Surrounded by a ring of fire

Reference to a "ring of fire" may conjure a number of images in your mind.  If you're a student of geology, you might think of the path of volcanoes and seismic activity rimming the Pacific Ocean.  According to National Geographic, seventy-five percent of the world's volcanoes lie on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which also accounts for ninety-five percent of its earthquakes.   (I should note that this includes coastal California.)  However, the reference may also make you think of the classic country song co-written by June Carter and popularized by Johnny Cash, who first sang it in 1963.  'Ring of Fire' is also the name of a 2013 television movie about the relationship between Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, who became his wife in 1968.

"My" ring of fire has nothing to do with any of those things.  For me, the expression refers to the Xylosma congestum hedge that surrounds a large part of my garden.  I inherited it with the garden and, although I've never had any particular fondness for hedges, I admit that I gradually fell in love with this one.  It's particularly attractive when it produces fresh new foliage.

The fresh foliage has a bronze-orange cast but the older, shiny green leaves look good year-round.  The hedge responds well to pruning too.  It also produces masses of tiny yellow flowers that the bees love but those flowers are relatively rare due to its regular pruning.

Section of the hedge on the north end of the back garden.  This entire back garden section hides the sharp drop of the slope on its other side (which also protects the gardener and visitors who might otherwise take nasty falls).

View of the mid-section of the back garden hedge with the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles in the distance

This section of the hedge winds around the south-side garden, flowing into the back garden

View of the back hedge from the bottom of the back slope.  The trees poking up behind the hedge are the 2 Arbutus 'Marina' trees on the upper level of the back garden.

This section of the hedge sits on the north end of the front garden, where it borders the edge of a path mainly used to move our trash and recycle bins to the street for pick-up

This section runs from the driveway south.  It's mirrored on the other side of the driveway looking north.

When we moved in, there was a break in the front Xylosma hedge on its south end.  I was told that the entire stretch facing the street was originally planted with a different shrub, Auranticarpa rhombifolium.  When those shrubs started dying, they were replaced by Xylosma everywhere except in this last area.  When the remaining Auranticarpa here died off, I planted more Xylosma behind the succulents I'd used to fill gaps between the Auranticarpas.  They've only just now reached the height of the original Xylosmas.

Coincidentally (or not), there are lots of plants that echo the color of the fresh Xylosma foliage at this time of year too.

Aloe striata and Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire' complement the Xylosma foliage

Clockwise from the upper left, flowers that do the same include: Arbutus 'Marina', Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi', L. 'Sunrise', L. 'Spider Hybrid' (still in bud), Grevellea 'Superb', and Metrosideros collina 'Springfire'

More complementary flowers, clockwise from the upper left include: Arctotis 'Pink Sugar', Erysimum 'Wild Orchid', orange Ranunculus, Gazania 'Gold Flame', Lobelia laxiflora, and Sparaxis tricolor

The "ring of fire" phenomenon in my garden isn't a once-a-year event.  The hedge produces a fresh flush of reddish-orange foliage a few weeks after the hedge is pruned, which happens three or four times a year.  However, the color appears brightest during this first flush during our rainy season.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: Ring of Fire

You may know the "ring of fire" as the portion of the Pacific Ocean basin responsible for a significant proportion of the world's largest earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.  Or you may know it as a famous song sung by Johnny Cash.

My garden has a ring of fire of a different sort.  It appears at periodic intervals as new growth forms of the Xylosma congestum hedge that surrounds much of our property.  The shrub was featured as one of my favorite plants in 2014 but that post didn't show the manner in which it frames the garden.  Under this week's gloomy skies and rain-laden clouds, my own little ring of fire is shining bright so it's a natural choice for this week's Wednesday Vignette.

View of the new red-orange foliage of the backyard section of the Xylosma hedge, looking southeast

View from the backyard patio looking east under partly sunny skies

View of the hedge from the south end of the backyard looking northeast

A close-up of the hedge, showing how the foliage mirrors the color of a house in the distance and a neighbor's clay roof tiles below us

I'd need an aerial view to show you the entire expanse of the hedge, which also winds around the south and front sides of our lot, but I'll let the photos above suffice.  For more Wednesday vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Views from the Street

A couple of weeks ago I took a stroll around our neighborhood to see what was going on in nearby gardens.  I posted some pictures, which you can see here.  However, I didn't include any pictures of our own front yard.  Like many of our neighbors' yards, ours is partially hidden behind tall hedges.  In fact, we have hedges behind hedges, which I find a bit odd.

Pathway between 2 hedges running along street (pipes left behind from someone's prior plumbing project)

My guess is that the Ceanothus hedge and dry stack wall shown above pre-date the installation of the hedge of Xylosma congestum that runs along the street.

The house has 2 planting beds beside the walkway to the front door.  I've made a lot of changes to these beds in the 2 years we've been in the house, although the pink Meidiland shrub roses, Agapanthus, Coleonema albus, and Nandina domestica that give the beds their basic structure were in place before we moved in.

Right front planting bed

Left front planting bed

The front door is covered by a wooden pergola.  I've never felt that the glass door and side panels entirely fit this mid-century modern house but we love the light that they let into the interior.

The view from the doorway looking outward provides a different perspective of the yard.  There are a lot of trees on our half-acre lot, including a large Magnolia (no ID, probably Magnolia grandiflora), a Hong Kong Orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana), several California pepper trees (Schinus molle), and several strawberry trees (Arbutus 'Marina').

View from walkway looking Southeast

View looking Northwest

From the vantage point of the lawn area on the right of the driveway, you can see the Xylosma hedge running along the street.

There's a peek into the front side yard from a pathway used to move the garbage cans to the street for pick up.

And, to the side of the driveway, a concrete cat, a Christmas gift from my husband many years ago, peeks around the corner.

In addition to my ongoing fiddling with the existing planting beds, there are a lot of other changes I'd like to make to the front of the house, including reducing the size of the the lawn area.  I'm inclined to keep some of that lawn up front, if not in the back, just because I like the rest it provides for the eyes; however, maybe in time I can find a less thirsty grass to replace the weed-ridden lawn we currently have.  Give me 10 to 15 years...