Neighborhood Stroll II

Last March, just as spring was getting its start in southern California, I took a picture-taking stroll around our neighborhood, which is essentially a large circle comprised of 50+ homes.  Because of a bad knee, I don't walk the neighborhood regularly as I did when we first moved here so I generally see just that portion of the neighborhood that leads from the main thoroughfare to our door.  As the sun was shining after a welcome rain on Saturday, I thought I'd make another tour with my camera in hand.

The degree of curb appeal varies quite a bit from house to house.  Many homes are blocked from view by hedges and others are set back from the road with only driveway entrances in view or situated along private "spur roads" off of our road.  In contrast to last March, there weren't a lot of blooms to see at this time of year.

Bougainvillea and Copper Canyon Daisy (Tagetes lemmonii) make the biggest color splash in this sloped front border

A beautiful Arctotis that I think needs to find a place in my garden

Aloe, Lion's Tail (Leonotis leanurus) and Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia) add color to the succulents in this border

This aloe was growing in what appears to be almost full shade

Strelizia sited among Agapanthus, palms and ivy

My guess is that this is some variety of Cassia or Senna

Close-up of flower

There were a lot of berries on display, mostly Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), which I recently learned has been designated the official plant of the City of Los Angeles.

And, even though southern California doesn't produce much in the way of fall foliage color, there was some.

Maples directly across the street from our house

This red maple, sited among green foliaged plants, immediately grabbed my attention and led me to think I need to find a place for another one in my garden to add fall interest

Of course, massive succulents are more prominent than trees in some front yards here.  I think I skipped this one in my earlier post.

Cactus (Euphorbia?), Agave attenuata, Yucca gigantea, palms and ivy made up this front yard

As was the case in March, the most impressive front yard was that of an accomplished gardener several houses away from me.  She terraced her sloped front yard after she and her husband moved in 10+ years ago.  It's densely planted and there's always something in bloom.

Orange, exemplified by Leonotis leonurus here, is the most prominent color in her garden right now.  The huge red/orange Leucospermum (shown in the upper middle of this photo) isn't blooming yet.

Narcissus is already blooming near the front of the border, here under a huge Salvia clevelandii I didn't get a good photo of

There are 2 more houses for sale, including this one, which I'd featured in my March post.  It was sold to a flipper in April and put back on the market for almost twice its original purchase price in late October.  No takers yet.

The other house that was for sale at the time of my March post was purchased.  Sadly, the attractive front garden tended by the prior elderly owner has been pulled out and, so far, left nearly bare.

There were some beautiful rose bushes and Pelargonium here prior to the sale

The construction that was in progress at the other end of the neighborhood is still going on and, frankly, I don't see that a lot has changed since March, at least on the outside.

There are also signs of work starting at another house down the block.

And the empty double lot is still very empty.

There weren't a lot of holiday decorations up yet.

I was told that neighbors refer to this front yard as "the park"

I'll leave you with a picture from the back of my neighbor's house across the street that shows something of the elevation changes in the area.

Walking with Ming

Ming is the older of my 2 cats and, for some time now, he's been in ill health.  He's got a host of long-term medical issues but, within the last few months, I've had to confront the possibility that, even though he's just 12 years old, I'm likely to lose him sooner rather than later.  I'll spare you the details of his medical problems.  Suffice it to say, my current focus is on doing what I can to give him as much quality time as possible and providing him enjoyment for whatever time he has left.

He's been an indoor cat all his life but, every once in awhile, he manages to escape through a door that isn't closed quite tightly enough.  Those brief adventures are clearly something he revels.  However, letting him roam about on his own would be risky - he has absolutely no street smarts and drivers in our neighborhood aren't particularly careful.  We also have a serious coyote problem and their hunting activity is no longer only a nocturnal pursuit.   I've tried putting him on a leash/harness but this causes him to panic.  So I recently began taking him for supervised walks around our property without a leash.  Perhaps because he's now so frail, he's less inclined to run off on his own so this is working fairly well.

Our daily walks also give me a cat's eye view of my garden, allowing me to catch details I might otherwise miss.  I thought I'd share one of our recent walks with you in pictures.

Ming leaves his screened porch off the house

"Come on, what's holding you up?"

Iceland poppy blooming in the bed off the side yard patio

Moving on into the backyard

Ming isn't impressed by Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt"

But I am - of my 4 'Cousin Itt,' this one in a pot appears to be the happiest

"Are you taking pictures again?'

Nothing in the back patio interests Ming today and he heads back to the side yard

"Now what's holding you up?"

Pipig's sleeping peacefully inside the house - she lacks Ming's appetite for adventure

Ming takes a short cut into the area behind the shrub border along the street 

He ignored the Brugmansia I planted a few months ago - it has some ragged leaves but it's grown a lot

He was unconcerned by the fact that the neighbor's shrub has seeded all over

But the woodpile held endless fascination

I was surprised to find that an orchid (no ID) I generally ignore had bloomed - the mother of one of my husband's colleagues brought this home from China

Ming struts down the narrow pathway between 2 shrub borders running parallel to the street, now covered in moss 

We discover that something has gotten to the pumpkin arrangement along the driveway

Ming stops at the front door, probably wondering why it's closed

He's more interested by leaf debris than anything in the front border

He ignored the latest bloom produced by Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem'

He wasn't particularly interested in Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' either

However, I was impressed to see that it's already developing cones

He really likes the Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' growing along the garage in the vegetable garden area

But he ignored the fuchsias

He checked out the raised vegetable beds, this one planted with herbs

But, surprisingly, he ignored the flock of small birds (Lesser Goldfinch maybe?) perched in the now-bare Persimmon tree

"Why is the garden gate closed?"

Fallen leaves are the most interesting thing in the dry garden (and mom won't let him scuttle down the slope beyond like he's done before because she can't keep up without risking a fall)

Time to head back to the backyard

"Now that I'm out, I want back in"

After ousting Pipig from her basket, Ming took a brief nap to rest up until his lunch was ready.

These days, the only thing he likes better than a walk is to eat.  If only he could put back on some of the weight he's lost...

My favorite plant this week: Grevillea 'Superb'

There aren't too many plants in bloom in my garden right now.  The one with the most impressive blooms is a relatively new introduction, Grevillea 'Superb.'  I fell in love with it on a nursery tour with a friend in mid-October but I passed it by as I had no idea whatsoever where I could put it.  It likes full sun and limited water.  The best area for it would have been my dry garden but the sunniest areas there were already taken.  Unable to give it up, I ended up moving a few plants in a smallish bed tucked into a corner of the front yard to create room for it.  I picked one up at Roger's Garden on the way to an appointment in early November.  At this time of year its new bed gets somewhat less than the ideal full day's sun but the exposure should be fine during the longer days of spring and summer.  In its current placement, it's backed by 3 Nandina domestica, which unfortunately don't show it up to its maximum advantage but, for now at least, it has to do.

 




It has been in the ground about a month now and seems happy enough so far.  The shrub itself is attractive but the coral pink blooms are magnificent.

The tight bud clusters open slowly

Unfurling from the bottom

Into their full glory

I have 2 other varieties of Grevillea and, although they bloom heavily, the flowers are relatively small.  At maturity, the blooms on G. 'Superb' are about 5 inches long.

Grevillea 'Superb' grows 3-5 feet (1-2 meters) tall and wide.  It hails from eastern Australia and was even featured on a 50 cent Australian stamp in 2003.  In its October 2011 edition, Pacific Horticulture magazine included it as one of the best Grevillea for southern California.  Depending upon what source you refer to, it's described as hardy to 20 or 25F (-4C).  It's drought tolerant and attracts hummingbirds and, reportedly, orioles.

This is my contribution to Loree's favorite plant meme at danger garden.  Please visit her blog to see her favorite this week and link of other gardeners' favorite selections.