia elegans and, in the middle, Alstroemeria 'Inca Sunshine'

Vase #3:

Dahlia 'Rip City' is running neck and neck with 'Enchantress' as the most prolific bloomer among this year's dahlia crop but the zinnia blooms may have eclipsed it in this arrangement

Back view: Very similar to the front view

Top view

Clockwise from the left: Dahlia 'Rip City', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary Giant Lilac' and 'Benary Giant Purple'

Vase #4:

With another heatwave in the offing, I couldn't bring myself to leave the very large Dahlia 'Iceberg' bloom to face incineration.  The blue Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) blooms are holdovers from one of last week's vases.  The buds on cut stems open in a lavender color rather than dark blue.

Back view: In retrospect, the arrangement might have looked better without the Salvia stems

Top view

Clockwise from the left: Dahlia 'Iceberg', Baleria obtusa (aka bush violet) with Eustoma grandiflorum, Salvia leucantha, and Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light'

Although yet another heatwave it expected to start today and continue for several days, I expect stray blooms out of many of my dahlias before I give up on them in November and dig up the tubers to make room for cool season flowers in my cutting garden.  Dahlias 'Labyrinth', 'Enchantress', and 'Rip City' certainly seem ready to continue blooming for awhile yet.  I still have high hopes for 'Gitts Crazy' which finally has bloom stalks (five of them!) studded with buds, and I haven't entirely given up on 'Rancho', part of the last, very late shipment of tubers I received in early May.

For more arrangements this week, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to find links to other IAVOM posts.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Simpler

Summer is a time for simple pleasures and I chose to keep my vases simple as well this week.  As my cutting garden has nothing new to offer yet, I selected plants I've used before this season but I hope the mixes seem fresh.

It suddenly occurred to me last week that this vase was practically made for Agapanthus

Back view: The Abelia used here has reached extraordinary heights in my north side garden and is seriously in need of grooming so I got a start on that Sunday morning when I cut stems for my vases

Top view: I initially included a couple of aster stems as well but removed them at the last minute

Clockwise from the left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', noID Agapanthus, and shaggy Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum)

The first arrangement had a couple of hitchhikers, one of which I was able to get outside unscathed.

I thought this was a baby grasshopper and it resembles some labeled as such online but its long, thin antenna suggest it could be a katydid

My second arrangement sits on the opposite end of the color spectrum from my first.

Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' and Grevillea 'Superb' are planted near one another in my front garden and I thought they were meant to be combined

Back view: I added the frilly foliage of Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' to flesh out this arrangement

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Grevillea 'Superb', and Lantana 'Lucky Yellow'

Last week's vases held up fairly well.  The one on my kitchen island is still in place, albeit without the faded pincushion flowers (Scabiosa columbaria).  The blue Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) in my front entry had enough blooms and buds to last another week so those flowers were tucked into a smaller vase with flowers left over after I finished putting together the vases shown above.

I cut the spent dark blue Lisianthus blooms, leaving the lavender blooms that opened during the course of last week.  They mix well with the flowers of the California aster (Symphyotricum chilense) I'd originally intended to include in the first vase, as well as leftover Abelia stems.

Last week's dark red Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' stems still looked as fresh as they did last week so I recycled them too even though I tossed the rest of the contents of their vase.

This onyx vase doesn't hold water well so I cut the Leucadendron stems a bit shorter and added them to the vase without water along with stems of bunny tail grass (Lagurus ovatus) I picked a couple of weeks ago

To see what other contributing gardeners have put together for IAVOM, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Foliage in context

As we move reluctantly into summer here, I thought a look at some of the foliage that provides the backbone of my garden was in order.  The difficulty taking photos under the glare of the sun with our second heatwave of the summer baring down on me kept the number of photos suitable for publication down to a reasonable number.  To limit the focus further, I've concentrated on foliage elements that enhance or play off the foliage surrounding them.

Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' is one of the mainstays of my garden.  I have 7 of them and, over time, they've gotten very large.  This one, planted beneath tree-sized Leucadendron 'Pisa', plays off the texture of succulent Aeonium arboreum outside my office window.

Another 3 'Cousin Itt' fill a broad space under a peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa) in the back border.  This one spills down the slight slope that flattens into a dirt path running between the back border and the Xylosma congestum hedge that borders the entire back garden.  This one is also mingling with succulents and Leucadendrons.

The 3 dwarf Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' I cut back hard in December have fleshed out nicely.  The Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' bordering the bed picks up the color of its foliage.  The red stems of the Agonis also play off the Coprosma 'Plum Hussey' in the background on the left and the Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' in the distance on the right.  (The upturned plastic flats underneath the shrubs are protecting newly sown sunflower and zinnia seeds.)

Here's a closer look at Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey'

The Coprosma and this metal screen are both supporting the one and only passionflower vine (Passiflora parritae) I've been able to keep alive.  Planted in a pot in 2 years ago, it's yet to bloom.

This is a closer look at Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', growing next to another noID Leucadendron, with Agave attenuata 'Raea's Gold' below and the mass of Acacia 'Cousin Itt' in the background

Maybe you also noted the 3 Agave bracteosa (squid agave) in the foreground of the preceding photo.  This photo provides a closer look.  There are also 2 Agave 'Joe Hoak' in the background on the right.

The same plants viewed in the other direction against a backdrop of Yucca 'Bright Star'

I was afraid I went too far when I cut Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' nearly to the ground.  I was thrilled to see it's also jumped into gear.  There's another, smaller Coprosma 'Plum Hussey' alongside it, picking up the red color of the smoke bush's foliage.

Melianthus major is another plant I cut nearly to the ground in late winter.  It benefits from the shade of the Arbutus 'Marina' under which it's planted.  It's red flowers pick up the color of the tree's bark, as well as the color in variegated Leucadendron 'Jester'.

I'll close this post with foliage I've come to have a love-hate relationship with, the masses of Stipa tenuissima (aka Mexican feather grass) I have in my garden.  I've 8 mass plantings of this grass, each consisting of 3 to 5 clumps.  It self-seeds widely at this time of year and, since out drought became more persistent and the soil has hardened, those seedlings have become more difficult to pull out in some areas.

This grass mixes well with everything but keeping it tidy is a chore at this time of year.  These are the before (left) and after (right) photos of one expanse of these plants in the back border.  Many gardeners cut these down to a couple of inches but the plants look ugly for a few months afterwards and that approach doesn't eliminate the dead growth at their base.  I comb the dead foliage out by hand.

This is the before and after shot of yet another section.  The combing process takes a long time and the stress of the repetitive activity caused the ganglion cyst in my wrist to flare up again this week.

With all the Mexican feather grass tided up (at least for a month, after which they'll need another pass) and the heat backing off, I'm looking forward to more pleasant hours in the garden this weekend.  I know a nasty polar vortex is expected to effect a broad area of the US this weekend and, in advance, I offer my condolences and send hope that it won't be too cold, too damaging, or remain around too long.


All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party