Wednesday Vignette: Time to bring down the curtain on 2020

I'd like to be done with 2020.  Each day seem to bring something new to worry about.  Yesterday morning, during the exceptionally dry period that appears neverending, I smelled smoke while in the garden and looked up to see this:

This wasn't exactly next door but it was too close for comfort

Luckily, 60 firefighters descended on the blaze, which turned out to be a brush fire in a canyon area.  The area was reportedly difficult to access but they managed to extinguish it in less than an hour even so.  Meanwhile, I'm beginning to think I need to find myself a bunker somewhere.

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

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Smoky Air and Succulent Mixes

2020 keeps on giving in the worst possible sense of that expression.  A new round of high winds hit Southern California this week, setting off yet another series of wildfires, three at last count.  The largest, the Bond Fire in Orange County, has prompted another round of evacuations.  My own area isn't directly impacted but heavy smoke blew our way early Thursday morning and it's still with us.  The smoke was thick and the air quality shifted in to the unhealthy category yesterday so all work in the garden was off the table.

I took this photo mid-morning yesterday.  The boats off-shore mentioned in my prior post are still there but they're invisible in this photo.

Even though I've temporarily suspended work in the garden, I got some small jobs done earlier in the week, starting with replanting the metal wok I use as a succulent container in the south side patio area.

This is the "before" photo.  I planted this wok more than a year ago and it looked fine until summer arrived.  It got too much sun in this spot and I watered it too infrequently.

Mangave 'Tooth Fairy' was transplanted into a pot of its own in the hope that it'll begin to bulk up with better treatment

I picked up three new Echeveria to replace the Mangave as the focal point and filled in with cuttings taken from elsewhere in the garden.  I also moved it a few feet to give it more shade during the hottest part of the day.

In addition to the Echeveria hookeri I picked up at my local garden center last week, I included cuttings of Crassula pubescens, Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', Oscularia deltoides, and two other succulents I can't identify off the top of my head

I also tweaked the planting scheme on the front slope in the area adjacent to my lath (shade) house).

I think I'm done with this area for the time being, although I may move the Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire' at the base of the short stone wall

This is a view of the same area looking down with the lath house in the background

The changes I've made since my November 20th post aren't monumental but I'm hoping the additions will help fill the empty spaces more quickly.  A tray of mail-order succulents from Mountain Crest Gardens got me started.

I ordered a mixed tray of 20 2-inch blue-green rosettes plus a few other plants.  The rosettes weren't labeled so I can only offer my best guess on their identities.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Crassula rubricaulis 'Candy Cane', Echeverias 'Abalone' and 'Blue Atoll', Mangave 'Pineapple Express', Sedeveria 'Fanfare', and Echeveria 'Raindrops'.

I thought the addition of a second mid-sized Aloe striata in the upper tier of the slope might help balance things out but, rather than transplanting one of these from elsewhere in my garden, I made do with a pup from a hybrid Aloe.

These pups come from an Aloe striata x maculata currently planted on the same slope.  I planted the larger pup on the slope and popped the smaller one into a pot to bulk up.

The Aloe striata I already had is shown on the left; its cousin, Aloe striata x maculata, is in the middle; and the pup of the latter is shown on the right.

I added a few other plants on spec, including a cutting of Echium handiense I managed to root from a cutting and a few rooted cuttings of Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard'.  The latter used to weave itself through Aeoniums on this slope and I'd liked the effect.

Other than some general dead-heading and garden clean-up, my other task was collecting fallen leaves and shredding them to start a batch of leaf mulch.

From my own garden, I collected fallen persimmon, Japanese maple and redbud tree leaves.  I discovered that the hedge and blow gardeners we employ had dumped masses of our neighbor's maple, gingko, and other leaf debris into our green bins (not unusual as they service several neighbors on the same day) so I scooped those up and shredded them too using the 'Leaf Hog' shown here.  It's basically a vacuum with a bag.

I've collected more leaves since this batch, which half-filled this compost bin

Our very dry and windy conditions are expected to continue well into next week.  Fingers are crossed that the fire fighters are able to extinguish the fires already burning and that no more crop up.  Rain would be a blessing as we've had just a twentieth of an inch thus far for the season starting October 1st but there's none of that on the horizon.  Unfortunately, we're facing a La Niña year, which in Southern California means persistently warm, dry conditions.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend whatever your weather.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Fall Plant Shopping

Fall is prime planting season here and, with swaths of my garden trashed over the course of our ongoing home remodel and other areas showing the usual stress imposed by our long dry season, I'm anxious to get to work.  I probably should hang back awhile yet but as the Australian Native Plant Nursery (ANPN) in Casitas Springs scheduled a fall plant sale last weekend my friend and I decided to move up our usual fall plant shopping trip.  For me the drive each way is 3-4 hours, depending on traffic, and half that for my friend.

ANPN was our first stop.  Jo O'Connell, the owner/operator, isn't generally open on weekends anymore, which makes it difficult for us to visit.  A weekday trip would put me on the road during peak commuter hours on both legs, adding hours.

There's a plaque at the entrance in the shape of the continent of Australia, decorated with koalas.  We were met by Wallaby, the official greeter, who asks for a tummy rub as the price of admission.

I didn't have an opportunity to ask for an ID on this gorgeous tree-sized shrub but it reminded me of my own Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' - on steroids

Some of the sale offerings (left) and the cashier's shed (right).  That's Jo O'Connell in the orange shirt in the background.

O'Connell and her husband lost their home on the nursery's grounds to the Thomas Fire in December 2017.  They're currently living in what was a guest house at the back of the property but plans are in place to start construction on their new home.  As a resident, Wallaby was exempt from the no trespassing request.

Next, we stopped for a leisurely lunch in Carpinteria about a half hour further north.

Our usual lunch stop in Carpinteria is Garden Market.  We eat on the patio and enjoy the sunshine and plants, like this exuberant Leonotis leonurus.

We also checked out Porch, just a few storefronts down from Garden Market

Our next stop was nearby Seaside Gardens, a garden center we try to visit at least twice a year.  In addition to offering a broad selection of plants, it has a large area devoted to demonstration gardens.  (You can view photos from prior visits here.)

I've picked up numerous Leucadendrons and Grevilleas here but most grow into large plants and I'm running out of room for more

They have a great selection of Phormiums and Cordylines too

These 2 horses mark one entrance into the demonstration gardens

I was somewhere between the California Native Garden and the Central/South American Garden here

This and the next photo were shot in the Succulent Garden

This and the following photo were shot in the Grasslands area

Our last stop was Island View Nursery just one mile away.  This nursery is in the process of changing hands for at least the second time within the decade or so we've included it in our regular run.  While the nursery has a fairly broad supply of outdoor plants, our focus in shopping there has generally involved the succulents, bromeliads and indoor plants it offers.  It's our understanding that the nursery's offerings in that category are about to undergo a major expansion.

Two views of the indoor plants area, composed of 2 huge quonset hut-type structures

As these exterior photos show, the nursery is in the process of adding 3 more structures of similar size.  We were told that they would be used to house an expanded selection of airplants and other bromeliads

So, I had a list of plants I was looking for.  I found none of them on this trip, although I came close in one case at Seaside.  (Right species, wrong cultivar.)  Do you think I came home empty-handed?  Don't be silly.  Here's my haul:

On the left, are Grevillea 'Poorinda Leane', purchased at ANPN, and Cordyline 'Can Can', purchased at Seaside.  In the middle, all purchased at Seaside, are: Plectranthus cordifolium 'Caroline's Citrine', Daphne odora 'Leucanthe' (yes, I can be nuts sometimes!), and 2 Hemizygia 'Candy Kisses'.  On the right is Begonia 'Escargot', which came from Island View.

I'm glad we made the trip last weekend.  Our Santa Ana winds are blowing again and there's another major fire burning to the north of us, relatively close to my friend's home, as well as my brother's house.  We could smell the fire here this morning even though we're a good 50+ miles away.  Wildfires have been a fact of life here but they're definitely more frequent and more vicious than those in my childhood years.  The current fire is still only 13% contained with 7500 acres burned.  Twenty-five homes in the valley I grew up in have already been destroyed.


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

(Not) In a Vase on Monday: Thinking outside the vase

Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, our In a Vase on Monday host, is celebrating the fifth anniversary of this popular meme.  Last week she challenged participants to put together something not in a vase.  I've previously used pumpkins, driftwood and teapots to support arrangements so I tried harder to come up with something different, with mixed success.  My first arrangement doesn't deviate far from my norm.  I used an old basket, tucking in 2 jam jars to hold the contents that required water.

The berries and the guava fruit can survive without water but everything else requires it

I mixed 2 kinds of berries.  The larger ones start out looking like tiny pumpkins but soon dry out, turn brown, and open to display sticky seeds.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Auranticarpa rhombifolium berries, noID guava fruit; Leucadendron 'Devil's Blush', Leucadendron 'Chief', Nandina domestica berries, Plectranthus scutellariodes 'Electric Lime' (coleus), and, in the middle, Rosa 'Joseph's Coat'

I also played around with a pair of concrete shoes my sister-in-law gave me years ago.

I'd planned to add flowers after planting the shoes with succulent cuttings (Aeonium arboreum and Crassula tetragona) but decided I preferred them just like this

My other idea started with the recognition that many of my bromeliads have vase-like structures to hold water.

This Nidularium wittrockia leopardinum illustrates the "storage tank" that collects water in many bromeliads

I use a bench surrounding our Magnolia tree in the front garden to display a variety of bromeliads and other potted plants.  On Sunday morning I filled the water tanks of 4 bromeliads with flowers.  In retrospect, I think the bromeliad arrangements would have been more attractive on their own rather than grouped together but I'd run out of time to fuss with them when I reached that conclusion.  As the nasty Santa Ana winds have started blowing again, it's not clear that these flowers will last long anyway.

This Aechmea fasciata (aka silver vase plant) holds stems of Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' and Cuphea hybrid 'Starfire Pink'.  The larger pink flower stalk just visible behind the bromeliad's leaves is part of the plant itself.

Nidularium witttockia leopardinum made do with the feathery plumes of Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum'

Orange Aechmea blanchetiana was fitted out with Tagetes lemmonii, Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Correa 'Ivory Bells, and Lantana 'Lucky White' 

This was my biggest flop.  This noID Aechmea (possibly A. orlandiana 'Rainbow') hosts Erigeon 'Wayne Roderick', Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', Polygala fruticosa, and Osteospermum 'Violet Ice'.  It might have looked better without the busyness of the Gomphrena.

To see how other garden bloggers responded to Cathy's challenge, visit her at Rambling in the Garden.

Cathy's challenge was a nice distraction from the stresses of the past week.  First there was the tumult of the midterm elections; then a White House firing that raises concerns about where the political roller coaster is heading; then yet another mass shooting, this one close to home; and then wildfires.  The fires dredge up both apprehensions associated with living in a fire danger zone and memories linked to the 1993 fire that leveled my in-laws' home in Malibu.  We're some 50 miles from the nearest fire, currently burning unchecked in Malibu.  Thus far we've only had periodic whiffs of smoke; however, my brother and some friends in the West San Fernando Valley are uncomfortably close to the action.

My brother took this photo from a hill near his home on Friday night.    The last I heard, the so-called Woolsey Fire is only 10% contained.  (Photo used courtesy of Eric Peterson)

All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: Light, sound and space

My Wednesday Vignette this week pulls together events that have nothing whatsoever to do with one another, other than that all grabbed my attention for different reasons on Monday.

On Monday the news was full of stories and photos of the "supermoon," which looks especially large and bright due to its close proximity to the earth.  I'd taken several photos of it from our backyard Sunday night but moisture in the night air blurred the image.  I got my best shot on Monday night soon after the moon rose.

The light of the supermoon was bright but it might have been more impressive still without competition from the harbor and city lights

Monday was also marked by ear-shattering noise that started in the morning and continued ALL day.  Noise is common in my semi-rural community.  Houses always seem to be in the process of being built or renovated.  Tree trimming occurs on a nearly continuous basis.  Sirens routinely set legions of neighborhood dogs howling.  But this noise was worse than all those combined and it just didn't stop.  It didn't take long to pinpoint the source with my camera.

Fortunately for you, I didn't record the sound associated with this photo of sandblasting in process on this house's exterior

The next photo provides an update on the status of my lath (shade) house, currently under construction by my husband.  He and the neighbor across the street put up the walls on Monday.  They expect to raise the roof today.

Soon I'll have space for all sorts of shade plants!  (Photo taken from the main level of the front garden looking down into the area bordering the street)

Unfortunately, Tuesday morning brought news of wildfires in Southern California, brought on by a combination of exceptionally low humidity and high winds.  As the day closed, there were 4 significant fires, the worst of which was the Thomas Fire burning in Ventura County about 2 hours to our north - it's burned 65,000 acres, destroyed more than 150 structures, and is still 0% contained.  This morning, I woke just after 4am and smelled smoke.  At the time, I thought the wind must be blowing smoke from the Creek Fire in Sylmar our way but this morning brought news of yet another fire, this one near the Getty Center.  If the TV news coverage is accurate, this one has already destroyed homes as well.  The fires have also prompted widespread evacuations and multiple freeway closures.  It's a mess here and utterly heartbreaking for those directly affected.

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


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

Wednesday Vignette: Autumn's Darker Side

Unlike gardeners in cold winter climates, Southern California gardeners generally welcome autumn, which is frequently referred to here as our second spring.  Temperatures drop and our winter rainy season draws closer, making it a great time to plant.  I've been working on renovating one of my larger succulent beds and I'd planned to cover that in my next post but the arrival of our Santa Ana winds offered an opportunity to reveal autumn's darker side: the brushfires that all too frequently accompany our seasonal Santa Ana winds.  Unfortunately, what was billed as a "mild" Santa Ana wind event nonetheless fanned a major fire on Monday afternoon, leading to the evacuation of 1500 people at its height.  The latest update is that the fire is just 15% contained.

Monday night's sunset lit up the clouds of smoke in shades of pink that belied the fire's fury

But this early sunrise shot captured by my husband on Tuesday spoke more clearly of the fire's danger

We're fortunate to be 50 to 60 miles from the fire so, other than its impact on air quality, the Canyon Fire hasn't affected us directly.  However, as we do live in a fire danger area, any local fire puts us on edge and has us sniffing the air for the tell-tale smell of smoke.  My in-laws' home went up in flames in the 1993 Malibu Fire and I've never forgotten the heartbreak of that event.  I empathize with anyone impacted by such fires and I react negatively to any thoughtless individuals who put their neighbors at risk with careless behavior like setting off fireworks or tossing cigarettes in tinder-dry areas.

On a less sinister note, two other sightings drew my attention during the twilight hours this week:

I believe this is a red-tailed hawk, the most common bird of prey in our area.  This fellow landed in our mimosa tree Sunday night and just sat there, staring in the direction of our house.  I took this photo from directly below him on our backyard patio.  No hawk has ever allowed me to get that close.

In contrast, this spider (presumably some kind of orb weaver) cared not a whit that I was standing right next to her as she busily created a new web right across an area I walk through every day.  I unintentionally broke her web but I fully expect to see a replacement the next time I round that same corner.

Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum to view other images participating bloggers found interesting this week.


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