Foliage Follow-up: February Focus on Phormium

Okay, I couldn't stop myself with the title of this post - I like alliteration.  However, the Phormium in my garden do deserve attention.  I seem to accumulate more each year we live here.  They do well in my USDA zone 10b (Sunset zone 23/24).  Many are drought tolerant, which is helpful when rain is in short supply and the state of California has declared a drought emergency.  They're also relatively easy to care for and they come in a range of sizes and colors.  I fully expect that more Phormium will enter my garden this year when I plant the new border area (assuming we ever finish digging the lawn out).

So here are the stand-outs in my garden:

2 Phormium 'Amazing Red' went into the side yard border last year - it grows just 2 feet tall and wide

I have no record of the name of this Phormium I planted in the front border shortly after we moved in - my best guess is that it's P. tenax 'Atropurpureum Compactum,' which grows 5 feet tall and wide

Several smaller Phormium 'Chocolate Baby' are also planted in the front border - they grow 2-3 feet tall and wide

I added 3 Phormium 'Dark Delight' to the backyard border last year - they grow 3-4 feet tall and 3-5 feet wide

Phormium 'Tiny Tiger' is indeed small - it grows just 1 foot tall and wide

Phormium tenax 'Yellow Wave' sits in the dry garden - it grows 3-4 feet tall and wide

These lovely Phormium are my contribution this month to the meme sponsored by Pam of the fabulous Digging blog.  Please visit Digging to view her foliage choices and connect to other gardeners' selections.

Fall Planting Frenzy - Part 1

The title of this post suggests that my fall planting frenzy has just begun.  In actuality, it began much earlier.  You could say that it kicked off before the official start of fall when I began planting the area surrounding the new pathway on one side of our house in early September (as described here).  It continued as I began to fill in the expanse of open area on the same side of the house, where we'd removed a large section of lawn (as described here).  I've been haunting nearby nurseries and garden centers ever since looking for the plants on my list for the side yard, as well as plants to fill in vacancies in my backyard border.  To complicate matters, last week, in a fit of disillusionment with the back border, I began tearing out plants there.  It started with this:

3 lavender plants grew together to form a troublesome mass in the middle of the border

I put in 3 lavender plants (Lavandula x heterophylla) in the spring of 2012.  In the fall of that year, I placed a mint bush (Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata') behind them, mainly because space was available.  The lavender plants subsequently grew together to form a single mass, which I saw out the window every time I sat on the couch in the living room.  The mass obscured the pretty mint bush, which began to bug me until, this past week, I tore the lavender out, leaving a big hole.

Space after removal of the lavender mass

This area bi-sects the backyard border, separating the warm-toned plants on the right from cooler-toned plants on the left.  While I haven't come to terms with the perfect planting scheme for that area, I did pick items to fill in the space for now.  Some of these came by mail order and others were picked up at a nursery this weekend.  I'll post on that reconfiguration in the near future.

While I was staring at the backyard border trying to decide what it needed, I reached the conclusion that the left side also needed substantial work.  I've been looking for burgundy foliage plants for that area since my 2 failed attempts to grow a purple-leafed Loropetalum there.  I recently added one Phormium 'Dark Delight' and decided, what the heck, I'd add 2 more.  These went in this weekend, along with some bulbs, 3 society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) and a new thyme honey myrtle (Melaleuca thymifolia).  The new arrangement required me to dig up and reposition several of the surrounding plants as well.

Left side of border after the addition of 2 more Phormium and some rearranging

Melaleuca thymifolia

I can't say that I'm thrilled with this section of the border yet.  It still looks a bit hodge-podge to me; however, my hope is that its appearance will improve as the plants fill out and grow to their anticipated heights.

Work on the side yard continues as well.  Some of last week's purchases, including the Agave 'Blue Glow,' have been added there, along with Helichrysum italicum, and Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow,' which was moved from a nearby area.

With the exception of the Arbutus, Phlomis, Acanthus, and 2 of the Arthropodium cirratum, everything in this area was recently planted

I still need to add a path through the middle of this space to the backyard beyond but the other side of the area, adjacent to a small patio, is coming together.  I added some Iceland poppy seedlings (Papaver nudicaule) this weekend just because I love them.

All the plants in this area were introduced in late September or October

View of side yard bed from patio area

Fall is unequivocally the best time to plant in my area of Southern California.  It's still warm enough to give roots time to establish but, more importantly, we have a reasonable chance of getting rain.  We got our first rain since March on October 9th.  Although that yielded less than a quarter of an inch of rainwater, another rain event is forecast for today and tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to it.  The view this morning is auspiciously cloudy.

What I didn't buy...

I'm in a fall planting frenzy.  I've made repeated visits to my local and not-so-local nurseries in my search for items on my planting list, plants to complement the items on my planting list, and, well, anything else that strikes my fancy to fill the current vacancies in my garden beds.  My focus has been on the side yard but I've also picked up plants for my dry garden and my back border.  (So far, my front yard, slope and vegetable garden have been woefully neglected.)

A little over a week ago I went to Roger's Gardens, an Orange County nursery, on my second visit in 2 weeks.  I usually wander the nursery without a cart first to assess the stock, then cycle back with a cart to pick up my final choices, assuming I can remember all of them.  This time, I brought my camera as an aid in my selection process.  I snapped photos of things I liked as I went along.

I bought quite a few plants, some of which have already appeared in recent posts.  But there were also a lot of plants I passed up (at least for now).  Here's what I didn't buy:

This well-priced agave would work on my back slope but clean-up is needed before I get started with any planting there

Angelonia would be nice as a complement to Acanthus mollis 'Summer Beauty' in the side yard but this is a summer-bloomer so it's already past its glory days

This Echeveria would look good with the plants surrounding the side yard patio but it was pricey

Talk about pricey!  This Euphorbia would add height in one of the hanging baskets of succulents in the side yard but I couldn't bring myself to spend $30 for a novelty item.

I loved this Gaillardia but I'd already committed myself to Ursinia 'Solar Fire' as the floral accent along the side yard patio

For some reason, I'm always attracted to Geum, even though I've had little luck getting any of these to bloom.  This one was described as a "wild form."

The price on this Gomphrena 'Fireworks' was marked down 30% but it is the end of its season...

I've already killed Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury' once

I was looking for some Lomandra but this variety only came in 1-gallon containers

I'm a sucker for pansies but it's too early in the season to plant these - a good Santa Ana wind, like the one that whipped through our area this past weekend, can take out newly planted pansies in no time

I'm still thinking about this Penstemon digitalis 'Mystica,' a spring bloomer that develops purplish foliage

And this Salvia 'Waverly'

Passing up these double-flowered snapdragons, offered in 6-packs, was difficult

I was looking for Stachys byzantina but I wanted the 'Big Ears' ('Helen Von Stein') variety and this wasn't that

I considered several low-growing foliage plants to complement the Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussy" and Ursinia 'Solar Fire' in the new side yard bed.  I passed on these:

Hebe, I don't remember the variety but I liked the foliage and neat shape of this plant

Dwarf mondo grass also would have presented a neat appearance under the Coprosma

Seslaria caerulea - the blue tones on the reverse of the leaf blades weren't right for my application

I also steered clear of the Halloween displays, although I was tempted.  

Entrance to the special Halloween display

Gargoyle fountain

Lots and lots of pumpkins

Rogers does a good job with decorations but, as we had only 2 trick-or-treaters last year and none the year before, decorating for the holiday is a low priority.  And I already have a perfectly nice bat and skeleton.

So, what did I buy?

Celosia argentea, which I featured as my favorite plant of the week last week

Phormium 'Dark Delight'

5 Talinum paniculatum 'Limon' (aka Jewels of Opar)!

Close-up of the seedpods that form on the Talinum - aren't they pretty against the lime green foliage?

5 Carex testacea (aka orange New Zealand sedge)

5 Crassula lycopodioides, my choice to accent the Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey'

I have a 3-nursery trek scheduled with a friend in less than 2 weeks.  I hope I can steer clear of garden centers in the meantime...

My favorite plant this week: Celosia argentea var. spicata

My favorite plant this week is a bit of a cheat.  It's an annual I picked up last week on one of my 2 recent trips to Roger's Gardens, an Orange County nursery.  I saw it on my first trip out there, passed it by, but kept thinking out how great it would look positioned in front of Hebe 'Wiri Blush' in my back border.  On my second trip last weekend, I brought along a piece of the Hebe to check whether the mix I saw in my mind would be as nice in reality.  It was, so I brought home 3 pots of Celosia argentea var. spicata, commonly called Pink Flamingo Feather Flower.

Newly planted Celosia argentea var. spicata (aka Pink Flamingo Feather Flower)

Frankly, I've always steered clear of Celosia, finding most of the genus too garish.  Although this one is undeniably a brightly colored attention-getter, it struck me as more garden-worthy.  The flower color and shape mirror the smaller flowers on the Hebe.

Close-up of Pink Flamingo Feather Flower

Hebe 'Wiri Blush' in bloom

Here's a picture of the Celosia and Hebe with the new Phormium 'Dark Delight,' purchased at the same time as the Celosia.  I like the combination of the 3 plants.  The Celosia is reputed to be a vigorous self-seeder so maybe it'll make a return visit next summer.

Celosia argentea var. spicata, Hebe 'Wiri Blush' and Phormium 'Dark Delight'

Pink Flamingo Feather Flower is expected to grow up to 18-24 inches tall and 12 inches wide.  It flowers summer through fall, likes heat, and needs full sun and average water.   This plant is my contribution to the favorite plants meme hosted by Loree of danger garden.  You can see Loree's favorite, a wonderful Saliva discolor I wish I could find locally, here, as well as links to favorites presented by other participating gardeners.