Succulent Stars

I've been spending a lot of time in my garden, partly to escape the pandemonium associated with our remodel, but also in an effort to manage the garden's explosive growth following the best stretch of rain and moderate temperatures we've had in a long time.  I could probably spend several hours a day for a solid month just cutting back Erigeron karvinskianus and even then might have to start all over again with a fresh round of haircuts as soon as I finished.  I've also spent gobs of time deadheading flowering plants, pulling weeds, and cleaning out ripened bulb foliage.  In the midst of the last exercise, I took time to admire my sleek and always tidy succulents.

This is Aloe labworana, native to Uganda.  I picked it up last August because I loved its wavy shape.  Once I cut back the dead daffodil foliage surrounding it and uncovered the Echium debris that had nearly covered it, I noticed that it'd taken on a pretty red tinge.

This Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata' had been nearly smothered by Erigeron karvinskianus (aka Santa Barbara daisy) and was partially hidden behind a tall mass of Gaura lindheimeri.  I purchased the plant in a 4-inch pot about 18 months ago and it's still relatively small but someday it'll be big enough to hold its own in that spot against all comers.

This Agave is sold under a variety of names but now is commonly known as Agave mitis 'Multicolor'.  This is the largest of the 3 I have, given to me as a birthday gift 3 years ago.  It's beefed up dramatically in the past year, presumably in response to the extra rain we received this past winter. 

There are several nice 'Blue Glow' and 'Blue Flame' Agaves here but what dials this vignette up a notch is the mass of Crassula pubescens ssp radicans in full bloom among the Agaves.  The smaller succulent's red foliage nicely echoes the red edges of the 'Blue Glow' Agaves most of the year but the cream-colored flowers light up the bed in early summer.

The same grouping from another angle.  Please ignore the crabgrass I missed during my clean-up.

Some succulents have joined the floral parade.

My Hesperaloe parviflora aren't as exuberant as the plants I saw at last year's Garden Bloggers' Fling in Austin, Texas but I'm pleased with the statement they make here and I'm hopeful that, in time, my 3 plants will form large clumps.

I fell in love with Oscularia deltoides (aka Lampranthus deltoides) several years ago based on its foliage alone.  Its red stems are covered in icy blue-green leaves.  Like many succulents, it's easily grown here simply by sticking a cutting in soil.  This one is happy trailing down a low stacked stone wall in partial shade.  I have others growing in full sun but in my location they look best with some afternoon shade.

The bloom spikes on the 2 Agave desmettiana growing in my street-side bed formed in October.  The plants were in full bloom in March.  It appears that bulbils are finally forming, although thus far most are well above my head and therefore hard to photograph.  Meanwhile the mother plants' foliage has taken on a pretty reddish color.

The 3 Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' growing on the slope here are also progeny of the 2 plants currently in bloom.  I planted 5 pups in this area (not all visible in this photo) several years ago when I put the original plants in the street-side bed.  They also got a major boost from our winter rains.

Blooms are a mixed bag when the blooming plant is monocarpic, as most Agaves are.  But, if the Agave desmettiana produce a host of baby plants, that'll take the sting out of the loss of the 2 large specimens.  I only hope the bulbils develop fully before those 2 bloom stalks fall into the street.

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

Bloom Day - July 2018

After obsessing about the damage done by the nuclear heatwave we experienced on July 6th, I nearly lost track of Bloom Day.  Like many of my summer Bloom Day posts, my meanderings through the garden felt a lot like a scavenger hunt.  Despite the 110F (43C) temperature that scorched the garden and killed some plants outright a week ago, there are still flowers.  There are just far fewer of them.  The Dahlias and Zinnias that stole the show in my July 2017 post are only just getting started this July 15th and many of the other plants I featured in last year's post are either no-shows or they've been incinerated by the heatwave.

The nicest bed is one which is partially shaded in the afternoon and is also protected from the wind by its proximity to the house and a tall shrub on the west side.

The photo on the upper left shows the bed in question.  Clockwise from the top right, the bed contains: Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon', Gaillardia 'Fanfare Citronella', variegated Lantana 'Samantha', a noID Anigozanthos, and Leucadendron 'Pisa'.  There are blue Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus) in there too, mostly plants that over-wintered from last year, but none are blooming yet.

Some flowering plants laughed at the heatwave, figuratively speaking.

Abelia x grandiflora 'Edward Goucher' is blooming right on schedule, although it undoubtedly benefited from the shade of 2 large trees overhead

Achillea 'Moonshine's' first flush of blooms are fading but that has nothing to do with the heat.  With deadheading, they'll continue to produce new, albeit smaller, blooms for awhile yet.

Grevilleas 'Ned Kelly' (left) and 'Superb' (right) literally never stop blooming

Succulent Oscularia deltoides is in its glory at this time of year

I noticed flowers on Leonotis leonurus for the first time this season as the heat abated.  Could this have been prompted by the temperature spike?

Romneya coulteri (Matilija Poppy) didn't appear to even register summer's shift into high gear

Other plants were affected by the heat but still have blooms.

The appearance of the Agapanthus flowers certainly wasn't improved by the high temperatures and dry wind conditions but at least they didn't burn

All the Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' blooms dropped their petals but, as soon as they were deadheaded, new blooms appeared.  However, the foliage has been scorched.

Still other plants are just getting into their summer stride.

I was late in getting all my Dahlia tubers planted this year.  'Otto's Thrill', purchased in a pot with buds, is the only plant I currently have in bloom but others are showing buds at last.

I thought my Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus) were slow to get going this year but, looking back at last year's July post, it seems they're right on schedule; however, the recent heat did scorch some plants, which may affect future blooms

Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' appears to be blooming later but even better than it did last year

The daylilies fizzled out a little early but a few varieties produced flowers even during the heatwave.

Hemerocallis 'Sammy Russell' (top), a dormant variety that came with the garden, is showing off its last blooms.  The same is true of 'Apollodorus' (bottom left), which is new to my garden this year, and 'Persian Market' (lower right), one of my old favorites.

The rest of the flowers in the garden are scant but I'll share them in the form of color collages as I usually do.

Clockwise from the upper left: Catananche caerulea, Duranta erecta 'Sapphire Showers', noID Lavandula, Trichostema 'Midnight Magic', Osteospermum 'Violet Ice', Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly', and, in the center, Melaleuca thymifolia

Clockwise from the upper left: Gaura lindheimeri (shown with Myrtus communis 'Compacta'), Leucanthemum x superbum, Scaevola 'Surdiva White', noID Osteospermum, and Pandorea jasminoides 'Alba'

Clockwise from the upper left: Calendula 'Zeolights' grown from seed, Crassula pubescens ssp radicans, Euryops 'Sonnenschein', Hunnemannia fumariifolia (Mexican Tulip Poppy, a plant that keeps on giving), and Santolina virens 'Lemon Fizz'

Clockwise from the upper left: Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Lobelia laxiflora, Lotus jacobaeus, Pelargonium peltatum, Pentas lanceolata 'Nova', Zinnia elegans 'Queen Red Lime', and, in the center, a noID rose.  The latter opened and promptly withered yesterday morning.

That's it for my Bloom Day round-up.  For more Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, visit our host, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.


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

June Favorites: Looking at the Positives

If you read my last post, you know I was upset by the impact our start-of-summer heatwave had on my garden.  It's worse in some areas than others but it's hard to walk through the garden without fixating on dead and maimed plants.  Loree's monthly favorite plants post at danger garden forced me to take a closer look at what's looking good despite the impact of what I've been thinking of as the "heat apocalypse."  On the good side, most of the plants I installed in May and early June, including the 5 Xylosma congestum shrubs planted along the street, survived.  The dry garden doesn't even appear to have registered the event.  The backyard bed I featured in my May favorites post still shines and the garden beds alongside the front walk look good.

So here are a few of the plants that lightened my heart as I roamed my garden yesterday:

This Oscularia deltoides, planted in October 2012 from a 4-inch pot, seems to love growing along the stack-stoned wall at the bottom of the front slope.  The succulent foliage is attractive but the flowers, which blanket the plant when it blooms, are spectacular.  I plan to add cuttings of this plant elsewhere along the wall.

Phormium 'Maori Queen' makes the most of the late afternoon sun.  This Phormium handled the recent heat much better than the darker-leaved varieties in my garden, which generally look sad.  There are 6 'Maori Queen' in the front garden, none of which were damaged by Monday's 105F high temperature.

Sitting next to Phormium 'Maori Queen' is Correa 'Wyn's Wonder'.  It's not in bloom at the moment but its variegated foliage makes a refreshing splash in one of the beds that lines the front walkway.  Because it's done so well here, I've added 2 more of these plants to this bed, one of which replaced a group of Arctotis 'Pink Sugar'.  I love the latter plant too but it gets grubby looking in summer so I'm relegating those plants to areas with less traffic.

Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' is finally gaining size in the backyard border.  It's backed up here by Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) and a coral-flowered Russelia equisetiformis, which may be the only plant that actually seemed to get a boost from the intense heat earlier in the week.

The red tones of Aloe dorotheae (shown in close-up on the right) and Crassula pubescens ssp. radicans have brightened the succulent bed in the southeast side garden.  Unlike some of the agaves, the Aloes show no signs of sun scorch or the scars of edema.  I can't quite decide whether I like the yellow flowers of the Crassula but I've let them stay for now.

While I've lost a section of thyme in the from garden on the southwest side, the Thymus minus planted from flats last fall in the backyard has done a good job of filling in.  Blooms are appearing here and there too.

My thanks to Loree for nudging me out of my funk.  Visit her to find her favorite plant selections this month and links to posts on the same theme by other gardeners.

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