I broke a promise to myself (again)

Every year, I tell myself that I'm not going to plant anything new from July through September.  These are usually our hottest, driest months and, no matter how attentive I am to my watering regimens, plants put in during these months have a reduced chance of survival.  I've learned my lesson in this regard over and over again.  It's rather like throwing money away.  Yet, year after year, I rationalize my way through summer purchases.  And I've done it again this year.

My husband and I have been working at tearing out a large section of lawn in our side yard and building an extension of our flagstone pathway.  While I don't intend to plant most of the area until October, I wasn't able to stop myself from fiddling with plantings along the pathway area.

It started with the addition of a Geranium 'Tiny Monster.'  I've been very pleased with this plant, even featuring it as my "favorite of the week" a few weeks back (as you can see here).  Well, I stopped by a local garden center/florist just to see if they had anything interesting and I found 'Tiny Monster' in stock at a very good price.  I put one in near the new pathway at the start of our current heat wave and it handled the heat without difficulty.  

So, I went back and picked up 2 more 'Tiny Monsters.'  Then I relocated 3 Briza media, a low-growing ornamental grass, from what was the front of my old (now expanded) border to fill in along the pathway.  The Pelargonium tomentosum (aka peppermint geranium) I'd introduced in the adjacent bed was doing well and I'd rooted some cuttings so I added some of that to replace a mostly dead Heuchera 'Melting Fire.'  You can see how this kind of thing takes hold, can't you?  Soon, I had this.

So, one side of the pathway was coming to life, while the other side was loose dirt.  It wasn't balanced.  Then, Annie's Annuals & Perennials announced a sale.  As that's where I originally got the Briza media, I thought it would be smart to order more for the empty side of the path while it was still in stock.  That's just prudent, isn't it?  While I waited for my mail order delivery, I decided that some Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) would look nice in the corner and I happened to find some in 4 inch pots at a nearby nursery.  That same nursery had a a nice, healthy flat of thyme, which I'd already been planning to use between the flagstones so I picked that up too.  Somewhere along the line I also found some 6-packs of Ajuga 'Mint Chip," which seemed perfect to fill in around stones .

Here's the result.  (I still need another flat of thyme.)

Now, if I can just keep it all alive...

My favorite plant this week: Geranium 'Tiny Monster'

I'm joining Loree of danger garden in showing my favorite plant in my garden this week, Geranium 'Tiny Monster'.  Although we've had a stretch of uncommonly cool, comfortable weather, a lot of my plants are nonetheless looking faded at this point in the summer.  Some are downright sad.  And the Agapanthus and Leucanthemum x superbum that dominated several beds in early summer are, for the most part, gone.  However, 'Tiny Monster', which I moved to the new bed created after the removal of the 60 foot Eucalyptus tree in our side yard (previously discussed here) in February has been blooming non-stop since March.

I bought this particular plant at the South Coast Garden Show in 2012.  At the time, the vendor asked me if I was sure I knew what I was doing putting it into my garden, implying that it deserved its name.  It's said to have a mounding habit, growing 6-12 inches tall with a spread up to 2 feet, which doesn't seem too monster-ish to me.  In fact, I could use a few more monsters of this type - feel free to offer suggestions.

The flowers, described as pink on some growers' sites, read as mauve/violet to me.  However you describe it, the color echoes that of the flower spike on the nearby Acanthus.  The latter plant was  sold to me as Acanthus mollis but I think it's probably Acanthus spinosus or possibly Acanthus mollis 'Summer Beauty', said to be a hybrid of A. mollis and A. spinosus.

G. 'Tiny Monster' is itself a hybrid of Geranium sanguineum and Geranium psilostemon.  It flourishes in sun to part sun.  Although most sites say it's suited to zones 4-8, the Proven Winners webpage says it will grow in zones 6a-10b.  I'm in zone 10b and it's doing fine here.  It's also considered to be attractive to butterflies and unattractive to deer and rabbits, although I can't personally attest to the veracity of either claim.  The raccoons have ignored it, which is a blessing.

Please go to the danger garden webpage to see other gardeners' favorite plant selections for this week in August.

More Blooms!

We've had a spot of very warm weather due to a high pressure system hanging over our area and another onslaught of Santa Ana winds.  Temperatures have been in the mid-80s for 2 days and the humidity is near zero.  The good news is that new blooms are popping up all over.  The bad news is that they also wither quickly with exposure to the wind and low humidity.

As I'm not sure what will last until Bloom Day, I thought I'd feature some of the new blooms, starting with the bulbs.  I inherited the Calla Lilies with the property - they pop up here and there at the start of spring when the weather is still relatively cool and generally disappear as temperatures rise.

Zantedeschia aethiopica (Common Calla Lily)

I put in a large number of Dutch Crocus last year, hoping to duplicate the purple, white and yellow mix shown in the catalog I ordered from; however, the yellow Crocus consistently bloom ahead of the others and are usually gone by the time the purple and white varieties show up.

Crocus vernus

Freesia do exceptionally well here and they're easy to grow from bulbs.  I put in dozens in shades of yellow, purple, pink and white.  Only the pink ones have yet to make an appearance.

Freesia

Freesia (with hitchhiker)

Freesia complemented by Violas

Sparaxis tricolor, commonly called Harlequin Flower, also do well here and naturalize freely.

Sparaxis tricolor

Another Sparaxis tricolor

Other recent bloomers include Alstroemeria, commonly known as Peruvian Lily.  These plants are solid performers in Southern California.  They die back during the heat of summer but reemerge in spring.  This one is the first to bloom for me this year.

Alstroemeria - No ID

I love true geraniums.  Most of mine die back, becoming almost invisible during the fall/winter months, but Geranium hybrid 'Tiny Monster' kept its foliage throughout the winter months, some of it taking on a red color.  This one stays low, growing only 6-12 inches high, but spreading up to 2 feet.

Geranium hybrid 'Tiny Monster'

My Sweet Pea shrubs are also beginning to bloom.  I currently have just the dwarf variety, Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly', which grows just 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly'

Our weather is supposed to turn cooler tomorrow, dropping to the upper 60s, and rain is predicted for mid-week so maybe I'll hang onto these new blooms for awhile yet.