Sometimes you just have to wait...

Patience is not one of my virtues.  When I have a question, I want an answer - now.  When I encounter a problem, I want to solve it - now.  When something needs to be done, I want to get it done - now.   While that disposition generally served me well in the business world, it doesn't always play as well in the garden or in other areas of my life.  I'd like to say that the garden is helping me gain the patience I lack but I can't quite say I'm there yet.

When we bought our current house almost 2 and a half years ago, I told myself that I had plenty of time to implement changes to the garden, to make it mine.  I planned to give myself time to understand weather patterns, to identify which plants would thrive here, and to envision what structural changes could be made to show the garden as a whole to its best advantage.   Did I do that?  Not really.  I made a stab at charting changes in sun exposure month-to-month.  I checked out which plants grew in neighboring gardens.   I prioritized the garden areas I wanted to tackle.  But then the garden started making its own demands.  I lost patience with my methodical planning process and jumped into action.  Areas that I hadn't planned to touch in the early stages, like the slope at the back of the property, which I wrote about here and here, demanded attention.  The dry garden area, also initially a low priority, needed work as well as I needed a pathway to get to the sloped area.  And so it began.  A little work here, a little work there, and suddenly these areas became the focus of my efforts, almost without my realizing it.  No master plans.  I don't even have "before" pictures.

Still, despite my attempt to fast forward my garden renovation, plants require time to settle in.  This is true of even plants bought in larger sizes, although I usually try to buy small to give the plants time to develop in situ.  And, no matter how carefully selected, some plants don't adapt well where they're put and have to be moved.  It takes time for plants to gain stature and weave together to form pleasing associations.  Patience is required.  Much as I'd like to turn the page and have a full-blown garden instantaneously as depicted on TV, that doesn't happen and I realize that I probably wouldn't be satisfied with the product 3 years out if I did succeed in creating that kind of instant effect.

Here's a look at one of my more slowly evolving constructions.  I call this my "glen" but it's relatively small, perhaps 12 feet wide by 40 feet long.  It's tucked away out of the view of the rest of the garden.  It can be accessed by a path running from the side yard or from a narrow path between 2 hedges running from the driveway parallel to the street.

A dirt path leads down into an open area laid with low groundcovers, including Dymondia, which the raccoons dug up over and over again after planting, preventing it from knitting together as I'd planned

I've recently tucked in some yellow plants, Euryops and Bidens ferulifolia, to provide a little punch

The germander (Teucrium chamaedrys) I put in the 1st year is finally gaining size.  Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina) divisions were added more recently.

Roses (probably R. chinensis 'Mutabilis'), put in by a prior owner, are blooming more since the Eucalyptus tree in the area above was removed.  The manufactured stone wall behind this bed was constructed by my husband to hold back soil that was eroding into the dirt path from the bed that formerly held the Eucalyptus.

The area slopes down from the side yard, visible at the top of this photo, so the 2 areas need to relate to one another

The bed curves under a preexisting Ceanothus hedge, below which I've started to add succulent cuttings that do well in the fast-draining soil

View of pathway leading toward the driveway

It's a peaceful area I'd like to do more with.  It doesn't yet have a coherent feel.  It's irrigated but the sloping bed dries out quickly so I'm using mainly drought tolerant plants, some of which I've relocated from other areas.  With the exception of the flat area below the stacked rock wall, the area gets only partial sun.  The wall stopped mid-way through the area and, while I cobbled together some rocks to extend it toward the side yard pathway, the wall needs additional work (i.e. the addition of purchased stone).  With this area, rather than hauling in mass quantities of plants to fill in the empty spots, I'm trying to exercise my patience and let the area tell me what it needs.  It'll come together eventually.

New Planting Bed: Part 2

I wrote about the creation of a new planting bed on the site of a large Eucalyptus tree removed at the request of a neighbor here.  With all the major plants in place, the bed still looked very bare as shown below.

Bed after initial planting in February

It's hard for me to live with so much bare ground for long.  Although I'm well aware of the need to provide shrubs and perennials sufficient space to grow, I find myself filling in with annuals and other short-lived or "dispensable" plants to create a more immediate sense of fullness.  The only exception in dealing with this bed was that I actually started with a working list of fillers and edging plants.  For once, I stuck by my list - pretty much, anyway.

Here's a view of the bed with the added plants:

Bed after the addition of fillers and edging plants in March

The Plectranthus cuttings I added are almost invisible in the picture above.  The foliage of the mature plant, with purple veining and purplish undersides, is beautiful on its own but graceful lavender flower clusters add another dimension when they appear in the fall.  Whether these cuttings will make it is still questionable as they seem to be getting more sun than they'd like in this partial sun bed.

Plectranthus fruticosus (?) cuttings with Helichrysum petiolare

Mature Plectranthus fruticosus (ID unverified)

I added some purple Heuchera as planned.

Purple Heuchera hybrid 'Melting Fire' with Heuchera maxima

And Ajuga reptans 'Catlin's Giant."

Ajuga reptans 'Catlin's Giant'

I also added Teucrium chamaedrys (Germander) along the wall.

Teucrium chamaedrys (with annual Anagallis)

I inserted 3 very small cutting of Stachys byzantina 'Helen Von Stein' in one spot I thought could use a soft gray touch but in other spots substituted Helichrysum petiolare.  This should eventually cascade over the wall along the adjoining pathway.  In lieu of the Seslaria caerulea (Blue Moor Grass) I'd originally planned on, I used the small-sized Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' which has an airier quality but also tolerates partial shade.  When the Helichrysum fills out, the Festuca may need to come out.

Festuca galuca 'Elijah Blue (with Helichrysum petolare)

I admit to adding some things I hadn't planned on, like the annual Pericallis x hybrida (Florist's Cineraria).  I picked up the last 2 plants in the dark blue color while on a nursery trip with 2 friends who took me shopping to divert my attention from recent sad events.  When I decided that the jewel-toned plants didn't work in their intended spot, I plunked them into this bed, assuming they'll be gone long before the neighboring Loropetalum spreads out.  This 'Senetti' variety doesn't get as big and isn't as robust as the varieties I formerly grew but it has the advantage of being much less prone to leaf-miner.

Pericallis x hybridya

I also added 2 more Argyranthemum frutescens 'Elsa White.'  It's the first time I've come across a plant carrying my mother's first name and, while there are no doubt more out there, I couldn't pass on the symbolism of running across this particular plant at this particular time.

Argyranthemum frutescens 'Elsa White'

Now I'll give my selections some time and see how they do.  I'm sure I'll have to move plants that become overcrowded and replace or move plants that fail to thrive but, for now, I'll leave them alone to do their thing.