Bouquet #3 & the Return of the Raccoons

I almost gave up on the idea of cutting a bouquet today for posting on Erin's site, The Impatient Gardener.  I have company coming to the house this Saturday and I've been on a mad dash to spiff up the garden and get in my last plants before summer starts and the heat dictates that I hold off on further planting until cooler temperatures return in the fall.  However, I was making good progress late this afternoon and I thought I might just have time to cut some flowers when I discovered that the raccoons had paid me another visit.  (I previously posted about my difficulties with raccoons here.)

What I found alongside a large hole in the ground

I planted this Teucrium betonicum last night.  It was one of 3 I put in in my backyard border after pulling a few sun-burned foxgloves.  One plant was still intact, the second (the one shown above) was desiccated beyond resurrection and the third was nowhere to be found.  Maybe I should have known I was pushing my luck last night.  I'd planned to add raccoon repellent to my new plantings after I watered them in but time was short (and I'd forgotten I promised to make dinner).  And, thus far, my experience had been that the raccoons don't dig in wet soil.  Anyway, I took a chance and I paid for it.

Here's what the plant should look like:

The unmolested Teucrium betonicum, now surrounded by raccoon repellent granules

After cleaning up after the raccoon, I was disheartened and not really in the mood to cut flowers.  I managed to put a simple bouquet together using some of the same materials I've used in my last 2 bouquets.

Yes, more Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum), which I have a lot of right now.  And more Agapanthus, which I also have a lot of.  I added one white Agapanthus to the more familiar blue forms in preparing this bouquet.  Lupine cruickshankii 'Sunrise' was intended to tie the arrangement together but, as the cut blooms are small relative to the other flowers, I don't think they carry the combination.  I added some mint bush (Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata') cuttings as filler but they also blend into the arrangement.  It needs more.  I probably should add some Geranium 'Brookside' and maybe some Salvia 'Mystic Spires' but it's dark now and too late to fumble around in the unlit backyard.  And, who knows - I could come face to face with another rampaging raccoon.  This bouquet will have to do as is.

Please go to Erin's site for pictures of more well-assembled bouquets.

Trouble Spot: Shade to Sun Transition

In February, the large Eucalyptus tree that dominated our side yard was removed for reasons I detailed here.  At the time, I worried about collateral damage to the surrounding garden areas.  The area most directly impacted by the loss of the tree was the bed directly adjoining the one in which the Eucalyptus formerly stood.  Instead of nearly full shade, it now receives full sun - in fact, it became the sunniest bed in my back yard.  While the tree service people did a great job of protecting the plants in that area, the plants suffered under the full sun exposure.  Within weeks of the tree's removal, the ferns had yellowed, the Pericallis (Florist's Cineraria) was burned and stunted, and the Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star' was all but dead.  I added some sun-loving annuals like the Nemophila menziesii (Baby Blue Eyes), shown in the picture below, and, later, Layia platyglossa (Tidytips) but, as time went on, the bed looked worse and worse.  Only the pansies seemed to enjoy the change in sun exposure.

Former shade bed in March

The plants in the former shade bed also didn't blend particularly well with the plants I'd selected to fill the adjoining bed formerly occupied by the Eucalyptus.  I probably should tear out all the plants in the former shade bed and start from scratch but I'm giving the largest ones, 3 Acanthus mollis and 2 Arthropodium cirratum (Renga Lilies), a reprieve to see if they can adjust.  Both varieties are said to handle full sun but it remains to be seen if that's true when the sun is accompanied by high summer-time temperatures, low humidity, and regular Santa Ana winds.  I've relocated the ferns and some of the other shade plants that weren't already dead.  This weekend, I filled some of the empty spots with new plants, including Aster novae-angliae 'Skyscraper', Briza media, Teucrium betonicum, and Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina'.  In addition, I moved a Salvia leucantha 'Waverly White' from the back border to this one.  All of these plants are reported to be drought and heat tolerant.

Former shade bed after replanting

Newly planted Aster novae-angliae 'Skyscraper', said to get up to 5 feet tall and wide

Briza media (Quaking Grass), which grows 12-18 inches high

Teucrium betonicum, which should form a 3 foot mound at maturity

Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina', said to grow 2-3 feet tall and wide

Salvia leucantha 'Waverly White'

The Baby Blue Eyes I planted in February took a beating under our relentless Santa Ana winds so I pulled them out and filled in with more Ajuga repens 'Catlin's Giant' along the pathway that separates the former shade bed from the former Eucalyptus bed.  I also added Pratia pedunculata (Blue Star Creeper) between the flagstones, which is already filling in nicely.

Replanted pathway

I think the plants on the 2 sides of the path now blend together somewhat better, although I'll have to wait until some of the new plants grow up and flower before I draw any final conclusions.

Broader view of 2 adjoining beds

The next major project is to remove some of the nearly dead "lawn" surrounding these beds.  This section of grass (weeds) wasn't in good shape to begin with as it was riddled with tree roots.  When the Eucalyptus came down, it took a thorough beating because the tree service guys used it as a staging ground when they cut up the branches and trunk of the tree.  My plan is to extend the existing flagstone path to the side patio and also through the arbor toward the path that leads to the lower section of the front garden.  I'll probably fill in around the expanded path with other low-growing groundcovers.

Damaged lawn area

Instead of collateral damage, I'm trying to see all this as a new opportunity but, in any terms, it's still a lot of work.