Between storms

This rainy season has been an extraordinary surprise.  We were given a poor chance of rain again this year but storms nonetheless started piling up in January and kept on coming.  There was another strong "atmospheric river" late last week, which was followed by yet another one this week.

This is the view from my back garden last Sunday morning looking out at Angel's Gate, the entrance to the Los Angeles harbor.  The clouds were sitting atop the ocean and the harbor was invisible.

This photo was taken from the back garden looking northeast.  There was a little blue sky visible from this viewpoint but it quickly disappeared.  In the background on the left you can see the refineries spitting out their pollutants.

After years of severe drought, bemoaning the cold, damp conditions seems almost sacrilegious but I admit I rejoiced when we finally got a bit of sun and blue sky yesterday afternoon.  The soil is saturated, my rain collection tanks are full, and we've tallied more rain this season than we've had in several years.

I've recorded 18.65 inches of rain since our 2023 "water year" began October 1, 2022.  That's well above average for our rainy season in my location.  Other areas got considerably more.  Our rainy season generally comes to an end in early April.

With the last storm, my area is no longer considered in a drought status.

Before the last storm, we were still in the "abnormally dry" category but the western portion of Los Angeles County is now drought-free

 

Unlike me, the local critters had no trouble whatsoever with the damp conditions and cloudy sky.

I refilled the bird feeders and activity in the garden picked up dramatically

Three house finches monitoring the action at the feeder from the nearby Arbutus 'Marina'

Two finches, a mated pair perhaps, later moved to the feeder pole

The white crowned sparrows were also active at the feeder.  This one was surveying things from the Ceanothus below the feeder.

Of course, once the feeders were refilled a squirrel showed up.  I took this photo from inside my home office but I swear he knew I was looking at him.

He's quite the gymnast.  These feeders are set up to close the seed portals when anything heavier than a small bird attempts to eat from them.

He eventually gave up but managed to jump from the one feeder to the main pole, where he climbed atop the cage surrounding the central feeder

He clearly found something to eat but I couldn't make out what it was

 

I had an unexpected visitor come up our back slope by way of the canyon below as well.

This is Luna, a champion escape artist.  She and her family moved into a nearby home off a spur road months ago.  She periodically gets out their gate and into the canyon and from there seems to end up on my back slope and ultimately in my back garden.  I now have her family's number in my cell phone.

In addition, I've had near daily (or I should say nightly) visits by what I suspect is an entire family of possums.  They're less destructive than raccoons but nearly as annoying.  Although the invisible owls have reduced the local rabbit population, those voracious creatures are still paying periodic visits.

There's a ninety percent chance of yet an atmospheric river moving through from Monday into Wednesday. For the first time I can remember in the last ten years, I don't think I'm going to save the "extra" rainwater that flows down my rain chain.  I've nowhere else to store or dump it given how saturated my soil already is.  However, our current drought status shouldn't stop the state and local municipalities from furthering their efforts to capture and store rainwater.  The present abundance won't prevent future droughts - and one year of heavy rains isn't sufficient to restore our aquifers either.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.  I'm hoping for more sun!

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

What's the local response to our severe drought?

The short answer is: it's too early to tell.  I walked the neighborhood this week for the first time in almost 6 months but there are few obvious signs of response to California's new water restrictions.  In addition, the restrictions in my area are less onerous than those imposed on other SoCal communities, at least thus far.  Whether that remains the case may depend on how responsive local residents are to the restrictions imposed by the Rancho Dominquez Water District and our administrative utility, the most important of which is the limit of two days of outside irrigation each week within certain hours.  

Still, as drought issues have been front page news for months now, I thought I might find fewer lawns and more succulents.  I can't say that there are fewer lawns at present, at least based on what I can see from the street.  It'll be interesting to see what the existing front lawns look like in late summer - I'm only aware of one homeowner, who's always taken great pride in his lawn, that's sacrificed half his sod in the interest of water savings.  And while succulents seem to be making a slow yet steady advance, there's little evidence of any large-scale conversions.

This garden has by far the lushest lawn in the neighborhood

This homeowner replaced a thicket of juniper with Agaves and other succulents.  While many junipers are also drought tolerant, I think the succulents make a more attractive statement.

 

The garden two doors down from the home shown in the prior photo has always done a masterful job with its succulent display.

There's a broad mix of succulents here, backed by a mass of Bougainvillea

I have a small Aloe like this that I hope will someday look this good

One of the 'Blue Glow' Agaves has a bloom spike.  And I noticed the bloom on the columnar cactus to the left of the Agave yesterday morning.

The display of succulents in the background atop the stacked stone wall is part of the same garden

 

Next door, following a change in ownership and a long period of renovation, the garden is getting a complete overhaul.

A team of professional landscapers took days to clear a scraggly mass of junipers from the site while I kept my fingers crossed that the new owners weren't going to simply lay down sod

They started planting the front garden this week

So far, they've planted a very large mass of what I think is Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima), as well as a small number of plants that appear to be Lantana.  They've laid drip irrigation covering a larger area than they've planted so I'm assuming they're not done.

I planted Mexican feather grass in my own garden and, while it can be beautiful, it's also invasive.  I hope the landscapers made the homeowners aware of that.

 

As I continued around the circle that makes up our immediate neighborhood, I noticed that another house, renovated in 2017 (not shown), still has almost nothing but several self-seeded Echium in the front garden.  Even in a drought, I can't understand spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate a house only to leave bare dirt in front of it.  However, two doors further along the street, I noticed that the narrow strip of soil in front of a fence, formerly devoid of interest, is now planted in a mix of succulents.

Across the street, there's a lumpy rug of faux grass.

This home was a rental until recently.  Acknowledging that the fake grass rug covers a fairly steep slope, I'm hoping the owners will eventually replace it with something more interesting.

Due to long driveways, hedges, fences and other obstructions, many gardens in my neighborhood aren't readily visible.  Others just weren't worth a photo.

This house sits on a one acre lot and, along with ours, I think it's one of the oldest in the neighborhood.  Behind that tall fence, I've never gotten a good look at it and I've never met the current owners.

This Ficus hedge must be a bear to keep trimmed.  I counted 20 Ficus trunks along the street side.

 

My favorite neighborhood garden is looking a little overgrown in spots but there's still lots to love.

I knew the gardener responsible for installing this elaborately terraced garden but I haven't toured it in person since she and her husband moved several years ago.  It's had 2 owners since then.

There are citrus, succulents and a range of drought-tolerant plants in this garden.  Some along the street have reached an overwhelming size.  On the upper level, there's a huge Leucospermum, the largest I've ever seen.

A few closeups taken at street level

 

Just a little further down the street, there's a  double lot that's been empty for at least a dozen years.

I've been told that the original residence burned down years before we moved here.  A neighbor told me that the owner wants a large amount for the land but it perplexes me why he'd hold onto it this long, especially as, in addition to property taxes, he has to pay to clear the brush annually and deal with people who dump junk there on a regular basis.

The small front garden a few doors down hasn't changed much.

The tree on the left is an Arbutus 'Marina' like mine but trimmed very differently.  The vivid red and purple Cuphea shown on the right caught my eye.

 

There are two spur streets leading off the main road that runs through our neighborhood containing multiple households.  These side streets are both very steep and I avoid walking down either one of them.  Our next door neighbors on the south side live just beyond the second spur road. 

The driveway in the foreground belongs to our neighbors. The properties on both sides of ours were once part of our parcel but were sold off decades ago.  Both are "flag lots," or homes sited at the end of long driveways behind other properties facing the street.  Our house (and my lath house) are behind the mass of foliage shown in the background.

My own garden is partially shielded from the street by hedges just like others in our neighborhood.  There was a large amount of turf grass behind those hedges when we purchased the property ten years ago but we removed all of it in stages, completing that effort in 2015.

View from the edge of our driveway looking south toward the driveway shown in the prior photo

View looking north from approximately the same position at the edge of our driveway.  Our north neighbor's driveway isn't visible from this angle.  Last year, she installed the best-looking faux lawn I've seen yet in a shady area of her garden.  I'm sorry I don't have a photo of it to share.

I hope it doesn't require more severe restrictions to get Californians moving in the right direction to responsibly manage our water crisis.  If it goes down that road, you can bet you'll hear me rant about it.

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: A pause between rainstorms

We got a bit more rain on Monday, then a brief a pause that gave us an opportunity to dry out before the next storm arrives today.  Tuesday was mostly sunny but remained cold (at least by our standards). 

Tuesday morning view from my back garden looking out past the harbor's boundary

My neighbor's trees are quickly shedding their leaves.  The Ginkgos left a pretty pool of yellow leaves at their base.

Tuesday was sunny, or at least partially so.  The periodic showers on Monday increased our total rain for the current "water year" (which extends from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022) to 4.11 inches, a mere one one-hundredth of an inch below the last year's total of 4.12 inches. 

The current forecast predicts more rain starting in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and running through Thursday afternoon.  That will almost certainly push us over last year's total, which would appear to be a good start on this year's rainy season.  However, the extended forecast for the rest of the rainy season in Southern California doesn't sound particularly promising.  We can only hope the forecasters are wrong.

In the meantime, I used the sunny day to sow additional flower seeds and start my cleanup of the back slope, which is a full-fledged mess.  My plan is to pull out some of the shrubs down there to make room for more succulents.  I'll approach that in the new year, using cuttings from elsewhere in my garden where possible.

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

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

Wide Shots - July 2021

A very dry winter was followed by a very dry spring.  Thanks to regular irrigation, the wide shots of my garden don't show any severe impact of the pathetically low rainfall but, as our drought worsens, I have to wonder if I'm going to be able to continue watering as much as I have been.  I reduced my water use in the garden in 2015, when restrictions were previously imposed, and I didn't increase my usage after those restrictions were lifted the following year.  In April of this year, I'd already exhausted the last of the rainwater I'd collected in my three tanks; however, last week my husband drained "his" spa tub and emptied that water into my 160-gallon tank so I'll have use of that once the chlorine has evaporated, which is a boon of sorts.   My well-established plants are probably fine with my regular irrigation routine but the newer plants will be at risk if I can't offer them extra water.  

I took advantage of the lingering marine layer on Wednesday to take my quarterly wide shots, although the sun came out part way through the process so there's more sun-shade contrast than I'd hoped for.  This time, I'm starting at the front of the house.

View of the beds surrounding the front door from the west side of the driveway

View from the northwest side of the house looking across the front borders

The beds on the north side of the front walkway.  The Agapanthus are in full bloom.  The Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) is looking sad next to the tree-like Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' but it should leaf out more fully when cooler temperatures return in the fall.

The beds on the south side of the front walkway

This is the view behind the shrubs shown in the prior photo, looking south.  You can see my lath (shade) house in the distance on the right in the second photo.

View looking across the front garden from its south end toward the garage, barely visible in the distance.  This is one of my favorite views at the moment.

View from the front walkway looking across the driveway at the garden area behind the hedge that lines the street.  I recently replanted a portion of the area under the ornamental pear tree on the right which you may be able to see if you squint.  It's partially covered by upturned plastic flats to keep the rabbits from eating the new plants.

This is the succulent bed in the northwest corner of the property.  The tiny succulents I used here when I replanted the area in January are still struggling to get established.

Moving to the other side of the garage, we come to the cutting garden, followed by the north side garden and the slope below.

Some of my cool season annuals bloomed later than expected.  I pulled the sweet peas in May and the last of the larkspur in June but there are still some foxgloves and Nigella in the raised beds.  Fifteen of my dahlia tubers sprouted and I've planted eleven of them in the cutting garden, with the rest tucked in elsewhere.  Despite my best intentions, my dahlias got a late start and I expect it'll be August before I see any blooms.

After some pruning and general cleanup, the north side garden is looking tidy, if not especially colorful

The back slope, on the other hand, looks truly awful.  The bay hedge and the lemon tree get some irrigation and the shrubs along the south property line (not readily visible in these photos) receive graywater but the rest of the plants have received very little water.

Back on the main level of the property, we enter the back garden from the north side.

The white-flowered Argyranthemum in the foreground is looking sad but I probably won't replace the shrubs unless/until inspiration strikes in identifying an alternative.  I've been giving the plants between the Arbutus 'Marina' (the red-trunked strawberry tree on the left) and the tall Leucadendron 'Pisa' (on the right) extra water every 10-14 days and they're looking pretty good.

This is a look at the area between the Leucadendron and the Arbutus from the other direction

View from the back door looking at the harbor when the marine layer was still in place.  The red-orange daylilies (possibly Hemerocallis 'Sammy Russell') are among the very few plants I inherited with the garden I still have (other than the trees and hedges). 

View from the middle of the back garden looking south

View from the small south patio looking northeast across the back garden

The south side garden is next up.

The Hesperaloe parvifloa and Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman' are blooming but the succulents steal the show here

View of the same area, looking from the west end toward the entrance to the Los Angeles harbor.  I recently pulled the last of the bunny tail grass (Lagurus ovatus) that had overrun the area in the foreground on the right.  I think I need to add more succulents there as groundcover.

Heading to the right (southwest) from the vantage point of the last photograph takes us down to the lower level of the front garden.

This photograph was taken looking down from a mulch-covered path toward the lath house and the street beyond

This is the area I replanted in November using succulent cuttings and small plants.  Generally speaking, it's doing better than the succulent bed in front of the garage, possibly because it gets shade for about half the day,

View of the area looking east toward the harbor

This is a partial view of the inside of the lath house.  As temperatures are likely to climb over the next few months, I put up sun shades late last week to provide additional protection. 

We end this tour with the street-side succulent bed on the west side of the lath house.

I cleaned up this bed in early February, filling in with succulent cuttings and pups.  I'm fairly happy with its progress, although there are still holes that could use filling.

I'm hoping summer temperatures won't be too brutal this year.  Fingers are crossed that my next wide shots post in October won't show major damage from the combined effects of heat and drought.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

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