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: The Stars of my January Garden

I focused on two of the stars of my January garden this week.  One is close to reaching its peak and the other is nearly past it and both deserve a little time on the center stage.

This is Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection'.  I think it was the first plant I bought for my garden here after we moved in.  I had several Camellias in my former tiny garden but, due to our persistent problem with drought, this is the only one I've planted here.  Luckily, I also inherited a few well-established Camellia sasanqua with the garden.

Camellias generally don't last long in a vase but I enjoy having them in the house, if only briefly, so I can enjoy their beauty up close.

I chose an asymmetrical glass vase and plants with subtle pink touches to let the Camellias shine

Back view: The yellow at the throat of the Nemesia picks up the color at the center of the Camellia in a subtle echo

Top view

Clockwise from the left: Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection', Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Nemesia 'Snow Angel'

I usually feature the flower-like bracts of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' in a vase earlier in January.

These plants get big!  I brought the one on the left with me from my old house in a pot and it exploded in size once planted in the ground.  The one on the right has only been in the ground 3 years but it's already giving me reason for concern that it might outgrow its spot.  I cut both down by about half once their winter "bloom" cycle is cover.

Some of the yellow bracts of the Leucadendron are already developing the reddish color they get as they age and the central cones are gradually shifting from yellow to brown so the window to share them in a vase was narrowing.

The only floral accents I included were a few stems of paperwhite Narcissus

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', noID Narcissus, and Phormium 'Maori Queen'

We had a few warm days last week and expect to have even higher temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70sF this week.  Sadly, there's no rain in the forecast for the next couple of weeks but, if we can't have rain, maybe I'll at least have some new blooms to share next week.

For more IAVOM posts, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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

In a Vase on Monday: Rain showers yield flowers

New flowers are popping up here and there throughout my garden.  Plants don't follow a precise calendar but it seems at least some plants may be responding to the rain we received earlier this month by blooming a couple of weeks ahead of their usual schedule.

I've been watching buds forming on my Echium handiense for a few weeks now and last week noticed that a neighbor's plant was already blooming.  On Saturday morning I noticed mine had begun to bloom too so I knew it was a prospect for In a Vase on Monday.  Other elements of the arrangement, including the vase itself, were a matter of pure serendipity.

I met a friend for a belated birthday celebration on Saturday (her birthday, not mine).  After lunch we toured a couple of secondhand shops and I found the wonderful glass vase shown here.  A great buy for $16!

While checking out my friend's garden later in the afternoon, I discovered she had a beautiful Bush Germander (Teucrium fruticans).  I begged a few flowering stems, as well as a couple of seedlings.  The flower color is a much deeper blue than the cultivar I grew in my former garden.

I added 2 stems of the tall-flowered Dianthus I picked up on a shopping trip last week and a couple of stems of Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' to echo the pink color of the Echium's buds

Clockwise from the upper left: Echium handiense, noID Ceanothus, Diathus caryophyllus 'Cut Flower White', Camellia hybrid 'Taylor's Perfection' and Teucrium fruticans (possibly 'Compactum').  The Echium is considered critically endangered in its native habitat in Spain.  I've never seen it in a garden center.  My plant comes from my local botanic garden.

There were a few leftover flowers that didn't fit into my new vase.  I popped these into a tiny vase.  In addition to small stems of Ceanothus and Teucrium, these included several stems of Osteospermum '4D Silver'.

The snapdragons in my cutting garden provided the jumping off point for my second arrangement.  The plants are already showing signs of rust, probably spurred by the warm temperatures that followed the persistent rain we enjoyed the week before last.

I played on the colors in the snapdragon, adding stems of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', which are currently taking on a reddish tinge, and Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'

The high winds that blew off and on all last week took out most of my paperwhite Narcissus but I threw a few of the remaining stems in this vase

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Antirrhinum majus 'Bronze', Myrtus communis, Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', Papaver nudicaule (Iceland poppy) with noID Narcissus, Pyrethropsis hosmariense (Moroccan daisy), and, in the center, Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'

My vases assumed spots in the front entry and the dining room table as usual.  The tiny vase of leftovers landed on a side table in the living room.

Unfortunately, the Camellias began dropping one by one almost as soon as I cut them and I had to juggle the stems in the first vase to make up for the loss of those blooms

For more Monday vases, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: The usual suspects

Every garden has its rhythms and, despite the mild winter conditions here, mine is no exception.  When I look back at photos of arrangements I created in January in prior years, the same flowers usually make at least one appearance on In a Vase on Monday, the popular meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  The tradition continues with this post.

Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' produces yellow "blooms" every January.  While this is one of my favorite plants of all time, notable not only for its colorful yellow bracts in winter but also for its fiery red bracts in summer, I've never been entirely happy with how it looks in a vase.  On this occasion, I trimmed off most of the green foliage to make the bracts surrounding the cones more flower-like and to show off the plant's red stems.

I also kept the arrangement somewhat looser than I usually do.  The paperwhite Narcissus was thrown in the back, partly to add interest there but also because the stems had been plastered to the pavement by rain.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', and noID Narcissus

For a few weeks now, I've been pruning plants as though my life depended on it and, as my pink-flowered Leptospermum is one of the plants under siege, I'm using it and another January all-star, Grevillea 'Penola', in a second vase.

The Leptospermum and the Grevillea both have needle-like gray foliage but the former's flowers are flashier

This Grevillea has small but profuse red and white snail-shaped flowers,  Most of the flowers on my plant are still tightly furled.

Top view

From left to right: Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola', Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Persicaria capitata

For more January arrangements, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

On the weather front, we got a decent soaking of rain at last on Saturday night and there's more coming down this morning, and still more predicted for the coming weekend.  With that boost, I'm hoping I'll see a variety of new blooms in February, if not sooner.  On the other hand, I also hope Los Angeles will avoid any serious rain-related disasters in the recent burn areas.  It's a fine balance Mother Nature but I know you're up to the challenge!

View of the incoming storm from my backyard late Saturday afternoon

This is a closer look at one of the funnel clouds that got some news press in association with Saturday's storm.  I caught it on camera too.  Luckily, this one never touched the surface.

All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Dueling Dahlias

With dahlia buds opening on a daily basis, those flowers currently demand to be cut.  As it is, I don't get around to cutting some of the flowers before they fade, even when I refresh the dahlias in my vases mid-week.  Not that I'm complaining!

Dahlia 'Loverboy' has sat on the sidelines for a couple of weeks now so it was time to bring him back on the public stage.  Blue Eustoma has been hanging out in her bed so long she's looking ragged so there was no serious thought to having her join him this time.  Fortunately, some new blooms were available to perform roles as companions.

The fuchsias and toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) don't challenge 'Loverboy'.  Amaryllis belladonna is another matter altogether.  'Loverboy' tolerates her because she smells nice but he prefers to keep her in the background.  She's a little tall for his taste too.  (Hey, you already knew he's shallow.)

As for Amaryllis belladonna (who frequently goes by the names "Surprise Lily" and "Naked Lady"), she could care less whether 'Loverboy' accompanies her.  She believes she can hold the stage all by herself.

Coleus 'Dipt in Wine'  went along to keep things loose

Clockwise from the upper left, the cast of characters in this drama includes: Dahlia 'Loverboy', Fuchsia 'Mendonoma Belle', Heteromeles arbutitfolia, Amaryllis belladonna, Plectranthus scutellaroides (aka coleus), and the berries of Prunus laurocerasus

While 'Loverboy' is keeping a lower profile this year, 'Punkin Spice' is living large.  His companions are more diverse and exotic than those 'Loverboy' hangs with.  With his flamboyant personality, it's hard to conceive of him keeping steady company with anyone, though.

'Punkin Spice' isn't inclined to share center stage

Even the colorful characters hanging out in the background find themselves eclipsed in his presence

But you have to admit, he's pretty fabulous

Clockwise from the upper left, this cast includes: Dahlia 'Punkin Spice', Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Grevilla 'Superb', Cotyledon orbiculata, and Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'

'Punkin Spice's' cast list filled up quickly so the zinnias joined a smaller production.

Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose' and a stem of Heteromeles arbutifolia landed on my desk

To see what kind of drama other gardeners have found in their gardens this week, visit our IAVOM host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party