The garden that wasn't on the tour (but should have been)

In early May I joined two other SoCal bloggers on a tour of the three gardens included in the Long Beach leg of the Mary Lou Heard Garden Tour.  My previous posts can be found here and here.  The third garden we toured was small, as gardens in beach cities often are, and I took relatively few photos.  It was a sweet space but didn't have the intriguing plant choices of the first two gardens we explored on the tour.

However, we did peruse another garden that was chock full of wonderful plants.  That garden wasn't on the tour but it should have been.  It's the garden created by Denise of A Growing Obsession, the blogger who arranged our excursion.  I've visited Denise's garden once before but that visit occurred in late summer on a very sunny afternoon.  This time I had the opportunity to stroll the space under a more camera-friendly cloudy sky.

This photo evokes the splendor and bounty of Denise's garden for me

This is a wider view of the same space

As you can already tell, Denise's garden is densely planted.  Everywhere you turn, there are interesting vignettes.

Could there be a better pairing than this silvery blue Agave and the deep burgundy Aeonium?

How about this one featuring Yucca desmetiana 'Blue Boy' and an almost-black Aeonium?

Or this one featuring Agave 'Blue Flame' and an Aloe I can't identify with Centranthus ruber making an unexpected cameo appearance?

This photo captures one of my favorite Agaves, A. pygmae 'Dragon Toes', with another Aloe I can't identify, all the more beautiful for blushing under stress.  On the lower left, is Aeonium 'Mardi Gras', a plant I've long coveted but have yet to find.

This Agave vilmoriniana 'Variegata' in a pot also commands attention

There were other plants in containers clustered in groups.

For some reason, I missed the opportunity to photograph the garden's hanging plants but there were plenty of those too

And there were plants that made me green with envy.

These are just three of the plants I coveted: Eucalyptus 'Moon Lagoon', Fatsia japonica 'Camouflage', and Melianthus major 'Purple Haze'

Some of Denise's plants are huge, sending chills down my spine when I realize that I probably haven't allocated quite enough space to the specimens in my own garden.

Denise's garden makes it clear just how large Agave 'Blue Glow', Agave 'Jaws' and Dasyliron can get

Denise also has plants-in-waiting for the day some of her mature Agaves bloom and die.

I think the babies on the right are Agave mitis but I'm not sure of the identity of those on the left (A. 'Cream Spike' maybe?)

But of all the great garden photos I captured on my visit, this one was my favorite:

This is Banksy, who was very happy whiling away the day burrowed in the back garden, diplomatically tolerating my attention

Thanks for opening your garden for our visit, Denise!  Readers can find more photos of Denise's garden on Hoover Boo's blog, Piece of Eden, here.  And, if you want to see the changes Denise has made to her garden since our visit, you can find those in her recent Bloom Day post here.


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

A Visit to Eden

I recently had an opportunity to meet up with some of my favorite bloggers not too far away from home.  Loree of danger garden paid a brief visit to Southern California and had made arrangements to visit the gardener who blogs as Hoover Boo at Piece of Eden.  Denise of A Growing Obsession and I were invited to join in on a tour of both Hoover Boo's garden and that of her neighbor.  Unfortunately, Denise was pulled away at the last minute but I arrived right behind Loree with my camera at the ready.

My photos don't do justice to either garden, both of which looked stunning in the after-glow of the rain we've enjoyed on and off for over a month now, but I'll share them with you anyway.

The weather was perfect - sunny and cool by our standards but warm by Loree's.  We started out in the neighbor's garden just a short walk down the street.  The garden is large by SoCal standards and fairly steep.  As befits our climate, there were lots of succulents and, as the gardener has worked the same property for decades, many of the specimens are huge.  My largest Agave 'Blue Glow' would look like a pup beside some of those in this garden.

Succulents were on display from the moment we stepped through the gate.  (Do you see the tiny frogs supporting the ceramic pot to the right of the bench?  I missed those until I viewed my own photos.)

There were agaves everywhere.  The photos don't clearly show just how large some of these were but, trust me, they have me reconsidering the spacing of the much smaller specimens I have in my own garden.  If I've got them identified correctly, clockwise from the upper left, they are: Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass', A. 'Blue Glow', A. desmettiana 'Joe Hoak', A. macroacantha 'Pablo's Choice', A. 'Mr. Ripple', and A. 'Sun Glow'.

I didn't do at all well committing the names of the Aloes to memory.  The one on the upper left is Aloe chabaudii (I photographed the tag).  I think the one one the lower left is Aloe ferox and the one on the lower right may be Aloe cameronii but I'm adrift as to the identity the other one and Hoover Boo has identified the one on the upper right as A. 'Moonglow'.

There were other succulents too.  That's some kind of Euphorbia on the left.  The middle plant is a Kalanchoe and the one on the right may also be a Kalanchoe or a relative.

Returning to Hoover Boo's garden, we began our tour in the front garden in an area the gardener renovated in the fall of 2015 and further refined in 2016.  It's come together well.

Aloe 'Hercules' has pride of place in the central bed with a lovely Agave gypsophila 'Ivory Curls' nearby.  Grevillea 'Superb' flanks the driveway on two sides of the central bed and Agave 'Joe Hoak' is used repeatedly among other succulents both along the street and fronting the wall.  I believe that huge agave in the area atop the wall is also a 'Joe Hoak'.  The lawn substitute is Dymondia margaretae.

Moving to the other side of the front driveway, there was more to love.

The crepe myrtles (Lagerstroemia) are dormant but the silvery blue color of the Agave ovatifolia and Maireana sedifolia (aka pearl bluebush) Leucophyllum 'Thundercloud' sets an appropriately icy tone for a winter landscape in SoCal 

The colors get brighter as you move along to the right of the tall Leucadendron linifolium.  I love how Yucca 'Bright Star' plays off the Agave lopantha 'Quadricolor' to the left.  I think the orange-flowered Aloe is Aloe cameronii.

To the far right, where Hoover Boo's property intersects with her next door neighbor, there are a few huge Agave 'Blue Glow' and a handsome yellow-flowering Aloe vanbalenii

There were more beautiful specimens than I could count but here are some of my favorites:

Clockwise from the left: Leucospermum 'Yellow Bird' (which I covet), Agave 'Blue Glow' (all huge), A. marmorata, A. titanota, and Aloe marlothii

As it's winter, rose pruning was well underway so we missed out on a show there.  I got a few more shots in the back garden before we began surveying the steeper parts of Hoover Boo's property and I tucked my camera away for safety's sake.

In the back garden, a choice variegated Agave attenuata and fuzzy red Echeveria 'Ruby Slippers'

We also had a chance to visit with some of the property's other residents: Samoyeds Boris and Natasha, who wished for little more than to join us outside (or, perhaps, treats) and the koi fish, who were a little wary of visitors

It was a great visit and I thoroughly enjoyed the gardens and the company.  Many thanks to Loree for setting things in motion and thanks to Hoover Boo and her neighbor for showing us about and answering question after question.  Hoover Boo even sent us on our way with succulent pups!


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

Using every last inch of space

This week I had the opportunity to visit the garden of fellow blogger, Denise of A Growing Obsession.  Denise's blog was one of the first I began reading regularly, well before I started a blog of my own in December 2012.  Geographically, Denise is closer to me than any other garden blogger I know of and her Bloom Day posts always provide me with useful input on new and exotic plant selections.  I met Denise in person for the first time at a local flea market in December 2013 but I didn't have a chance to see her garden until this week.

She lives in the historic section of a nearby beach city in a charming bungalow, surrounded by similar homes.  The first thing I saw as I got out of the car was a tree-sized Schefflera across the street.  In bloom!

It isn't unusual to see the tropical Scheffleras, more commonly known to many people as houseplants, in the ground in our climate but seeing one in bloom was a first for me

The street is lined with trees and Denise's front courtyard was mostly in shade when I arrived in early afternoon.  The shade was pleasant as we've been suffering through yet another heatwave; however, it presented a challenge to my limited picture-taking skills.

Upon arrival, Ein, the official greeter met me at the gate.

Ein, a friendly Corgi, barks to announce each arrival, known or unknown, and dutifully escorts the visitor through the garden

As anyone who reads Denise's blog knows, she's fond of foliage and spiky things and her garden has plenty of both.

A good-sized Acacia stands alongside the front gate, underplanted with a diverse selection of spiky, drought-tolerant plants

Two Agave 'Blue Glow' along the front walk

I didn't even try to count the Agaves.

From left to right: Agave 'Blue Glow', A. 'Fireball' and A. 'Jaws' - What startled me most about Denise's Agaves wasn't their number or variety but their size.  The size isn't evident in my photos but many of these plants are huge!  I immediately began to worry about what's going to happen when my relatively diminutive specimens reach the same proportions one day.

Denise also collects Agave relatives.

Two of these are Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta' and a noID Mangave

It was obvious that I was in the garden of a plant collector who uses every inch of her garden space, as well as making creative use of vertical space.    As a former long-time resident of a beach city myself, I know there's always a premium on outdoor space in these locations.  Denise makes effective use of her vertical space, not only with vines and tall plants, but also by utilizing unique materials as planters.

With the exception of the City Planter from Potted on the top right (given to Denise by a UK blogger who won it at a garden blogger's Fling but couldn't carry it home in her suitcase), I believe all these planters were created by Denise using found objects.  The planters are filled with a variety of succulents and bromeliads.

Working around difficulties with her soil, she also has lots and lots of plants in decorative pots.

I like how Denise organized her potted plants into collections and elevated many to add dimension and interest to the space

Denise even outfitted an area on the back patio with a day bed by going up.

The day bed sits above the heads of any foot traffic below

There were flowers.

In addition to Grevillea 'Moonlight', shown here surrounded by Yucca recurvifolia 'Margaritaville' and Pennisetum setaceum 'Sky Rocket', I saw a Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' in full bloom, a Plectranthus zuluensis that looks better than mine ever has, as well as Salvia uligisoa and Glaucium grandiflorum that I was unable to photograph in the bright afternoon light

But foliage plants are the stars of her garden.

A few examples, clockwise from the top left: chartreuse elephant ears (maybe Xanthosoma 'Lime Zinger'?), Eucalyptus 'Moon Lagoon', Pennisetum setaceum 'Sky Rocket', and a noID Rhipsalis backed by the Yucca recurvifolia

She has some plants I've long been interested in but have been afraid to add to my garden due to their mature size.  Denise manages to keep those specimens under control.  I'm seriously considering following her example and trying a few of these in my my own garden.

Tetrapanax papyrifer, back-lit by the sun, with Acacia baileyana to the rear

Cussonia in a pot (I'm not sure which species - Denise has a number of these plants)

I didn't know Manihot (grahamii?) produced this cute round fruit

As the intense sun was accompanied by ever-worsening heat, I prematurely gave up my picture-taking and we sat in the shade in the back garden talking, guarded by the ever-vigilant Ein.  As I bid goodbye sometime later, Denise gifted me with succulent pups and bulbils as well as a pot she'd noted was a match to one I already had.  For each plant I've given Denise, I seem to get five in return.

Left: one of 4 small Agave mitis I brought home; right: a Mangave pup in a pot like the one on the right I already had

Thank you Denise for your generosity and for opening your garden to a visitor on a hot afternoon!

Note: Any errors in plant identification are mine.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party