In a Vase on Monday: Maybe I'm in a rut

It feels as though I'm recycling the same dahlias week after week.  I checked my posts since my first IAVOM post featuring dahlias in mid-August.  I found that I've used Dahlias 'La Luna', 'Mikayla Miranda' and 'Summer's End' three times prior to today's post.  I've used two of those cultivars again this week even though I've ignored Dahlia 'Enchantress' for weeks.  Next week, 'Enchantress' will get her due!  And maybe one or more of the dahlias that have buds but have yet to bloom will come through for me too.

 

Vase #1:

While I've used Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda' repeatedly, I've used 'Lavender Ruffles' just once before, even though the latter is more prolific with its blooms.  'Lavender Ruffles' is a dinnerplate type and most of the flowers swamp everything paired with them but this week I found one stem in a more reasonable size.

Back view, featuring aster stems and Leucophyllum laevigatum.  Leucophyllum usually burst into bloom as soon as we get rain but my plant didn't flower until weeks following Tropical Storm Hilary.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Amaryllis belladonna 'Alba', Clematis terniflora, Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles', D. 'Mikayla Miranda', Leucophyllum laevigatum, and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata'.  Also included but not shown in closeup is Symphyotrichum chilense.

 

Vase #2:

Dahlias 'Summer's End' and 'Labyrinth' mesh together nicely

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Labyrinth', D. 'Summer's End', Xylosma congestum, Zinnia elegans 'Candy Mix', and Z. e. 'Queen Lime Orange' with Benary's Giant Salmon Rose'

 

Vase #3:

Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' also has huge dinnerplate blooms,  It's a prolific bloomer too but one I've only used once before for IAVOM because the size and neon pink color of the blooms overpower just about anything else I include in an arrangement.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Zinnia elegans 'Candy Mix', Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', and Leucadendron 'Jester'

 

We've had clouds and not a ray of sunlight for the past two days.  We even got steady drizzle on Saturday morning, although it didn't amount to much in total.  Morning clouds are expected to be with us all week but a we may get sun Monday and Tuesday afternoons.  Meanwhile, the cooler temperatures have allowed me to make a dent in my end-of-summer garden cleanup.

 

For more IAVOM posts, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

A predictable casualty?

As summers go, this hasn't been a bad one.  Yes, we've had heatwaves but my area hasn't experienced any temperatures of 100F or higher this year.  And Tropical Storm Hilary filled my empty rain collection tanks in August, which was a major boon!  So when I noticed yellow and brown leaves on a tree-sized shrub in my street-side border I was surprised.  When I took a closer look at it I was appalled.

The 2 tree-sized shrubs on the far right are Auranticarpa rhombifolia (formerly classified as Pittosporum rhombifolium, commonly known as diamond leaf pittosporum)

Just weeks ago, I'd looked at the now-sad shrub and thought I should prune the lower limbs to allow the succulents planted below to get more sun.  I hadn't noticed any signs that it was at death's door.

This is the wide shot I took of the area in early July.  The foliage may be slightly yellower than the shrub next to it but, if I noticed that at all, it didn't strike me as a dramatic difference.

 

The Auranticarpa planted directly to the right of the dead one still looks healthy.

These photos provide a direct comparison of the 2 shrubs

A closeup of their foliage tells the story more clearly.  The plant on the right is also producing a generous crop of berries, while there are virtually no berries on the plant on the left.

 

I don't know what caused this particular Auranticarpa to die off but there's a long pattern involving the plant so, while I'm disappointed, I shouldn't have been all that surprised.  I inherited numerous Auranticarpa shrubs with the garden.  According to online sources, the plants are native to the rainforests of Eastern Australia.  I couldn't find anything describing their drought tolerance but, given the plant's ancestry, it may not be the best one for a drought-persistent landscape.

 

When we moved in, close to half the street-facing hedge on the south side of the driveway consisted of  Auranticarpa rhombifolia.  The remainder consisted of Xylosma congestum, the shrub that also makes up the entire hedge on the left side of the driveway, as well as the the hedge lining the main level of the back garden.  I thought the mix of hedge material on the south side of the front hedge was odd.  When three of the inherited Auranticarpa began to decline on my watch, a neighbor told me that the prior owners had originally planted the front area entirely in Auranticarpa but removed the majority of these when the plants started dying, replacing them with Xylosma.  After failing to resurrect the dying shrubs, my husband and I removed three Auranticarpa in 2016 and another two in 2020, filling in the gap created by their removal with succulents and five additional Xylosma.

This photo taken in May 2016 shows the area after 3 of the Auranticarpa were removed and 4 of the five new Xylosma had been planted

This photo from May 2020 shows the area after 2 more of Auranticarpa were removed.  The 5 "new" Xylosma were gaining height and girth by that time but their development was slower than expected.

This photo shows the 2 remaining Auranticarpa as of May 2020

 

 

My husband may elect to remove the dead Auranticarpa himself but, if not, I'll include it on the list for the tree service to handle when our trees receive their annual pruning.  I'm tempted to give up and remove the last remaining specimen in this area but it sits on the edge of the property line with our south-end neighbor so I'm hesitant to proceed there, especially as it's still healthy.  There are also three other Auranticarpa elsewhere in our garden that seem fine.

 

My garden has actually received substantially more rainwater than usual this year, 23.74 inches in total since the start of the 2023 "rain year" on October 1, 2022.  In contrast to the Auranticarpa, other shrubs are thriving.

The "new" Xylosma have finally reached almost the same height as the original plants on the left.  The newer plants were set slightly further back to allow room for the succulents I'd planted, creating a bend in the hedge.

In addition, I think Jacaranda 'Bonsai Blue' has gained another foot in height since Tropical Storm Hilary passed through

If there's one lesson here, it's that nothing much is predictable when it comes to the evolution of a garden.

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Making my own sunshine

We've had more clouds than sun since the last "atmospheric river" moved through California the middle of last week.  Another one is expected to move through our area Tuesday into Wednesday and the longer-term forecast projects the possibility of still another stretch of rain Sunday through Wednesday.  This is unusual for us and even though the current storms, originating from Hawaii, bring warmer temperatures than those originating from Alaska, I'm missing the regular doses of sunshine we're used to.  So I created my own.

This sunny arrangement was inspired by the tiny puff-ball flowers of Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt'.  Generally grown for its foliage, the heavier-than-usual rain this year seems to have encouraged more flowers than I've ever had before.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', noID yellow Calendula, Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', white and yellow Freesia, and noID Narcissus

The the unusual flowers of Salvia africana-lutea inspired my second arrangement.  I've used its flowers only once before in a vase but I thought I'd take another stab at it.

I'm happier with this version than I was with the arrangement I created in April 2019

Back view: I added a few flowers of the equally unusual Isopogon anemonifolius, as well as ivy (Hedera) flowers.  English ivy is a weed here and nearby impossible to control on my back slope.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: noID orange Calendula, Isopogon anemonifolius, noID Hedera, Ranunculus, Salvia africana-lutea, and Xylosma congestum

As last week's rain plastered many of my Freesia flowers flat into the dirt and another storm is on the way, I cut still more of them for an arrangement on our kitchen island.

Views from the front, top and back

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia floribunda 'Chiapas', purple and white Freesia, and Helichrysum petiolare

Two additional stems of the yellow/gold Freesia went into my small cactus vase by the kitchen sink

The atmospheric river carried a substantial amount of rain and we're expecting a similar amount this week.  Although my husband's repairs to our chimney held up against February's rainstorms, we weren't quite as lucky this month - one small area is still leaking.  The tarp is back on the chimney and, hopefully, the next repairs will be done by a professional.  Flooding hasn't been an issue in our immediate area but it is in other areas, and homeowners in the mountains to the east of us have really struggled, with some thirteen deaths attributed in one way or another to record snowfall there that kept many people confined to their homes for a long period with no heat or power or access to medical treatment.  As far as our long-standing drought goes, the situation has greatly improved, with no areas currently listed in extreme or exceptional drought and parts of the state are now considered drought-free.  Most of Los Angeles County is now simply classified as "abnormally dry."  The most critical issue now is how to restore groundwater, severely depleted after too many dry years.  Creating means to store and conserve the excess water received from the atmospheric rivers that appear likely to reoccur at intervals in the future so it's available for use during prolonged periods of drought also remains a major challenge, especially as out-of-state water resources become more limited.

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Sunny with blue skies

Although I've complained aplenty about the lack of rain this year, I know we're far luckier in the weather department than people in a good percentage of the United States at present.  We haven't been buried under snow or ice; we haven't lost power or had frozen pipes; we're not struggling to keep warm or heating snow to have water.  We're starting off the week with sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures.  We could reach a high temperature of 80F (26C) today.  Hopefully, some of that warmth will blow eastward.

It definitely feels like spring even if that transition is still officially a month away so I chose flowers that reflect that vibe.

The second stem of Hippeastrum 'Lemon-Lime' bloomed last week so I cut it, knowing that it wouldn't hold up well against the warm Santa Ana winds we're expecting

I added little bits of this and that to complement its soft yellow color

Top view

Top row: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Coleonema 'Album' (aka Breath of Heaven), and Euphorbia rigida
Middle row: Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschein', Hippeastrum 'Lemon-Lime', and Isopogon anemonifolius
Bottom row: two noID Narcissi and Pyrethropsis hosmariensis (aka Moroccan Daisy)

The arrival of the blue-flowered Freesias last week and the abundance of blue Anemones in my cutting garden prompted the second arrangement.

The "blue" Freesias read more lavender/purple to my eye but the paper-like flowers of Limonium perezii (aka Sea Lavender) did a good job of linking them to the Anemones

Back view: I noticed that the Auranticarpa rhombifolia shrubs (aka Queensland Pittosporum) had begun to bloom when I wasn't looking and, after cutting off the leaves to expose the flowers, I added a couple of those stems to lighten up the arrangement

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Anemone coronaria 'Lord Lieutenant', Argyranthemum frutescens with lavender/blue Freesia, Auranticarpa rhombifolia, white Freesia, Limonium perezii, and Xylosma congestum (sporting blue/black berries)

For more arrangements created from material gardeners have on hand, visit the creator of In a Vase on Monday, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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

Wednesday Vignette: Freakish fruit

I was back at work on my street-side succulent bed on Monday.  In the process, I gave the Xylosma congestum shrubs we added back in May 2016 to extend the existing hedge a light trim and made a surprising discovery: berries I'd never seen before on these shrubs.

There are a LOT of these shrubs here.  They make up hedges that run not only along the front of our property but also one side and the entire stretch of the backyard border so I found it peculiar that I'd never seen the berries before.

These photos, taken last February show the Xylosma hedge that runs in front of the house along the street.  The shrubs shown in the photo on the right behind the succulents are those we added in 2016.  They haven't yet grown large enough to merge with the original shrubs.

    

I saw flowers on the shrubs for the first time last November.  Most online sources I checked don't even mention that they flower.  One source simply stated that flowers are rare.  The fact that we got so much rain in winter through spring last year may have been a factor in producing both the flowers and the berries.

Oddly, I found only the one shrub that had berries.  The hedges are sheared 3 to 4 times a year but the 3 shrubs added in 2016 are still playing catch-up so they're rarely touched, which may explain why I didn't find the berries anywhere else.  I think they're pretty and I may find a way to use them in a floral arrangement before they're gone.

While the berries on the Xylosma are attractive, I can't make that claim with respect to the mutant lemons I discovered on the lemon tree at the bottom of our back slope.

I consulted online sources once again and found that the fruit has probably been affected by bud mites.  In most circumstances, predatory mites keep these in check but water stress and dust on trees can tip the balance.  Since my run-ins with fire ants last year, I've seriously neglected the hand-watering I usually do on the back slope so I accept responsibility for this problem.

Luckily, only a small portion of the fruit has been affected thus far.  The sources I consulted also indicate that that the taste and quality of the fruit isn't impaired by the mites.

Both discoveries provided useful information.  I can use stems of the Xylosma to provide interest in flower arrangements but I also need to be more mindful about watching out for seedlings around any shrubs that produce berries.  The mutant fruit on the lemon tree is a reminder to keep the tree well watered during periods of drought and hose down the foliage periodically to keep it clean.

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

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

The joy that rain brings

Last year was one of the driest in Southern California since records have been kept but this year we're on target to reach or exceed our "old normal" standards.  The rain has come in several bursts over consecutive days.  Our last storm cleared out Tuesday morning.  There's a chance of another this weekend and still another during the middle of next week.  We've been lucky to have a couple of sunny, albeit cold, days in the intervening period, during which I took time to clean up the garden a bit and take some pictures.  It already looks as though were headed in the direction of a nice spring.

I don't usually get much pleasure out of visiting my back slope but on this occasion it offered a few positive surprises.

The lemon tree that dropped every single piece of fruit in early July when our temperature hit 110F has fully recovered

Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt', planted in 2015, is finally taking on the tree-like form I envisioned for it

With the rain, the calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) planted decades ago by another gardener at the bottom of the arid slope have magically reappeared

Centranthus ruber has self-seeded generously in the same area and it looks as though the California poppy plugs I planted in December are thriving too

On the main level of the back garden, I couldn't miss the fact that the Xylosma congestum hedge that surrounds it produced fresh new foliage.

The garden service that maintains our hedges cut the new foliage back the day after I took these photos but, with more rain expected I don't think it'll be long before my "ring of fire" is back

The backyard offered other surprises as well.

I'd entirely forgotten these plants with the tiny white flowers.   I think they smartly went underground last summer.   This is Arabis alpina 'Variegata'.

This is the first flower on Isopogon anemonifolius, an Australian plant I picked up on a whim while plant shopping in November.  It's interesting but it doesn't look like much like it did on the plant tag; however, I'll give it more time to develop before making any decision about whether it stays or goes.

Plants showing flower buds include: Ageratum corymbosum (left) and Leucospermum 'Brandi' (right).  It'll be awhile yet before either will be in full bloom but it's nice to see progress in that direction.

My discoveries weren't limited to the back garden.

Euphorbia rigida is blooming in the succulent garden on the south side of the house

Leucadendron 'Safari Goldstrike' produced its luminescent flower-like bracts seemingly overnight in the front garden

After looking near death this summer, Aeonium 'Mardi Gras' is blushing again

Moss has appeared on paths, along the stairs leading down my back slope and between paving stones

The first flowers have opened on the tall bloom stalks produced by the 2 Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' planted in my street-side succulent bed.  The foliage of each plant now has a pretty pink blush too.  I don't know if that's a reaction to the cold or simply part of its slow process of dying.

Along with the calla lilies, the first Freesia bulbs are flowering.  I expect my other early spring bulbs aren't far behind.

The blue Freesias are the first to appear this year.  Ferraria crispa (upper right) has also produced fresh foliage.  Leucojum aestivum, Narcissus and Sparaxis are also on their way.

I know it's been a nasty winter for many of you in the Northern Hemisphere but spring is getting closer.  Take heart!


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