Foliage Follow-up - Highlights of my Garden Stroll

With what's reputed to be the most powerful storm of the season to hit Los Angeles in the offing, I took a spin through the garden to see if there were any tasks I should take care of before it arrived.  In the process, I took photos of whatever foliage caught my fancy for this month's Foliage Follow-up post, hosted by Pam at Digging.

I started on my neglected back slope, an area easily overlooked because it's largely invisible.  Accessible only by a narrow (and steep) stairway of  concrete blocks hidden behind a hedge, it's easy to ignore and, since the area was severely impacted by a horrific heatwave on the first day of summer last year, spending time down there has been more of a chore than a joy.  Cooler temperatures and the winter rains have done more than my poor ministrations to improve its appearance and there are now quite a few things to smile about.

The Agave attenuata I planted 2 or 3 years ago looked awful this past summer but they're looking great now.  One has even produced 2 pups (not visible in this photo).  The Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' and Pelargonium 'White Lady' I planted have spread nicely.  The noID Iris germanica I moved from elsewhere in the garden look better than any of the Iris I have in the more carefully-tended areas of my garden.  Only the Carpenteria californica here (upper right) still looks terrible.  I pruned it in the hope of giving it a fuller, more pleasing shape.

The lemon tree was badly impacted by June's heatwave, dropping two-thirds of its fruit virtually overnight.  The rest rotted in place until I removed it.  It recovered well with extra watering through the remainder of the summer and the rains have also given it a boost.  It's loaded with immature fruit now.  Below it are some plants I inherited (Zantedeschia aethiopica, which die back each summer but return with our winter rains), others that moved in on their own (Centranthus ruber), and some I planted (Seslaria 'Greenlee's Hybrid' and Stachys byzantina).

Beyond the lemon tree, closer to the property line, there are more Calla lilies, some just beginning to flower; more self-planted Centranthus; a Romneya coulteri (aka Matilija poppy) I planted last year (upper left), which is fleshing out nicely after the haircut I gave it several weeks ago; and lots of California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) seedlings.  I bemoaned my inability to grow California poppies in a post a month or two ago but the rains have finally germinated some of the seeds I spread in this area so I may get a crop after all.  The raccoons like to dig here so  production is still lower than I'd like but it's a start.

Other foliage highlights on the slope include the almost florescent green moss I've shown before (which I guess isn't really foliage but I hope you'll humor me); an artichoke, which also dies down to the ground in summer but returns annually during our rainy season; and a close-up of some of my lovely poppy seedlings

Heading back up the stairs from the bottom of the slope brings me to my dry garden.  Just a couple of things grabbed my attention there.

Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', the first one I planted and still the largest and most robust, now about 5 feet tall

Two of my many succulent pots.  The one on the left with Agave titanota 'White Ice' as its centerpiece was recently spruced up with the addition of Graptoveria 'Fred Ives'.  The one on the right is newly planted with Sansevieria parva and noID succulents that appear to be some form of variegated Kalanchoe.

The front garden contains a lot of foliage plants but most of them have received plenty of attention in prior foliage posts.  However, two vignettes drew my attention on my pass through.

Phormium 'Maori Queen' enveloped by Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl' 

The same Phormium viewed from the other side of the bed with Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash' to the left

Moving down the dirt path that runs parallel to the street behind a Xylosma hedge to an area below the main section of the front garden, I spent a good half hour pulling seedlings of yet another of my hedges, which consists of Prunus laurocerasus (not shown).  While doing this I discovered a mystery vine, which has clearly sprouted and been encouraged to spread by all the rain we've received this season.

I wondered if it could be a passionflower vine but the way it's spreading (as shown on the right scrambling up the oleanders that run the length of my neighbor's driveway), I fear it could be a morning glory.  In my former garden, I learned the hard way how difficult it is to manage a morning glory growing in the ground.  Any guesses?  The leaves are smooth, not pleated.

Back up on the main level of the garden in the backyard, the Xylosma congestum hedge is still the most compelling foliage feature but I already gave that its due in last week's Wednesday Vignette (which you can see here).  However, there were a few more foliage plants that drew my eye.

Leucadendron 'Jester' with Melianthus major, which a cut back to the ground a few weeks ago

A noID succulent (perhaps a Crassula?) in a deep red color

Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star', which looks best growing up through another plant (like Ageratum corymbosum here), which hides its bare legs

That's it for my foliage highlights this month.  Visit Pam at Digging for more.


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

In a Vase on Monday: More Renga Lilies

Collecting photos for my May Bloom Day post gave me an inventory of what's currently flowering in my garden and brought some choices I might otherwise have missed to the forefront when it came time to chose flowers for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden.  I wasn't thinking of another vase featuring Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lily) when I stepped into the garden with my clippers in hand - I was thinking about what I could do with the silvery cones of Leucadendron 'Pisa' and Melaleuca thymifolia, a plant in the back border I'd largely forgotten before my backyard photo safari.  As it turned out, the Renga Lilies made a nice companion for the other two plants.

Front view

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the left, the vase includes: the unusual flowers of Melaleuca thymifolia, which look like a complicated crochet construction to me; stems of the peppermint willow trees (Agonis flexuosa) with their white flowers arranged like peppercorns along their length; more Arthropodium cirratum; the silvery cones of Leucadendron 'Pisa'; and foliage and immature berries of what I think is English laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) 

In retrospect, I should have thinned the foliage of the English laurel to give the arrangement a more airy feel and trimmed the flowering stems of the Agonis flexuosa a bit more to make the arrangement symmetrical but, by the time I reached that determination, I was done with fussing.

But 'Pisa' wasn't the only Leucadendron I was thinking of when I stepped into the garden.  I was also wondering what I could do with the flower-like bracts of Leucadendron 'Blush'.  With the selection of a few suitable companions, I had a second vase.  (I know you're surprised.)

Front view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left, this vase contains: Leucadendron 'Blush', Alstroemeria 'Claire', Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl', and Achillea 'Moonshine'

I was hesitant about using the Euphorbia in this arrangement because of the hassle of dealing with the sap.  In retrospect, I should have used disposable gloves when stripping the stems of their leaves as the sap dripped from every leaf juncture.  It didn't cause me any skin irritation but I had a devil of a time cleaning the sticky stuff from my hands.  I seared the entire length of the stripped stems, which limited the seepage but I did have to change the milky water in the vase when the arrangement was complete.

The first vase was too large for any place other than the dining room table.

The second vase landed in the front entry.

All three of last week's vases actually held up well but the two that included cilantro flowers were both heavy drinkers and litterers so I tossed them out when this week's vases were ready for placement.  The third of last week's arrangements was virtually unchanged but I tucked in a stem from one of my March purchases, Phylica pubescens, to change it up a bit.

Phylica pubescens (aka Featherhead) is my latest plant crush but, until it bulks up (or I buy more, which is entirely possible), you probably won't see much of it in my vases

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to discover what she and other gardeners have put together this week.


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

My Favorite Plants This Month

I've been so fixated on clearing the area formerly covered by sod in the backyard that I'm barely attending to the rest of the garden.  I probably bit off more than was realistic with this project.  I'm racing to beat the arrival of the El Niño weather system and I still have a small section of soil to clear of rocks and debris.  I have a topsoil delivery arriving early next week that needs to be dug in before we can lay flagstone and begin planting.  El Niño isn't operating on a specific timetable but the likelihood of arrival increases as the calendar progresses into November.  However, prompted by Loree's favorite plants meme at danger garden, I did take some time to appreciate the plants that are looking particularly good right now.

First up is Barleria obtusa, a cousin to Barleria cristata, a plant I've long admired in the posts of Texas gardeners.  B. obtusa is shorter than its cousin but the flowers have the same vivid color and shape.  I picked up two of these plants last year at my local botanic garden's fall plant sale.  The evergreen plants hadn't done much of anything since last fall but they suddenly burst into bloom a week ago.

Barleria obtusa, photobombed by Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo Blue', which is returning for another round of bloom as the nighttime temperatures cool down

Echium fastuosum 'Star of Madeira' is also on my favorites list this month.  I acquired it by mail order late last year and mistreated it badly before finally planting it in my front garden in December.  It hasn't bloomed yet but it's grown steadily, albeit slowly, forming a round mound of attractive variegated foliage.  The flowers almost seem beside the point, although I'm sure I'll celebrate when it blooms.

Placement seems to be key for this plant - another specimen planted in my drier, south side garden remains a fraction of the size of this one even though it was planted just a few months later

Since I cut back the flower stalks, my Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl' is producing new growth.  I've been so impressed with this Euphorbia that I put in six more plants elsewhere in the front garden.

The original plants have produced some seedlings I'm hoping to use in the backyard when it's ready to plant

I added three Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' to my garden early this year.  While all have survived, only the one receiving the most sun and water has thrived.  It has a very loose shape and it's difficult to photograph but I love its tiny violet-purple flowers.

Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' mingling with other plants in the front border

Grevillea 'Peaches and Cream' also deserves a shout-out.  It's managed to flower just outside the regular Bloom Day cycle for the last few months and it still isn't blooming as heavily as either G. 'Superb' or G. 'Ned Kelly' but its flowers are bigger and always fabulous.  My largest specimen in the front garden happens to be blooming right now.

I replaced the Argyranthemum that formerly crowded this Grevillea 'Peaches and Cream' with lower-growing Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' and I think it likes the improved breathing space

Last but certainly not least is Hypoestes aristata (aka ribbon bush).  I grew this shrub in my former garden and it's the one plant I most regret having left behind, even though it only shines in the fall.  I finally found it on-line and planted three specimens in different areas of the garden in mid-February.  Two of the plants remain very short and relatively unimpressive thus far; however, they have survived the heat and drought and one is flowering well.

The plant on the left sits in the backyard border in an area that has killed numerous other plants.  The plant on the right sits in a similarly unfavorable area in the front garden.

In contrast, the last of the three has taken off and is already more than twice the size of the other two.  I suspect the difference is the amount of water it enjoys.

I almost missed the Hypoestes aristata here as it has cosied up to Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' but as the Hypoestes grows taller it should hold its own with the other shrub

Oh, I almost forgot Senna bicapsularis!  I recognized it earlier this week in my "In a Vase on Monday" post but it certainly deserves recognition here too.  It's a beautiful plant that literally lights up my dry garden this time of year.

In addition to being gorgeous, Senna bicapsularis is a host plant for sulphur butterflies.

Visit Loree at danger garden to see what plants have found favor with her and other gardeners this month.


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