Reaching Critical Mass

Even by my own standards, I've spent a lot of time at plant nurseries and garden centers over the past couple of months.  This weekend, a friend and I made our previously delayed trip up north to Carpinteria to shop 2 of our favorite nurseries there, Island View and Seaside Gardens.  I posted on both back in early April so I won't cover either one in any great detail in this post.  (You can find coverage of the earlier visit here.)

Both nurseries had lots and lots of rusty metal stuff for sale, of which the following are just a small sample.

Island View Nursery is still emphasizing succulents and indoor plants.  They had some beautiful bromeliads but they were pricey.

However, the prices on the smaller succulents were good by local standards.  The 4-inch pots were priced at $3.25 each and the 2-inch pots were $1.50 each.  They had a good selection, although nothing really unusual.

I picked up 3 ferns and a few succulents.

My Island View purchases, 3 mother ferns (Alpenium bulbiferum) and assorted unlabeled succulents

At Seaside Gardens, I took a look around the demonstration gardens before making any plant purchase decisions.  Whereas California poppies and flowering succulents made the biggest statements at the time of our April visit, on this occasion grasses, Salvias, Tagetes lemmonii and Leucadendron dominated the landscape.

Salvia 'Purple Magesty'  (unfortunately unavailable for purchase)

Tagetes lemmonii (aka Copper Canyon daisy)

Here's what I took home from Seaside this trip:

Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' (available in a 1-gallon size!), Phormium 'Tiny Tiger', Dampiera trigona 'Purple Wire', Sollya heterophylla (an Australian native I grew years ago and have rarely seen since) and a solar gazing ball (it was 1/2 price)

I also stopped back at the Marina Del Rey Garden Center on my way home from my friend's house to pick up some more Alternanthera tenella I wasn't able to find elsewhere plus some other items I felt I "needed."

Alternanthera tenella 'Crinkle Red', Salvia 'Wendy's Wish', and assorted unlabeled succulents

And I haven't even mentioned the side trip I took to Roger's Gardens on my way to another appointment last week, or my trip to Armstrong to pick up general supplies.  The good news is that I'm reaching critical mass in my backyard border, the new side yard area, and my dry garden.  However, I haven't done much of anything with the front border, the vegetable garden, the garden beds on the other side of the house, the slope...

Favorite plant of the week: Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey'

It surprises me that I haven't featured Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' as my favorite plant of the week since I began participating in the meme sponsored by Loree of danger garden.  I now have this shrub in 3 separate beds in my garden.  I found that I've featured it in no fewer than 5 foliage follow-up posts.  Most recently, in responding to a query presented by Hoover Boo of Piece of Eden, I identified it as my best new plant of 2013.  So why hasn't it shuffled to the top of the deck when it came to identifying a favorite plant?  Maybe it's that it isn't a plant that jumps up and demands to be noticed.  It doesn't flower.  It's growth is steady but not dramatic.  It's relatively short in stature.  However, it's undeniably a beautiful foliage plant.

New leaves are a yellow green color and older leaves are a wonderful burgundy.

The bright leaf color dominates in this young plant

Darker burgundy colors becomes more evident as the plant matures

I think it looks particularly good surrounded by plants with uniformly bright green foliage.

Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' accompanied by an aggressive peppermint pelargonium

Back side of same Coprosma

This Coprosma (aka mirror plant) was introduced by a New Zealand grower.  I initially picked it up because I was amused by its name but the variety is correctly identified as 'Plum HussEy,' not 'Plum Hussy.'  Still, it's a compact shrub that struts her stuff, albeit in a somewhat subtle fashion.

It develops the strongest burgundy color in full sun and it's hardy to 15 degrees (Fahrenheit).  Most sources say it grows to be 2-3 feet tall and wide (or 1.2 x 1.2m), although, in my dry garden (where it was largely ignored for several months), it grew taller but skinnier.  It responds well to tip pruning to promote outward growth and it's reportedly wind and salt tolerant.

Please go to Loree's danger garden to view her favorite plant of the week and to link to other gardeners' selections.

Fall Foliage Envy

I've been enviously admiring all the wonderful fall foliage photos posted by other bloggers over the past month.  The color changes that accompany colder weather and shorter daylight hours in northern areas aren't as prevalent in southern California.  However, as I sat on a stationary bike running through my morning exercise routine earlier this week, a mirror in the room caught the reflection of colored leaves outside.  I'd almost forgotten that, in addition to colorful fruit, the persimmon trees on the northwest side of the house produced rather pretty fall foliage.

This is Persimmon 'Fuyu':

The leaves on Persimmon 'Hachiya' are running a little behind 'Fuyu' but the color changes are just as pretty.

The foliage on our Japanese maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku') is rapidly turning from yellow to brown.

The ornamental pear (Pyrus calleryana) is just beginning to take on some color but there's little in the way of leaf drop yet.

The toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is also producing masses of bright red berries, another hallmark of fall here.  This tall evergreen shrub, also known as California holly, was designated as the official plant of Los Angeles last year.  Yes, Los Angeles has its own official plant (as you can read about here).  We lost one toyon as collateral damage when the Eucalyptus tree was removed from the side yard earlier this year but there's another very tall specimen at the border of our property.

I also found some small-scale color changes:

'Bountiful Blue' blueberry

The color change on this Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' may be due to transplant shock rather than a seasonal change but it's pretty nonetheless

Trachelospermum jasminoides

This is fall, southern California style.

Project completed (almost)

My husband and I finally completed the last leg of the flagstone pathway in the side yard this weekend.  He's been busy with a project of his own for the last month but, with that behind him, I was finally able to get his help picking up and laying the additional stone.  To be honest, he did most of the work with the stone.  That rock is heavy!  (And I apparently could use some weight training.)

Stone before "we" dug it into place

When the stone was laid, I began filling in the empty spaces on either side.  Here's what went in this weekend:

• 2 flats of Thymus serpyllum (minus thyme)
• 3 Sisyrinchium bellum 'Rocky Point' (dwarf blue-eyed grass)
• 2 6-packs of Koelaria glauca "Coolio' (blue hair grass)
• Another 6-pack of Papaver nudicaule 'Champagne Bubbles' (Iceland poppy)
• 3 Osteospermum ecklonis '3D Silver'
• 1 6-pack of Armeria maritima 'Nifty Thrifty' (a variegated thrift)

Most of the plants went into the area on the right side of the path.

The new plants, with the exception of the Iceland poppies, were added to the plants installed during an earlier planting frenzy

There are still a few holes to fill here and there on either side of the new path but I probably won't get to that for another week or more.  My hope is that, by spring, the area will look much fuller.

Newly planted area photographed from the front lawn

Photo from the side yard patio

Photo from the backyard lawn

So what so preoccupied my husband that he didn't have time to help with the stone pathway?  He was preparing his beloved electric car for transport to a new owner, our nephew in Washington state.  Those who know my husband also know how important this car was to him.  It was a gas-powered Mazda RX-7, originally owned by my father-in-law, which my husband converted to an all-electric vehicle a little over 20 years ago, doing all the work himself.  The conversion involved, among other things, installation of a new electric engine and 18 batteries.  He replaced all 18 batteries before sending it off to our nephew by truck.  It arrived in Washington this weekend and should be in the hands of its new owner today.  We hope he'll enjoy it as much as my husband did.

The electric car's last ride in California, on its way to the transport truck

Wide Shots: November 2013

I'm participating in Heather's meme at Xericstyle featuring wide shots of the garden on the first day of each month.  This month, I've got pictures of the backyard border, the side yard, and the front yard.  All the photos were taken in the early morning, which means that some were shot into the sun, while others show areas still in shade.

The back border, which I've shown in my previous wide shot posts, is first up.  I've pulled some plants, moved others, and introduced some new selections since last month but there are still some empty spots to fill, as well as other moves to make.

View from the backyard doorway

Side view of the back border from the left side with the plants in the very bright morning light

Back border photographed from the right side

Next up is the side yard, which I've been working on since we finished tearing out the lawn in that area in early September.  We still have to lay some more stone to create a pathway across the area.

View from front lawn area

View from small side yard patio

View from backyard lawn

This month I've also included a photo of the front beds.  I'm afraid there's not much to see there as I recently cut back most of what is in those beds but here you are.

Front yard, still in shade

For Heather's own wide shot, please visit Xericstyle by clicking here.  You'll also find other gardeners' wide views.