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

Foliage Follow-up: Touches of Red

It's Foliage Follow-up Day and I'm joining Pam at Digging to recognize the significant role foliage plays in creating a beautiful garden.  For this month's post, I'm focusing on some of the foliage plants that add touches of red to my garden.

Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' is sporting lots of new growth in an orange-red color.  I have 3 of these peppermint-scented plants in the south-side garden bed adjacent to the patio.

The color of the Agonis' new growth is echoed in the foliage of Phormium 'Amazing Red,' Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' and various succulents

The same Agonis, photographed from the other direction

Close-up of the wavy stems and curly leaves of Agonis flexuosa 'Nana'

I love the Leptospermum polygalifolium 'Copper Glow' I planted in my front garden in November but it always seems to be either too dark or too sunny to get a good photograph.  The best I could do today was this:

A graceful stem of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' hangs above Phormium 'Maori Queen'

Another relatively new plant with red touches is Dianella tasmanica 'Tasred,' which I picked up from the Australian Native Plants Nursery in March.

The base of these Dianellas is red 

During that same shopping trip, at Sperling Nursery, I picked up Helleborus 'Anna's Red.'

I presume that Helleborus 'Anna's Red' gets it's name from the color of its flowers but there's also a touch of red in the stems and the base of the leaf cluster

The biggest splash of red color I'll share today comes from an Aeonium I picked up early last year.  It didn't come with a label but my best guess is that it's Aeonium 'Garnet,' reported to be a hybrid of A. arboreum 'Zwartkop' and A. tabuliforme.

Unlike A. 'Zwartkop,' this Aeonium hasn't developed tall stalks

My last foliage pick this month is Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' (aka coral bark maple).  Planted early in 2011, not long after we moved in, it's the most successful Japanese maple in my garden, possibly because it had a chance to get established before I began ratcheting down the irrigation in my garden.  Its placement beside the garage, where it's protected from the wind and receives only morning sun, probably also helps.

Acer Sango Kaku' has almost fully leafed out

Visit Pam at Digging to see her foliage picks this month and find links to other gardeners' foliage picks.


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