What passes for fall color in my garden

Coastal Southern California isn't known for its fall color but we do get a bit.  Here's a rundown of what my garden has to offer this season:

Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku', recently pruned, always presents a good display

In contrast, my only other Japanese maple, Acer palmatum 'Mikawa Yatsubusa', a dwarf variety, never really colors up

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' looks especially good when backlit

My garden's star performer for fall color is this persimmon tree, Diospyros kaki 'Fuyu'

A side view of the same tree, which I have to admit looks better without the fence we recently removed crowding it

Closeup of the  'Fuyu' leaves shown on the left.  The fallen leaves are rapidly filling my compost bin (right).

Unfortunately, my other persimmon tree, Diospyros kaki 'Hachiya', quickly drops its leaves without creating much of a display.  Right now, it looks like a twiggy mess but I do intend to prune it.

In prior years, the leaves of the 'Hachiya' persimmon have been a dull brown but this year many of those that dropped did show off attractive color.  I can only assume the change was attributable to cooler-than-usual weather.

The ornamental pear, Pyrus calleryana, makes a terrible mess but it does produce some colorful leaves.  I spent over an hour cleaning them up on Monday but there are far fewer left since it's been pruned.

Roger's Gardens 'Celebration' Impatiens, sold to commemorate the destination garden center's 50th anniversary earlier this year, surprised me by displaying a bit of fall color, which isn't something I expect from Impatiens.  The plant was a gift from a friend.

Since I removed my out-of-control Pyracantha last year, the only colorful berries I have to offer during the fall season are those supplied by Auranticarpa rhomibifolium (aka diamond-leaf pittosporum).

Our neighbor's garden provides a much splashier display of fall foliage:

The neighbors front garden is lined with sweetgum trees (Liquidambers of some variety) with a few Ginkgo bilobas tucked in

More Liquidambers and Ginkgos on the other side of the neighbor's driveway with a yellow blanket of leaves below

The vast majority of my trees and shrubs are evergreens, as is common in a warmer climate like mine.  While I do wish we had more fall color, I nonetheless appreciate the fact that I don't have more leaves to sweep up.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Foliage highlights to cleanse the plant palate

It's easy to bury oneself in flowers in May and June but that makes it a great time to cleanse one's plant palate with a foliage post.  It's been uncomfortably warm the past several days and it looks like we can expect more of the same until Friday.  While the marine layer is still present, it's been backing off early in the morning at our elevation, some 800+ feet above sea level.  We appear stuck in the mid-to-upper 80sF which makes it unpleasant to tackle major projects in the garden but it's nowhere near as bad as the 100+F temperatures facing residents of our inland valleys.  Taking photos under harsh sunlight wasn't easy, though.

Here are the foliage highlights that stood out during two rounds of my garden with a camera in hand:

I have a ridiculous number of Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope'.  These 2 (and a smaller one behind the large one) are situated on the south end of the back garden.  They pick up the yellows, oranges and coral colors elsewhere in the borders.

This Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' is in the front garden next to Grevillea 'Superb'.  It's bigger than it looks here.

Abelia grandiflora 'Radiance' has a nice amount of white in its variegation.  It glows in the front garden under Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'.  It has a lower, neater profile than my other Abelias, which tend to sprawl.

Two 'Hopley's Variegated' Abelias sit in partial shade in my north-side garden.  They get very big if left to their own devices.  I chopped the one on the right nearly down to the ground late last year and was worried it wouldn't survive the experience but it's back!

Agave 'Joe Hoak' and Agave bracteosa mingle in the back border.  The Aeonium 'Kiwi Verde' have grown too tall here, partially hiding the squid agaves, so they need to be replaced by a lower groundcover.

A better, backlit view of the 'Joe Hoak' Agaves, backed up by a large Aloe ferox x vanbalenii

This photo shows the 3 largest squid agaves.  They pup like crazy.  I moved the ceramic fish here based on a commentator's suggestion to lean into the sea theme.

An even closer view of one Agave bracteosa.  I think the smallish red aloe behind it is Aloe cameronii.

Planted as pups of Agave desmettiana years ago, 5 now stately specimens dominate a section of the front slope

My oldest whale's tongue agave (Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue') is backed up here by Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'.  The latter is about 10 feet tall and significantly wider.

Variegated Cistus 'Little Miss Sunshine' is as impressive without flowers as it was when covered with small white blooms

This foliage vignette features Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple', and Mangave 'Mission to Mars'

Closeups of the 3 plants named above

This Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold' has been in the ground for 4 years now.  Its fall foliage hasn't lived up to its cultivar name but it appears healthy, although it hasn't gained much in size.  Its branches extend nearly to the ground and I've wondered if I should cut off the lowest ones; however, online sources suggest I should leave it alone as it's slow to get established.

I have more than a dozen of these grass-like perennials, Lomandra longifolia 'Breeze'.  They're considered fire-resistant.

I have almost as many clumps of the variegated Lomandra longifolia 'Platinum Beauty'.  These 3 are in the back border near the house.

This raised terracotta pot, refurbished in January, is looking particularly good.  It contains a Crassula swaniensis 'Variegata', Cotyledon pendens, Echeveria 'Violet', and a 4th noID succulent.

There are other foliage beauties worthy of citing but many didn't photograph well under the glare of intense sunlight (and the Aeoniums have received plenty of coverage in other posts).

I've made a start in pulling out the sweet pea vines in my cutting garden despite the heat.  I hope you're enjoying more pleasant gardening weather.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

March foliage standouts, heavy on the Agaves

Although I tend to focus on floral displays in early spring, I also feel I need to give the garden's foliage a shout out.  When all is said and done, foliage is and always will be the backbone of my garden.  I started snapping photos of my foliage standouts as February drew to a close.  When I surveyed my photos this week, I was surprised at just how many featured agaves so I'll start with those.  Please note that this is not a comprehensive survey of my agaves.  I've no idea exactly how many agaves I have but what follows is a drop in the proverbial bucket.

In my north-side garden, this shot captures a mix of my agaves, including Agave ovatifolia, A. desmettiana 'Variegata', A. potatorum 'Kissho Kan', A. parryi, and A. pygmaea 'Dragon Toes'

Agave capensis, also in the north-side garden

Agave 'Joe Hoak', accompanied by several A. bracteosa, in the back garden

Agave macroacantha and A. parryi surrounded by Santolina rosmarinifolia 'Lemon Fizz' in the back garden

Agave 'Mr Ripple' in the south-side garden

Not an agave but a relative, Mangave 'Mission to Mars'.  The small plant to its right looks like like it could be an offset of 'Mission to Mars'.  I've no record of planting it and its colors are similar.  I think I need to give it more room, though!

Pups of Agave americana 'Mediopicta Alba' keep popping up along the south-side flagstone path, feet from the larger parent plants.  While they're attractive plants, I'm almost afraid to give the prolific plants away (even with warning notices).

The large specimen of Agave 'Jaws' in the front garden is also a prolific pupper

The succulent bed in front of the garage contains a number of agaves but the largest are Agave attenuatas.  The clump on the left are progeny of the original agaves I inherited with the garden,  The one on the right is Agave attenuata 'Raea's Gold', which I removed from the back garden when it grew too large for its space.  The plant between them is Phormium 'Rainbow Sunrise'.

When the Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass' (aka variegated octopus agave) in my north-side garden bloomed a few years ago, I harvested bulbils.  I gave most away but kept one, which I eventually planted in this large pot.  It's starting to look like a real agave now and I expect I need to thin out the Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' surrounding it. 

In addition to the agaves, other succulents made the cut for this post.

Aeonium 'Jack Catlin' stands out when contrasted with the more common green varieties

Years ago, I planted Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' and 'Kiwi Verde' in a narrow row as edging for the border occupied by 3 Agonis flexuosa 'Nana'.  As you can see, the Aeoniums formed massive clumps.  The 'Kiwi Verde' (on the right in both photos) were looking sad until the rain finally arrived and they fleshed out again.

I've no record to account for this aloe but I'm guessing it's an Aloe vanbalenii.  It sits near the much larger Aloe vanbalenii x ferox, which recently finished blooming.

Here are the other plants that caught my eye, many of which are drought tolerant.

The 3 Acanthus mollis die back during the summer months, emerging with the rainfall in the fall (when we get it).  They usually bloom lightly if at all but the foliage alone is worth their space in the garden.  This one is embellished by an adjacent Centaurea 'Silver Feather', also appreciated for its foliage over its flowers.

Drimia marttima didn't bloom at all last year but all 5 bulbs have produced healthy foliage in an unirrigated area of the back slope this year

I'm guessing that this is Kniphofia caulescens.  It came with the garden but grew slowly.  I've a vague recollection of it blooming once in the 14 years we've lived here.

Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' in the background deserves a nod before I prune it in late spring.  I recently thinned its interior a bit to prevent it from swallowing its neighbors.  If you look at the center of the photo, you can just make out part of the large Agave ovatifolia in the distance.

I cut Melianthus major to inches high in late summer each year and it springs back to life when the temperatures drop.  Its serrated leaves are as attractive as the tall flowers, which appear in late spring/early summer.

This is a division of a Yucca gloriosa 'Bright Star' I took a couple of years ago when the parent plant lost its shape

I refreshed Yucca desmettiana 'Blue Boy' using divisions a couple of years ago too

One plant of note isn't looking at all good but its current condition is temporary.

Jacaranda ''Bonsai Blue' is in the process of shedding its older leaf stems, which take on a sickly yellowish-brown color.  Although I'd never noted this in the street trees that punctuate the landscape in Southern California, I've recently observed this same shedding process in the full-sized Jacarandas in my neighborhood.  The fresh foliage isn't flammable but the dry foliage can be - as the dwarf tree is fairly close to the house, it may have to go when we remove some of our plants in the interest of a more fire resistant landscape.

We got a decent amount of rain from the storms that passed through here on Wednesday through Thursday, 0.42/inch.  Additional storms are expected next week, from Monday through Thursday.  It doesn't qualify as a March miracle at this point but it's a positive trend!

I collected rain via the gutters feeding my collection tanks but also used the rain chain to funnel water into my plastic tubs.  As shown above, a lot of pollen was picked up in the process.

Between storms, crews contracted by the city (or perhaps the power company) have been very active in my area clearing foliage surrounding electrical lines and equipment.  The work being done this year appears to be much more extensive than in prior years but then a lawsuit has been filed against the power company by residents impacted by the Altadena Fire in January.

This pile of debris was left in the street between our house and the next-door neighbor's driveway by the contractors on Wednesday, stretching half way across our neighborhood road.  I hunted them down and received assurances that they'd be back to clear it later that day, which they did.

The trucks were back yet again Thursday morning both across the canyon (photo, left) and parked in front of our hedge (right).  Although the truck and chipper interfered with our weekly trash pickup, the work being done involved a public easement on my next-door neighbor's property, not ours.

We're expecting inspections to ensure "defensible space clearance" around homes in our area by the Los Angeles Fire Department under the direction of a new ordinance adopted by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in February.  The focus is on hazardous brush, dry grass, weeds and any "combusible growth or flammable vegetation."  There isn't a master list of problematic plants but those provided as examples included Acacia.  If you read my blog often, you may remember that I have quite a lot of Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt'.  I clear the debris underneath these plants a couple times a year, which may not matter to inspectors...I have a call into my arborist for a consultation in advance of an inspection.

Best wishes for a good weekend.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party