A fresh start!

Things are looking brighter.  This week brought rain!  In all, it amounted to about eight-tenths of an inch but, given the sorry state of our rainy season this year, I consider that a lot.  In addition to giving my garden a deep, uniform soak, something no irrigation system can accomplish, the rain topped off all my water collection tanks.  Then, yesterday, my husband and I got our second vaccine shots and President Biden recommended opening the vaccination process to all adults in the US by May 1st.  Progress!

While waiting out the next two weeks until I'm considered full immunized, I continue to focus on my garden.  I've installed some new plants, most received by mail order or through friends, and completed a variety of maintenance projects.  But I'll start with a happy discovery I made this week.

This tiny plant appeared in one of the small pots I used to sow Majorcan peony (Paeonia cambessedesii) seeds last July.  Was this really a peony seedling, or some stray that had simply planted itself? 

I had to cut back grasses and other plants to uncover my Majorcan peony in the back garden.  The leaves on the seedling and those on the plants looked similar and both have reddish stems.

The photo on the left shows the plant in flower and the one on the right shows the seeds I planted last year

This is another of the pots into which I sowed peony seeds.  As I recall, I planted 3 or 4 seeds in each small pot.  Three seedlings are showing in this one with the middle seedling looking like a smaller version of the one in my first photo.  A number of the other pots are showing infant leaves like the other two seedlings shown here.  I think I actually have Majorcan peony seedlings!

It'll be awhile before I plant out any peony seedlings - that probably won't even happen this year - but there were other plants I was able to get into the ground now.  I direct sowed more seeds, Cosmos, Nigella and Phacelia, in advance of the most recent rainstorm and popped the first dahlia tuber I received by mail into a temporary pot.  I also planted a package of tulips that had been chilling in my refrigerator for the past three months.

In November, one mail order supplier sent me a package of 'Judith Leyster' tulips in lieu of the more climate-appropriate bulbs I'd ordered.  They spent three months in the refrigerator before I planted them in late February.  One plant poked up above ground this week.

Two boxes of mail order plants I received late last week were promptly planted to take advantage of the promised rain.

I received my order from Annie's Annuals and Perennials right on time last Friday afternoon.  Clockwise from the upper left, the order included: Aeonium escobarii, Lavatera trimetris, Sideritis cypria (3), Plectranthus ecklonii and Gilla tricolor (5), and Teucrium betonicum (2).  The upturned flats in the bottom photo are there to protect the Gilla seedlings and seeds I sowed around them.

High Country Gardens sent me a dwarf Lavandula 'Thumbelina Leigh' and Monarda 'Peter's Purple' (3)

I spruced up the two window boxes attached to my lath (shade) house using a few pony packs picked up at my local garden center when I swung by there two weeks ago for planting mix and compost.

I left some of the original plants in place, most notably the small Coprosmas in both boxes, but replaced scruffier plants with dwarf Antirrhinum majus, Leucanthemum paludosum, and Lobularia maritima

Gift plants from blogger friends found homes.

The Billbergia nutans (left, sitting on ground) was sent to me by Anna (Flutter & Hum) after I erroneously identified the Billbergia windii (guarded by the dragon) as B. nutans on Instagram.  The gift plant is already sporting a bud.  Anna included Iris confusa (on the right), which I have great hopes for even though I managed to kill one earlier.  She also sent me a hitchhiking earthworm, which I suspect is much happier in SoCal than it was in then snow-covered Portland, Oregon.

I offered Denise (A Growing Obsession) a few Renga lilies and got a lot more in return, including Aeonium 'Copper Penny', which I split and planted in several locations, several Aloe elgonica cuttings, and 4 strawflower (Xerochyrsum bracteatum) seedlings

I transplanted a couple of succulents too.

I discovered this Agave literally squished between 2 large Agaves in my south side garden.  I'm not sure what it is, although my records suggest it could be the non-variegated form of Agave potatorum.  In any case, it was damaged as a result of rubbing against its larger neighbors.  Here, on the north end of my garden, it has room to breathe and, hopefully, recover.

Back in December, my local docent/Instagrammer friend Kay (@kaeru.niwa) gave me a large Mangave 'Silver Fox' pup when I was bemoaning the bloom stalk on mine.  After months in a pot, it graduated to a bed alongside several of my other Mangaves.

In addition to planting, I finally tackled a variety of pruning and cleanup projects that I'd managed to avoid until now.

Both of my large Leucadendron "Wilson's Wonder' shrubs got a good pruning, losing more than a third of their height 

Senna bicapsularis lost more than half its height.  If it doesn't survive the experience, I'll be sad because it's a host plant for cloudless sulphur butterflies but its placement along the narrow pathway down the back slope was a mistake on my part. 

Both the 'Fuyu' and 'Hachiya' persimmon trees were twiggy messes before I cleaned them up

Nine more of my Pennisetums got haircuts (6 shown here).  I foolishly failed to don gloves before starting on the large 'Rubrum' (left) and cut up the skin on my hands rather badly in the process.

Unhappy with the blue Freesias I received by mistake as part of the "tropical sunset" mix I ordered for an area of my south side garden, I moved all of them (I think) to my back border.  Freesias are easier to move during their first year in the ground before the bulbs proliferate.

I'm ready to welcome spring with open arms now!  I hope you're seeing improvements to the weather, slow as these may be in colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere, and that the promise of spring is calling you.  Best wishes for a wonderful weekend.

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: Bright Spots

It's hard to remain hopeful these days when every newscast brings new reasons for worry - or anger.  I've tried to limit my news consumption but I still read and digest more than may be healthy on a daily basis.  My garden remains a refuge and, whether walking through it to water, pull weeds, deadhead flowers, prune rampant growth or simply snap photos, it manages to distract me, bringing my blood pressure down and clearing my mind, if only for awhile.

I thought I'd share a few of the casual distractions that caught my attention this week as my Wednesday Vignette, rather than enumerating the circumstances that had me climbing a wall.

For some reason, a Gulf Fritillary landed on this Agave americana medio-picta 'Alba' and spent enough time there to allow me to get a couple of decent shots

Agapanthus 'Stevie's Wonder', planted as bulbs last year, produced their first blooms.  I arguably don't need any more Agapanthus but I couldn't resist its dark blue color when I saw it in a catalog last year.

I planted a handful of Crocosmia last year and promptly forgot all about them. I've no record of how many I planted or where I put them but this one made a surprise appearance in the back border.

This unusual Sisyrinchium called 'Quaint and Queer' was in full bloom this week but I had a devil of a time photographing its tiny flowers.  This was my best shot.

The seedpod of my Moroccan peony (Paeonia cambessedesii) ripened and burst open to reveal shiny dark blue seeds against a bright red background

I cut the peony's seedpod and planted those seeds in pots in the hope that at least one or two will produce a new plant.  

I couldn't find any references describing the requirements for growing these peonies from seed but I thought I'd give it a try anyway.  Each of these pots got 3 seeds and I planted the the last one directly in the ground.

Fingers crossed.  For more Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.

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

Late February Blooms

Inevitably, as soon as I publish my monthly Bloom Day post, something else pops up in the garden.  That's especially true in early Spring and, with temperatures close to 80F yesterday, it certainly feels like Spring now.  Some of the flowers making a late February appearance may still be around in mid-March but I'm going to go ahead and celebrate their arrival now, starting with the 2 biggest surprises.

I almost missed the Majorcan peony bloom entirely, catching it out of the corner of my eye mostly hidden by plants I hadn't gotten round to cutting back.  I cut back the Pennisetum and Lobelia laxiflora the very next morning to reveal a single bloom of the Paeonia cambessedesii I planted in March 2014.  As best I can remember, it's never produced more than a single bloom in any given year, perhaps because I allow it to be engulfed by other plants year-after-year.

I planted  2 varieties of species tulips in early December but only half-expected blooms.  Seeing Tulipa clusiana 'Lady Jane'  suddenly appear all at once was a delightful discovery.  I'm still waiting on T. clusiana 'Cynthia'.

Other bulb blooms were more predictable.

This noID bearded Iris on my back slope was in bud for weeks but didn't open until last week

Italian hybrid Anemone 'Mistral Rarity' had a single bloom prior to Bloom Day this month but is now unfurling one bloom after another

Another hybrid, Anemone 'Mistral Azzurro', followed on 'Rarity's' heels.  The stems on this one are longer.

A few blue Freesias have been in bloom for almost a month but this week Freesias in all sorts of colors are making an appearance

I planted Ipheion uniflorum in my garden a year or two after we moved in, along the edge of borders than were subsequently expanded twice as we slowly removed the lawn in the back garden.  They now appear in the middle of beds, steadily multiplying each year.

Some of the larger-cupped daffodils showed up this week, scattered in various corners of the back garden.  I don't have names for most of them. 

Sparaxis tricolor showed up this week too.  The vast majority of mine are orange but there are a few whites and pinks.

Calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) planted by some prior gardener on the back slope reappear every year, aided by rain.  The plants completely disappear during out hot, dry summers.

A couple of other plants caught me by surprise too.

Daphne odora 'Leucanthe', purchased on a whim back in October, bloomed.  I'd given it a 50-50 chance here.

I'd forgotten pretty Osteospermum ' Spring Day', planted 2 years ago, before it was suddenly covered in blooms.  The petals are pale pink on top and a sunny yellow underneath.

That's my late February line-up but, with 3 days left in the month, who's to say there won't be more?  I'll be watching the garden closely!


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

Wednesday Vignette: Early Spring Miscellany

There were a few items in the grab bag of photos I'd set aside for the Wednesday Vignette meme hosted by Anna of Flutter & Hum.  I couldn't decide which of these to post this week so I'm presenting all of them.  They bear no relationship to one another, other than that they all sing of early spring.

The first photo is an update of the front garden planted by my brother and his girlfriend.  In January, I shared a photo of the green mass of seedlings sprouted from the pounds of seed they scattered in the fall (which you can see here).  My brother sent me an updated photo last week to show me how things have progressed.

Flowering plants include Dimorphotheca sinuata, Linaria maroccana, Lobularia maritima, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, Cosmos bipinnatus, Lupinus succulentus, and Eschscholzia californica (Photo courtesy of ericnp.net.).  Close-ups of individual flowers taken in 2015 can be found at http://ericnp.net/garden2015/ 

Those of you who viewed my last Bloom Day post may find it hard to believe but I inadvertently dropped several of my floral photos, including these of the Aeonium arboreum blooming along my front slope.

There are a total of 8 Aeonium floral spires blooming in this area and a few others scattered elsewhere in the garden

Close-up of one flower cluster

My last photo may not look like much but it represents a major achievement from my point of view: a peony in bloom in my garden.  Just one bloom.  On a plant I don't think is any bigger than it was last year when it also produced just one bloom.  And, yes, I also featured it in a Wednesday Vignette last year (which you can see here).  But, for me, peonies are the holy grail of flowering plants and the fact that this one lived to flower another year is a cause for celebration.

This is Paeonia cambessedesii, a Mediterranean species I planted in March 2014.  The bloom shown here was shattered in our last rainstorm.  There's no sign of another, at least not yet.

Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum for other Wednesday Vignettes.


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