Wednesday Vignette: An Incongruous Pairing

I'm never particularly happy with my garden in late summer and, even though this summer has been milder than some, it's no exception.  Everything looks dry.  Plants that were flowering beautifully one week are withered beyond recognition the next.  It doesn't help that construction tools and debris related to our ongoing home remodel clutter much of the area surrounding the house and dust covers everything, including plants.  I've responded by developing selective vision.  To the extent possible I focus on what's looking good, ignoring what's dusty, dying or dead.

This week, my selective vision had me focusing on the "blooms" of Leucadendron 'Blush' in my front garden.

This Leucadendron's colorful bracts always make me think of rose buds

Can you see it?

While inspecting the Leucadendron, I noticed the Phormium tucked into a corner next to it.  It was one of the very first plants I installed in my new garden after moving in more than 8.5 years ago.  It's in bloom!  None of my Phormiums have ever bloomed so I count this as a special event.

I planted it sometime during the first quarter of 2011.  I wasn't keeping records of my plants then but I think this is Phormium tenax 'Atropurpureum'.

The flowers appear in clusters at intervals along the tall bloom spikes

But what's the blue thing just visible in the first photo of the Phormium above?  Here's the larger picture:

A port-a-potty set up for the use of construction workers sits directly next to the Phormium at one edge of our driveway

It's unfortunate that the Phormium doesn't have an opportunity to shine as part of the landscape on this occasion as it should.  On the other hand, who knows?  Maybe the port-a-potty provided the favorable conditions it needed to bloom.

Before I close this post, it seems appropriate to include an unrelated postscript here.  I've featured the mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) in our backyard garden in at least two prior Wednesday Vignettes.  The tree's future has been in question since we removed half its limbs last year following an infestation by shot-hole borers.  It was late to leaf out and late to bloom but here it is at last in all its glory:

There are still a few dead branches that could be pruned out but, all in all, the tree looks like it has some life left in it yet

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


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

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.