Wide Shots - December 2013

A few months ago, Heather of Xericstyle launched a new meme to capture wide views of her garden and the gardens of other contributors.  Like many gardeners, I tend to focus on individual plants or isolated combinations of plants when photographing my garden so participation in Heather's monthly post gives me an opportunity to literally pull back and take the broader view into consideration.

Although I continued to tweak my back border in November, I'm not sure it looks markedly different than last month.  There's certainly less in bloom than there was in spring and summer but there are still some touches of floral color even now.  Frost is rare in our area and, although the nighttime temperatures are dipping lower, our daytime temperatures have continued in the low 70s, only occasionally dropping into the mid-60s.

View of border from backyard door

View of backyard border from new side yard pathway

Border from right side end

View from left side end

I also continued work on the "new" side yard garden in November, filling in some of the remaining holes.  Other than adding some additional thyme between stepping stones, I think I'm done futzing with it for the time being.  I'm hoping our winter rains and time will help the plants fill in.

View of side yard from front lawn area

View from side yard patio

View from back lawn area

View from narrow pathway behind the backyard border across the lawn to the side yard

There's very little color in the front border at the moment.  I cut most everything back, with the exception of the shrub roses, in late October and early November.  I've recently added a few annuals but they haven't swung into bloom yet.  The reblooming Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' put out individual blooms now and then but their fall display is no match for their spring fanfare.

View from the patch of lawn bordering the street toward the house

Left side of the front border

Right side of the front border

This month I thought I'd also add shots of my dry garden on the northeast side of the house.  I haven't made any massive changes to this area in the last few months but I've made minor tweaks here and there, removing a few plants to make room for others.  With the exception of the 2 guava trees, this area was mainly dirt and rocks when we moved in nearly 3 years ago.

The pathway through the dry garden leads to a rough stairway down the slope at the back of the lot

The dry garden photographed from a small patio area on the northeast side of the house

Dry garden photographed from the stairs leading down the slope

I'll leave you with a few shots of the view of the horizon from the backyard.

Cruise ship in port in the LA harbor Saturday afternoon

An uncharacteristically clear view of the mountains to the east with a nearby neighbor's flagpole, decorated with Christmas lights, in the foreground

A night view of the neighbor's flagpole Christmas tree in lights, 20 or more feet tall, visible from my home office

How's your garden looking in the wide view?  Visit Heather at Xericstyle for other wide views.

The Beginning of Winter in Southern California

For me, the winter season starts with Thanksgiving.  This is probably because year-end holiday preparations crank up in earnest at this time.  It certainly has little to do with the weather here in southern California or the seasonal demarcations on the calendar.  Although the days are shorter and the nights are colder, we don't get the freezes that signify the onset of winter elsewhere and our days are still relatively warm.  It was in the mid-70s today, perfect for running pre-Thanksgiving errands and doing a little gardening.

November also usually brings the start of our short rainy season.  While we got some drizzle in October, those events barely registered on the rain meter.  We got our first "real" rain last week, three quarters of an inch according to my rain meter.  That was enough to justify turning off the automatic irrigation system, at least temporarily.  It filled my rain barrel too.

Rain flowing down the rain chain outside the dining room window

I caught an unexpected rainbow over the LA harbor at the end of last week's rain

 


Another rain event was predicted for Thanksgiving but, unfortunately, that forecast has been rescinded.   I fear we may be in for another dry year.

To put myself in a winter mood in spite of warm dry afternoon, I constructed 2 winter-themed pots to stand immediately outside the front door.   I can't say that the idea was original - I copied winter scenes created in containers by the staff at Roger's Garden.  I even picked up my "trees" there on my brief visit last weekend.

Here's Roger's creation:

And here are mine:

Pot #1, planted with 'Goodwin Creek' lavender, white cyclamen, Cuphea 'Itsy White', Alyssum 'Snow Crystals', and Senecio cineraria 'Silverdust' (Dusty Miller)

Pot #2 with the same plants

I even gussied up my gargoyle for the winter season with a collection of Magnolia leaves and seedpods gathered from the front lawn:

The gargoyle will get a red satin ribbon around his neck when Christmas gets close and a gnome (or 2) may appear with the pine boughs but, for now, this is it for my winter decorations, unless you count the Christmas cactus I found in full flower in a neglected area of my garden today - it's now on the side patio where it can be properly admired.

Schlumbergera x buckleyi (aka Christmas Cactus)

Best wishes to all for a happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you enjoy the start of the winter season, no matter how winter is served up in your area.

Succulents Galore!

A friend and I made a trip to OC Succulents in Irvine, California this weekend.  We'd been there once before, about a year ago.  It's a schlep but worth the effort as the variety and price of the succulents in stock can't be matched elsewhere in our area.  They're also very good about labeling their stock, which can't be said for most nurseries that sell succulents, at least in my experience.

The following pictures provide a sense of what you see when you step out of your car.

There are planted pots.

Sadly, these weren't exactly bargain priced

And empty pots.

A wide assortment of varieties in 6 and 8 inch pots sit under a net canopy.

Example of their helpful signs (Note: the 6 inch pots were $6.40, not $640)

Even the prices on some of the larger plants were reasonable.

These Agave 'Quadricolor' were $28

And the Yucca gloriosa were $24

Inside the store to the back, constructed of what appear to be old Quonset huts, there were smaller (mostly unlabeled) succulents, houseplants, decorative pots and baskets.

Although my friend was the primary instigator behind this particular trip, I did have one planned purchase in mind.  I sought - and found - 3 reasonably priced Agave attenuata for my slope.

Agave attenuata, also know as Fox Tail Agave, has soft leaves - I didn't want anything with sharp spikes on the slope where falls are possible

What I didn't plan on were these purchases.

From the top, Graptoveria 'Fred Ives,' 2 Echeveria 'Ruffles', and 2 Aloe aristata on either side of an unlabeled 4-inch plant

I fell hard for this unlabeled succulent, some form of Crassula I think (maybe C dubia), for $2.90!

I also picked up the makings of one Christmas present but I'm not going to spoil the surprise for the intended recipient and show that here.

As I was checking out, the salesperson asked me if I was buying on behalf of a company.  Apparently, they discount wholesale purchases.  Given my current rate of spending, maybe I need a wholesale license...

All in all, it was a productive trip.  We even snuck in a brief stop at Roger's Gardens on our way home.  I really do need to stop shopping for anything other than holiday gifts, however...

Botanical Doppelgängers

I've heard it said that everyone has a doppelgänger, a virtual double who may be mistaken for the original.  In fact, a couple of weeks ago, as I was flying through the supermarket, a guy I didn't recognize called to me.  I thought he'd addressed me by name so I stopped.  When I greeted him with a hello and a confused look, he introduced himself as Bob Someone, my former neighbor in San Pedro.  But I've never lived in San Pedro.  I subsequently learned that he'd called me "Pris," not Kris - the name similarity had contributed to my confusion, if not to his.  In any case, he claimed that I have a near double somewhere here in the South Bay.

The existence of botanical doppelgängers was raised by readers of my recent blog post on Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum.'  I posted a picture of this:

Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum' in my back garden

And a few people commented that they initially mistook it as variegated Euphorbia like this:

Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' in a pot on my back patio

The foliage form and coloration is similar.  Clearly, these are the elements that drew me to both plants.

I started to wonder if I had other doppelgängers in my garden.  Discounting plants in the same genus, the only other pair that came remotely close were Arthropodium cirratum and Beschorneria yuccoides.  The former is also known as Renga Lily while the latter is commonly known as Mexican Lily.  My Beschorneria is still a relatively young plant but the similarities are more apparent when the Arthropodium is compared to a more mature Beschorneria.

Mature Arthropodium cirratum in the border on the southeast side border

Relatively new Beschorneria yuccoides in the dry garden

Wikipedia's image of mature Beschorneria yuccoides

Do you have any doppelgängers lurking in your garden?

Favorite plant of the week: Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum'

I'm once again joining Loree of danger garden in sharing my favorite plant of the week.  This one isn't remotely exotic or unusual.  However, it is a good, reliable performer in my garden.  It's Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum,' a variegated form of the common wallflower.  I value it because it's resilient and attractive in and out of flower.  At present, it's not flowering but the leaves shine bright, even on the gray mornings that have greeted us for the last few days.

I have 4 of these plants circling the square fountain in our backyard.  All but one are doing well there with just a little judicious pruning following bloom cycles.  The fourth stands between our raccoon visitors and their preferred path to the fountain, where they regularly snatch sea shells from the top tier.  I recently added repellent around the base of the plant in an effort (probably hopeless) to keep the raccoons at bay.

Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum' planted at the base of the fountain

Erysimum on the other side of the fountain bordered by scraggly Cuphea hyssopifolia

This Erysimum has faced frequent raccoon stompings

There are 3 more Erysimum in the back border.  They're not quite as full as those surrounding the fountain right now but they also get somewhat less water and attention.

None are flowering at the moment but they do produce small lavender/mauve flowers, as shown in the picture below taken last winter.

Erysimum liniformium 'Variegatum' photographed in flower in early February

Erysimum grows in full sun or light shade.  This variety is hardy in USDA zones 3a-9b (Sunset zones 4-6 and 14-24) and grows to 2 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide with moderate water.

To see Loree's favorite of the week and connect to other gardeners' favorites, click here to visit danger garden.

Fragile Fall Bouquet

Senna (Cassia) bicapularis 'Worley's Butter Cream' is still putting on a flower show in my garden. When I wrote about the plant at the end of October, most of the flowers were still buds but now they're open and the plant shines like a beacon along the fence.   I figured that I could snip some for a bouquet without making a dent in the display.

I did my usual walk-about through the garden to find proper accompaniments for the soft yellow blooms.  This is what I came up with:

Back view

And this is what I included:

• Senna bicapsularis, 2 stems (3 was overkill)
• Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Comet'
• Leucanthemum x superbum
• Nandina foliage
• Pennistetum setaceum 'Rubrum' plumes
• Rosa 'Buttercream'
• Russelia equisetiformis 'Yellow'

I referred to this bouquet as fragile because of the mess that resulted during its creation.  The Senna flowers fall apart easily and left tiny petals all over the kitchen counter and floor.  However, once complete, it seems to be holding up fine.  In fact, I think it looks better 2 days after it was created.