Neighborhood Standouts

I've resumed my regular neighborhood walks, at least when our temperatures don't soar into the stratosphere as they did yesterday and as we expect them to do again today.  When that happens, we pull down all the indoor shades and let the air conditioning take over.

On Thursday, our afternoon temperature topped out at 102.2F (39C), which was higher than was forecasted for our area

When I walk the neighborhood, I snap photos whenever I see something I like or that intrigues me.  While cloistered in the house during the current heatwave I pulled together a collection of those photos and thought I'd share them.  All but two were taken using my mobile phone's camera.  Those of us living along the California coast have mostly avoided extreme high temperatures this summer while people living in our inland areas have baked.  The inland valley I grew up in experienced temperatures over 115F (43C) yesterday and get even hotter today.  When I was in high school (a LONG time ago) no one spoke about global warming but, even back then, I swore that every summer got worse and worse.  Now there's plenty of evidence of that (not that all politicians acknowledge the fact and fewer still are prepared to address it).  As a whole, California had its hottest July on record and worldwide it's clear that global warming is a factor in one disaster after another.  Ignoring it isn't going to make things better.

But let me move on the what's looking good in the neighborhood!

For the first 10+ years I lived here, the front slope of this home was covered in a lumpy "rug" of fake turf.  It looks so much better now!

The narrow profile of this red-flowered crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia) grabbed my attention as I'd like to add one of these trees to my garden but was concerned about their girth 

I love the structure of this noID cycad

Located in the same garden, my phone's plant ID app identified this as a Mexican blue palm (Brahea armata)

I don't often see aloes blooming in late summer but this garden's aloes put on a good show every summer.  I'm not certain of the ID.

We inherited several Hibiscus in our former garden but the plants were covered in woolly aphids every year and I eventually removed them.  This one always looks great.

I took this photo of the beautiful Bougainvilleas in our south-side neighbors' garden from my back slope as their home is set back from the street and the plants aren't visible from that vantage point

Our north-side neighbor's home and garden are also set back from the street but leaves of one giant bird of paradise (Strelitzia nicolai) routinely pushes through the fence between us.  I photographed it from our side.

I love the wild blue morning glory (Ipomoea sp.) but I'm glad it's rambling through someone else's front garden

The same neighbor has Plumbagos winding through his front and back gardens (both visible from different sections of the street)

For a couple of weeks, I watered selected plants for neighbors who were out of town.  I snapped photos now and then in the process.

I don't have a solid ID for this magnificent Agave

My neighbor has Calandrinia spectabilis roaming through various areas of her garden.  I was surprised and delighted when I spotted what appeared to be a large mass of Tradescantia mundula variegata 'Tricolor' in the background, partially hidden by other plants.

This neighbor uses large and small succulents throughout her garden.  Many of the small ones are shown off in pots.

In this neighborhood, many, if not most of us, have slopes to deal with.  This neighbor has impressive stacked-stone walls to cope with them, all planted with succulents and other drought tolerant plants. 

No stacked-stone walls here but this multi-tiered structure provides spots for lounging and more plants 

I took one long distance shot from our driveway of palm trees growing alongside a house outside my neighborhood.

I must admit that I don't like palm trees, especially the tall ones that drop their fronds from great heights onto whatever lies below - they made a mess of the backyard of my childhood home and they can be dangerous.  However, this group across the canyon is always kept well-groomed and I admire the vignette (from a distance).

I've made inroads cleaning up my garden recently but there's still a lot left to do.  My efforts came to an abrupt halt when this "heat dome" settled over California.  It's expected to last through the weekend and I expect there'll be even more plants that need cleaning up - or throwing out - afterwards but I look forward to getting back to work next week.  Whether any of the dahlias in my cutting garden will be left to fill my vases is another matter.  Best wishes for a pleasant weekend, whatever you weather conditions!

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

A quick spin around the neighborhood

A close friend visited last Saturday and, in addition to having lunch on my back patio, we took a spin around the neighborhood.  I brought my camera of course.  Even given the mild winter conditions of coastal Southern California, garden landscapes are muted but I picked some of the most colorful displays to share with you.

We initially headed up the main road outside my neighborhood but backed off when we encountered tree trimming activity blocking our way.  I took this overhead shot of my neighborhood from that elevation.  You can just make out my house (with the hedge lining the street) in the middle of this shot across the street from the house with the colorful trees.

The candelabra aloes (Aloe arborescens) offered the only color at the entrance to the neighborhood

This home with the steep slope featured Bougainvillea with bright red bracts and red tree-like Cordylines

This stretch along the neighborhood road wasn't particularly colorful but I thought it looked pretty good

Two neighborhood gardens in particular stood out.  The first belongs to the neighbors who live directly across the street from me.  Their trees have finally developed the striking color people in the northeastern part of the country associate with fall.

They have Ginkgos and some kind of noID maples.  I have no idea what the tree with the very red foliage on the left is.

More maples

The other garden of note belongs to neighbors several doors down the block from us.

This street-side succulent bed, backed up by colorful Bougainvillea, is stunning right now

At this time of year, I always kick myself for having failed to add Aloe arborescens to my own street-side succulent bed.  This clump includes some with variegated foliage.

Closeups of an Agave gypsophila, variegated foliage of Aloe arborescens, and possibly the largest rosette of Aeonium arboreum I've ever seen

This is a wider shot of the bed.  I couldn't capture the entire area, however.

This is a more recently planted section (partially hidden in the wider shot above by a bloomed-out Leonotis leonurus)

I'm awed by this stand of burgundy Aeonium every time I see it

On the other side of the house, beyond the driveway, there's another wonderful succulent bed atop a stacked-stone wall

Most of the holiday displays in the neighborhood were low-key.

A simple ribbon affixed to a lamppost, echoing the color of the berries

A holiday-themed sitting area outside a garage

This was the biggest outdoor holiday display, an indication that more families with kids have joined the neighborhood in recent years

Next year I think I should decorate the exterior of my lath (shade) house.

Wouldn't Santa look good hanging from the back of my lath house?

I've been busy with a bit of last-minute planting and garden cleanup for the past several days.  We've got a slight chance of rain tonight but there's a 99% chance on Thursday.  The current forecast shows the possibility we'll get an inch or more, with the prospect of intermittent showers continuing through Saturday.  Many people may not appreciate a wet Christmas but I'm honestly looking forward to it.

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

Local Spring Flower-fest

It's that time of year.  New flowers seem to appear nearly every day in my garden.

Appearing this week: noID Iris germanica, blooming on the back slope underneath the leaf of an agave (left), and Iris douglasiana 'Santa Lucia' in the front garden (right)

I wandered further afield this week to see what else is making an appearance now that our long-awaited rain has arrived.  I started my search in my own neighborhood.

Alyogyne huegelii (aka blue hibiscus)

Azalea 'George Tabor'

Beschorneria yuccoides, the first I've ever seen in bloom (or almost in bloom)

What I believe may be wild borage of some kind, growing head-high in a vacant lot

The biggest Leucospermum I've ever seen, which blooms reliably every year in this neighbor's garden

A yellow-flowered Leucospermum, planted just a few houses further up the road

A large pink-flowered Pelargonium blooming along yellow Euryops, Limonium perezii, Persicaria capitata, Cordyline and Agapanthus on a relatively steep slope.  This slope was replanted last year.

Wednesday, as a new storm was moving in, I also made a quick tour of South Coast Botanic Garden, just 5 miles away.

More of the garden's cherry trees have burst into bloom.

These trees surround the garden's amphitheater

The Wisteria vines planted along the arbors are producing their first blooms.

It'll probably be another month before the flowers thoroughly blanket the arbors

Even the desert garden has flowers.

The rains triggered the growth of California poppies and blue lupine here (while I've yet to see any sign of California poppies in my own garden)

The redesigned Mediterranean garden is studded with flowers in shades of white, orange, yellow and blue.

Top row: noID Cistus, Eschscholzia californica, and Nectarine tree blossoms
Middle row: Penstemon heterophyllus, P. eatonii, and Phlomis fruticosa
Bottom row: Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman', Trichostema lanatum, and Verbena lilacina

The new rose garden is getting ready for its grand opening in April.

The framework is in place and the roses are planted, but blooms are still relatively sparse

It'd started to rain as I photographed the roses so I didn't bother to look for name tags

And the Volunteer Garden has positively exploded in flowers.

I'm beginning to think orange California poppies go with everything

The centerpiece here is a noID Magnolia in full bloom

I don't usually like pink and red together but I liked this combination

This bed had me asking why I've never tried growing Cerastium tomentosum in my current garden

Note the Brugmansia in full bloom in the background.  The flowers on the Echium on the left were just beginning to open.  The bed on the right was full of various kinds of Pelargonium.

You may have noticed that I've paid more frequent visits to my local botanic garden of late.  Last month I started training to become a volunteer docent.  My last training session is next week.  My first 2 tours are already scheduled for April.  Ninety percent of the tours involve guiding schoolchildren, which isn't a group I've had much experience with in recent years.  One of my biggest problems has been coming up with the common names of plants and flowers as I've somehow managed to hard-wire my brain to produce the Latin names, at least for those plants I'm most familiar with.  So I've been working hard to pull common names back into my vocabulary.

Top row: Calendula (pot marigold), Crocosmia (montbretia), Dietes grandiflora (fortnight lily), and Eschscholzia (California poppy)
2nd row: noID Euphorbia (spurge), Euryops (African sunflower), Gazania (African daisy), and Gladiolus (sword lily)
3rd row: Helianthus (sunflower). Kalanchoe beharensis (felt plant), noID Narcissus (daffodil), and Nemesia  (no common name)
Last row: Oxalis (weed!), noID Pelargonium (geranium), hybrid Penstemon (beard tongue), and Papaver nudicuale (Iceland poppy)

Top row: Alstroemeria (Peruvian lily), Arctotis (African daisy #2), Borago (borage), and Cerastium (snow-in-summer)
2nd row: Cerinthe (honeywort), Hyacinthoides (Spanish bluebells) Limonium perezii (sea lavender), and Myosotis (forget-me-nots)
3rd row: Osteospermum (African daisy #3),  pink Iceland poppy, Persicaria capitata (knotweed), and Salvia 'Mystic Spires' (sage)
Last row: noID Salvia (sage), Scabiosa (pincushion flower), Scilla peruviana (another "Peruvian lily," actually of Spanish origin), and what used to be Solanum rantonetti (blue potato bush)

Wish me luck!

Actually, it is easier to remember this as an apricot trumpet flower tree than Handroanthus chrysostricha x impetiginosus, formerly classified as Tabebuia (and much simpler to pronounce)

Enjoy the first weekend of Spring!


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