Spring is drawing oh so slowly closer...

I usually start seeing signs of spring in the offing as early as February.  It's been colder than usual here this winter (if nothing close to as cold as other areas of the Northern Hemisphere) and I expected that the early spring blooms might be delayed but that doesn't seem to be the case.  Of course, all the rain we got in January has probably given most SoCal gardens a boost.

The ornamental pear tree (Pyrus calleryana) burst into bloom seemingly overnight as it does every year - and because it's been so cold, the funky scent that accompanies the flowers isn't even noticeable at present

One of our neighbors has a whole row of these trees, also in full bloom

I hadn't expected much from my Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection' this year but it's more floriferous than I'd imagined it'd be this year

I even spotted this Lachenalia in bloom in one of my succulent beds.  I think this is probably Lachenalia quadricolor, although that wasn't one of the bulb varieties I ordered years ago.

The street-side bed of another of my neighbors also burst into bloom recently, flaunting Polygala grandiflora (a larger version of the sweet pea shrubs I have in my own garden), masses of paperwhite Narcissus, and the pretty flowers of a small noID Magnolia tree.

But a garden blog can't all be pretty pictures.  I made progress this week in addressing last week's "should it stay or should it go?" list, with help from my spouse.  The project that required the most effort on my part involved removing the woody lavender plants in my cutting garden and replanting the area under the faux birdbath with divisions of Didelta 'Silver Strand'.

Digging out the lavender was more troublesome than expected in part due to gravel and other materials that were dumped into the bed as a result of last September's water pipe replacement project.  I supplemented the soil before returning the faux birdbath and planting 3 divisions of Didelta 'Silver Strand'.  I'm giving the divisions a 60-40 chance of taking.

Given its size, I knew I was going to have to cut back the mass of Didelta in my back garden bed in order to move it.  However, the plant proved to be such a tangle of "strands," it was impossible to transplant it even after reducing its size.  Noticing that many of the strands had sprouted roots, I decided to try pulling pieces of it apart.  I ended up cutting these back severely before transplanting the segments with the best root systems.

The rooted strands provide clues as to how this plant (shown above on the left) spread as vigorously as it did in my back garden.  I'm counting on that vigor to spur the growth of the divisions.  What's left in the back garden is another empty space (above, right).

I could have taken dozens of Didelta cuttings but I made do with 9 (plus one other rooted division, not shown).  Only 2 of the cuttings I planted directly in the ground several months ago survived but I treated them with benign neglect as I do other succulent cuttings and I suspect that these actually require more water to get established.  At the same time, I also took cuttings of Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' as I expect to pull the woody parent plant out after this year's bloom season.

 

My husband stepped in to address removal of the white bower vines (Pandorea jasminoides 'Alba') growing up both sides of the arbor at the front of the house.  I'd intended to cut the vines to the ground and get his help if necessary to dig the roots out but he jumped in and had the job nearly done before I even got rolling.  Apparently, he was even more perturbed by those sad vines than I was.

Before (left, north side only) and after (right, both sides) photos are shown above.  The arbor looks a lot better without the vines.  I'm not sure I'll plant new vines to cover the posts.  Star jasmines (Trachelospermum jasminoides) are already in place as groundcovers behind the 2 front benches and will probably soon fill the bare spaces left by the bower vines.

 

I took care of the pruning the dwarf Jacaranda 'Bonsai Blue' and removed the smaller of the two shrubs sold to me as Duranta repens 'Gold Mound'.

I decided to cut back 3 stems of the Jacaranda instead of just one.  They've sprouted new foliage in the past but, if they don't this time, that'll just settle the dwarf tree's fate once and for all.  The yellow-green color of the tree's current foliage doesn't signify illness - the full-sized trees here also turn that sickly color each year as they shed and replace their old foliage.

The smaller Duranta planted alongside the front driveway was spindly and looked out of place in the middle of a group of Iris douglasiana (left photo).  The area looks cleaner without it (right photo).  Three Iris bulbs were pulled up in the process of digging out the shrub but I replanted them.

 

When it came to removing the overly large Duranta, I didn't even try to handle the job.  I left that to my husband and, with power tools in hand, he made a relatively quick job of it.

Before and after shots are shown above.  Without the 7 foot Duranta, you can see the Calliandra haematocephala planted against the house.  The Grevillea 'Superb' should get more sun now too.  A few Agapanthus were dislodged in the process of digging out the Duranta's root system.  They came with the house and, as far as I can remember, they never bloomed in that spot so a sunnier location may be a better choice.

 

My next garden project is the boring job of digging out the Sesleria 'Greenlee Hybrid' but I'm taking a break to see a friend today.  I'll offer one further update in the interim.

We finally got in to see Pipig's regular vet this week.  She discounted 2 of the scarier theories posed by the urgent care veterinarians I consulted the week before last.  Pipig may be showing the early stages of kidney disease but that's common in elderly cats and treatable.  We're still waiting on some recent test results to determine if there's anything else to worry about.  Meanwhile, she's gained some weight, is eating regularly, and behaving far more normally.

 

Best wishes for an enjoyable weekend.

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

Just pretty spring views

Given that this is the third of my posts within a week's time to feature photos from last week's visit to my local botanic garden, you may suspect that I spent a lot of time there but in actuality I was there for less than two hours.  Arriving in advance of my timed entry to the garden's butterfly exhibit, I walked the rest of the garden at a relatively fast clip, snapping photos as I went.  My focus was on discovering the topiary displays but, as I didn't know where most of those were, I walked a significant portion of the garden's 87 acres in the time I had available.  Without revisiting any elements of the topiary or butterfly exhibits, here are some of the best views I captured in the process.

The Wisteria isn't blooming yet but the Japanese Garden looked great even with very little floral color

Another view showing off the Cycads and Dietes iridiodes (aka fortnight lily) in the same area

Other points of interest in the Japanese Garden included a bonsai specimen, a huge noID Dyckia in full flower, and Iris ensata (aka Japanese water iris)

I've no idea what the shrub fronted by the asparagus ferns is but I love its shape

Lower meadow area bordered by Iris pseudacorus, Verbena bonariensis, and Rotheca myricoides 'Ugandense'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't remember exactly where I took this shot but I was surprised to see so many Canna lilies already in bloom

The highlights of the Desert Garden for me were the Pseudobombax ellipticum (aka shaving brush tree) and the noID Echinopsis

The Jacaranda trees are blooming throughout the peninsula (at least with the exception of the dwarf variety in my back garden).  These border the extension of the Desert Garden that specializes in Aloes.

The major draw in this area, which I've always thought of as limbo, is a huge mass of Romneya coulteri (aka Matilija poppy), currently in full bloom

Even though not yet in full flower, the lavender field area always has a peaceful feeling about it

After a little rain, the Mediterranean Garden has sprung to life (no pun intended)

The canopy of the Moreton Bay fig trees (Ficus macrocarpa) in the Banyan Grove seemed thinner than usual but as beautiful as ever

This spectacular Cape chestnut tree (Calodendrum capense) is in the Phoebe Meadow, located in the outer area of SCBG

This massive Bougainvillea entangled in a palm tree sits next to the tram road

The Rose Garden viewed from one corner

This view from a path within the Rose Garden looks out in the direction of a large Brugmansia (aka angel's trumpet) bordering the nearby Amphitheater

The forest pansy trees (Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' aka eastern redbud) planted a little further along the same path hide the Amphitheater lawn and the flamingo topiaries I featured in an earlier post.  In bloom, I thought these were western redbuds but their foliage clearly identifies them as the eastern species.

 

Since South Coast Botanic Garden furloughed its volunteers in 2020 and subsequently disbanded the docent group I'd belonged to, I only get to the garden about once a quarter on average but, coincidentally, a friend and I plan to be there this weekend for the garden's first plant sale since the start of the pandemic.  I used to attend all the fall and spring sales but I'm not sure what to expect after the long hiatus.  I'm still looking forward to it, though.

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

Fresh Spring Foliage

With spring generating flowers in my garden non-stop at the moment, it's easy to overlook the garden's foliage.  I took a closer look at my garden yesterday and wanted to share the fresh green foliage my deciduous trees and shrubs have produced (with a few other foliage highlights thrown in).

Dwarf Acer palmatum 'Mikawa Yatsubusa'

The oldest of my 2 Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' (aka coral bark maple)

This is the small 'Sango Kaku' I added to the front garden last year.  Although fairly well-protected from the harsh summer sun by the hedge behind it, its leaves and stem tips were scorched last summer.

I actually like the rust-tinged foliage of Calliandra haematocephala (aka powder-puff shrub) better than its flowers

Although cut back to the ground when summer's heat toasts their foliage, the 4 artichokes (Cynara) on the back slope return reliably every spring.  There's no sign of chokes yet, though.

I planted this Dais cotinifolia (aka pom-pom tree) from a 4-inch pot in 2019.  I've been pruning it annually to keep it small but it still hasn't bloomed for me.

Persimmon 'Fuyu' (Diospyrus) is one of the few plants in my garden that provides good fall/winter foliage color.  It's spring green color isn't bad either.

 

Persimmon 'Hachiya' is leafing out again too

I couldn't help worrying about the Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold' we put in last May to replace the dying mimosa tree we removed.  We didn't get much in the way of fall color from it last year as summer's heat burned the foliage but I've been giving it extra water and hope that'll help it get well-established.

Even in my climate coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) generally dies back in winter.  The 2 plants in this half-barrel, in an area of mostly shade protected by a hedge on the left and other plants on the right, kept on growing.  And I pruned it twice!

We didn't even know this peach tree (Prunus persica) near the property line on the back slope was there until we removed the out-of-control Yucca elephantipes that formerly occupied the boundary line.  It's never produced mature fruit but it offers partial screening of the neighbor's property.

 

Protea nerifolia 'Pink Ice' has never bloomed.  After 2 years in a pot, I planted it in my dry north-side garden in late 2018.  It's producing new foliage each year, which I'm hoping is a positive sign.

The ornamental pear (Pyrus calleryana) in the front garden suddenly dropped its flowers and sprouted new leaves during one of our first winter heatwaves

The Xylosma congestum hedge lining the backyard border was overblown with new growth until the gardener trimmed it into submission shortly after this photo was taken.  It won't be long before it produces another flush of new growth.

Just as I was considering digging out the stump of the Yucca 'Bright Star' I cut to the ground last year after it was butchered by a well-meaning gardener, I noticed what appears to be new growth developing inches away.  As the mature plants I've priced go for $110, this is a good sign!

 

It's been feeling more like early summer than spring here this week and of course it remains very dry.  The TV weather forecasters have been teasing us with a prospect of rain this weekend but both weather services I regularly check show nothing higher than a 13% chance of rain Saturday night.  Good for those running in the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday perhaps but not great news for gardeners.

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

Spring garden frenzy

Time is zipping by.  As we officially welcome spring, I'm hustling to finish some of the pruning I should've  completed in late winter.  But every time I walk through the garden, I'm distracted from the tasks at hand by one or another pretty new bloom.  And yet I'm also feeling the need to prepare for summer as new bulbs arrive every other day.  My head is spinning!

This week, I decided it was time to prune the rest of my Leucadendrons.  Cutting back Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' was almost painful.

This image was taken in mid-January

This one, captured from the opposite direction, was taken in mid-February

Here are 'Safari Sunset' and 'Blush' after pruning.  The best things I can say is that the pruning makes the plants surrounding the Leucadendrons more noticeable - and, with a little time, the Leucadendrons will be back, looking as flashy as ever.

As I was pruning, I put aside stems for a vase.  Then to further assuage my sadness about the massive pruning, I spent another hour or more stripping stems of leaves to offer as a giveaway to neighbors.  They didn't disappear as fast as most of what I put out on the curb and I even threw some of these away.  My husband says that may be because the cut stems blended in with the fresh flush of foliage on the Xylosma hedge.

 

There are still a few more Leucadendrons to prune, as well as a couple more Pennisetum grasses I'd lost track of but I also started work on cleaning up the area that will front the Ginkgo tree when it arrives.

I decided to widen the flagstone path where it intersects with the back patio, which meant cutting back succulents on either side.  I rounded up a couple of flagstones from other areas of the garden, which I still need to dig into place.

I'll replant a portion of these Aeonium 'Kiwi Verde' cuttings but I expect I'll be giving away a lot of them away

Meanwhile, the dahlia tubers I ordered last year started to arrive, which of course meant that I should pull the tubers I'd dug up and divided at the end of the last season out of the garage.  With three more new tubers still in the mail, I've got more dahlias than my cutting garden can handle.

I'll move the dahlias from these temporary pots into the raised planters once the spring blooms are gone.  I'd conveniently forgotten how many tubers I'd saved last season when I ordered more.  I wonder how many people in the neighborhood might be interested in dahlia tubers?

To complicate matters, another shipment of summer bulbs arrived yesterday.

Just where I'd planned to put these, I can't say off-hand

Despite the start of daylight savings time, there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done right now.  Even so, it's important to stop and appreciate the new wonders each day brings.

Including the almost fluorescent flowers of Arctotis 'Large Marge'

And don't the white Freesias look nice with the variegated Helichrysum petiolare hiding their flopping stems?  I'd forgotten I'd planted any Freesias there.

A minute or two is necessary to ponder whether this will be the year Leucospermum 'Sunrise' decides to bloom for the first time.  Are those leaf buds or infant blooms?

I hope you're seeing more signs of spring too - and that you're taking time to enjoy them.  Have a great weekend!

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