Wide Shots - Odd Angles

I've made a habit of taking my monthly wide shots from the same vantage points in my garden to facilitate comparisons over time.  This month I decided to change things up a bit by posting photos taken from less obvious angles to provide a different perspective.

In some areas, getting a different angle is easy due to level changes.  While my backyard may appear flat in most views, it slopes down a foot or more in front of the hedge (before plummeting steeply behind the hedge).

The usual view from the back door looking toward the harbor

View from the dirt path that runs behind the backyard border in front of the hedge, looking north toward the mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin)

Another view further along the path: you can see the earth sloping downward beyond the Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) on the right

View from the same path, below the mimosa here, looking back toward the south

View between the trunks of the mimosa looking north toward the dry garden

The path through the dry garden leads down onto the back slope.  When we moved in, there was no path, nor any stairs leading down to the bottom of the slope.  I didn't even know that section of the garden existed until I happened upon it during the pre-purchase home inspection.

The usual view, focused on the gravel path we installed through the dry garden in 2012

View from under the grape arbor looking back toward the house

View from the upper portion of the cement block stairway that runs down to the bottom of the back slope, looking back upward toward the grape arbor

After curving around the hedge, the stair my husband constructed leads almost straight down, pivoting just in front of the lemon tree.  The property slopes down again about 12 feet beyond the lemon tree but that second drop represents the property line.

There are level changes in the front garden too.  The driveway slopes downward to the street.

The driveway slopes downward on a gentler gradient than the back slope

This photo was taken from the dirt path that separates the Ceanothus hedge on the upper level from the Xylosma hedge that runs parallel to the street

This photo was taken from the far northwest corner of the property behind a large Abelia shrub, looking past the garage on the left toward the house

And this photo was taken from under the Magnolia tree on the south side of the front door looking toward another area where the ground slopes sharply downward

Peering downward, you can see the flat area below our stacked stone wall and a peek of the succulent bed that runs below it along the street

Just to the left of the red-trunked Arbutus 'Marina' shown in the last photo is the arbor that marks the entry into the south side garden on the level of the house.

The usual view looking at the side garden and the harbor beyond

This photo was taken from yet another dirt path leading up from the area shown in the second to the last photo above

And we come full circle here with this photo taken from the path behind the backyard border looking back toward the south side patio and arbor 

That's it for my May wide shots post.  While these monthly photo shoots are useful to me in assessing developments in my garden, I expect the often subtle month-to-month variations in my photos are less interesting to those who read my blog.  Rather than post monthly updates, I'm going to move to a quarterly schedule.  My next wide shots post is planned for July.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wide Shots - May 2015

As I mentioned last month, I'm altering my approach to my monthly wide shots post.  This month, I'm focusing on the front and southeast side garden areas.  Despite 2 heatwaves in March and another this week in which temperatures in our area have been stuck in the mid-90sF (35C), the front garden is holding up and continuing to fill in.

The beautiful blue sky doesn't tell the whole story.  It's hot and very, very dry.

The area to the left of the central walkway, occupied by lawn this time last year, continues to fill in nicely

This area behind the roses in the front right foreground, all the way to the trees in far background, was also lawn in May 2014

This is the same area, viewed from the other side.  The thyme continues to spread and the variegated Ceanothus griseus horizontalis has begun to creep but the Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' looks much like it did when it was first planted - if my other 'Cousin Itt' hadn't behaved the same way, I'd be worried.

The adjoining southeast side garden has undergone a few changes, although they may not be readily evident in these first 2 photos.

The usual view through the arbor looking toward the Los Angeles harbor

The usual view of the side garden from the patio

My third photo reflects the changes I made.  I found 3 more of the Solanum xanti I've been looking for and snapped them up, replacing an Osteospermum, Euphorbia and Pennistetum that had failed to thrive in the area in the foreground on the left.  The Solanum I planted in the backyard in November have done well and I can only hope that these California natives can get established before the heat gets worse.  The plastic bottle you can see in the photo is one of 3 attached to funnels that slowly drip water into the root system of my new transplants.  I also moved 3 Agave 'Blue Glow' from the bed in the background and placed them in the center of the bed on the left, surrounding them with Crassula radicans, moved from the same area, Lavandula augustifolia and Seslaria caerulea.  It was bad timing on my part given the heat we experienced this week but I expect its the last of the spring planting I'll do this year.

The newly planted area is on the left

 The last major change is this one:

Our new 165 gallon rain collection tank, not yet hooked up to the gutter system

It's not especially attractive and it'll probably get no use until the next rainy season begins in November or thereabout but I'm hoping it and another 265 gallon rain collection tank, currently on back-order, will help make a difference in next year's garden.

That's it for this month's wide shots.  My thanks to Heather of Xericstyle for starting me on this monthly exercise.


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