Birthday Shopping

I celebrated my birthday last week.  Two of my friends, who know my vices well, each took me plant shopping to celebrate.  And another friend gave me a gift card to help with the damages.

The first outing took me to OC Succulents with a brief side trip to Roger's Gardens.  I've written about both nurseries before (most extensively here and here) but I took very few pictures on this occasion as I was too busy making selections.  However, I did take a couple of shots of the back of my friend's SUV as the two of us struggled to fit the last of our purchases into her trunk before heading home.  Please note that only about 30% of the contents were mine!

The bright green Agave impressa and the burgundy Aeoniums - and a "few" other things - are mine

I'd only just begun to plant my first set of purchases when, 2 days later, my other friend took me to Laguna Nursery in the heart of Laguna Beach, an artist community located in Orange County.  This nursery is less than 10 miles south of Roger's Garden but neither my friend nor I had ever been there.  We were both surprised by what we found.  It's a difficult place to characterize.  The words eccentric, eclectic, funky, imaginative, and even claustrophobic come to mind.  Perhaps you can provide your own description upon viewing the photos I took, although I don't know if these even begin to capture the feel of the place.

Here's some of what greeted us when we pulled into the parking lot.

In the back of an adjacent parking lot for the Surf & Sand Resort, we found bedding plants, garden furniture and more garden sculptures.

We entered the main portion of the nursery from the alleyway.

The inside premises were jam-packed with fanciful items arranged without any logical pattern that I could discern.  The eye was torn from one thing to another.  The aisles were narrow and there was little space between objects, all of which vied for attention.

While the rooms felt somewhat claustrophobic to me, the feel of the place was lightened by bird song.  Birds occupied cages throughout the interior space.  I stopped counting them after a while but there must have been more than a dozen large cages occupied by varies types of birds, including Lovebirds, Budgies, Cockatiels and Parakeets.

These 2 were named Mork & Mindy

Notices like this, containing the birds's names and descriptions, were placed alongside each cage

The four lovebirds, Peachy & Moe and Sammy & Elberta

The interior was organized around a central stairway, which stepped down to align with the street fronting the coastal highway.

Stairway from the top level, looking down

Stairway viewed from the opposite direction

Gargoyles sitting atop one of the exits

I chose a more friendly exit than the one shown above to enter the outdoor garden area facing the highway.  Outside, I found more sculpture and lots of fountains of different types.

This sculpture was inspired by the lady featured in Seurat's painting, "Sunday in the Park on the Island of LeGrand Jatte"

One of the most impressive (and expensive) fountains

A bubbling bathtub fountain

Narrow path through a selection of perennial plants

Another fountain, this one surrounded by succulents

This side path leads back to what I believe is the nursery's office area

There were plants scattered throughout the grounds, inside and outside, but I found it difficult to focus on them when so much else sought to catch one's eye.

Further proof that Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame' can be found in every nursery in Southern California

Small pots of succulents

Is this an Acalypha?  In retrospect, this is one plant I wish I'd taken home

Going back inside, my friend and I explored the various rooms off the main stairway.  My favorite was what I thought of as the "forest room," although it defies any precise description.

On the other side of the central walkway was a room with an eastern feel.

There were fountains and sculptures of different types throughout the interior space as well, all of which were expensive.  My favorite sculpture was one of 3 intertwined young women, along the lines of the 3 graces.

I didn't even bother looking for a pricetag

There were also items that defied classification, like this one.

A restored ferris wheel seat (available for $9400)

We even took a peek at a design studio sitting next to the parking lot, which may or may not have been directly associated with the nursery.

The studio had a nice landscape of massed succulents

I loved this table

In the end, my friend and I left with our cameras full of pictures but out pocketbooks intact.  I think we were too overwhelmed by the experience to purchase anything.  We had a leisurely lunch and then headed to Roger's Garden.  There, my friend bought one plant and I, true to form, bought more than a dozen.  I'll feature some of my recent purchases in a future post but I expect you, my dear reader, have had enough of my birthday shopping expeditions at this point.

In a Vase on Monday: Rinse, Recycle & Reuse

The conservation mantra is "reduce, reuse, recycle."  I didn't plan to invoke that mantra, or a version of it, when I began preparing this week's floral bouquet.  I'd been admiring a lovely foxglove, Digitalis x mertonensis, in my garden for the last 2 weeks and decided to make it the centerpiece of my next floral construction.  What didn't factor into my plan was that my pretty Digitalis blooms would come covered in aphids.  I spent more than 20 minutes rinsing the 2 foxglove stems I'd cut.  Those nasty bugs were in every nook and cranny but I just couldn't bring myself to toss the stems out as the flowers themselves appeared unaffected by the unwelcome encampment.

I'd already cut a lily and feverfew to accompany the Digitalis in the vase.  But, having spent so much time carefully rinsing each tubular flower of the foxglove, I ran out of time for additional fussing.  As the stems of Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' I used in last week's composition were still in perfect condition, I decided to recycle those by using them as this week's foliage accent too.  I think they actually look better this week than they did when I photographed last week's bouquet - the stems opened up some during the course of last week.  Do you ever recycle materials cut for one arrangement for use in another?

I also reused last week's glass vase as its yellow color fit the mix better than the other vases in my collection.  The vase contains:

• Digitalis x mertonensis 'Polka Dot Pippa'
• Lily, an unscented, unknown variety received as a gift with purchase
• Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'
• Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'

This bouquet is my contribution to the collection assembled by our host, Cathy, at Rambling in the Garden.   Click here to see her creation and to find links to bouquets constructed by other gardeners this week.

Wide Shots - June 2014

I've been running around a bit the last few days, which left me relatively little time during daylight hours to photograph my garden, much less the opportunity to pick times when the light shows it to its best advantage.  Still, these monthly wide shots, undertaken in connection with the meme sponsored by Heather at Xericstyle, have proven to be a useful exercise to track the evolution of my garden over the course of the year so I'm posting the pictures available to me, starting, as usual, with the backyard.

The border created early this year as an extension of the small bed that originally encircled the fountain is filling in nicely.  The unidentified red-orange daylilies I inherited with the house are blooming in earnest now throughout the backyard, as are the Agapanthus.

View from back door

View from backyard patio looking southeast

View from the flagstone path in the side yard, looking back toward the backyard patio

The borders on the southeast side of the house took our May heatwaves particularly hard.  I've added lots of mulch to protect the beds during the coming summer onslaught.  I've also cut back or taken out most of the plants that died or were fried beyond recognition.  Although the beginning of summer is certainly not the best time to plant anything here, I've purchased a few heat and drought resistant replacements to fill the holes but I've yet to get them in the ground.  The Zinnia seeds I planted in April have germinated but the seedlings are still too small to register in these photos.

View through the side yard arbor, looking toward the smoggy harbor view

View of the southeast side garden from the small patio on that side of the house

View of the side yard from the back lawn, looking back toward the arbor

The front borders also took a battering from the heat.  The lawn has turned to straw, which generally doesn't happen until late summer.  It may come back when (if?) the rains return this fall but I'm sufficiently demoralized by its current appearance to be seriously considering pulling it out altogether.

The sunflower and corn seeds I planted a month or so ago are coming along in the vegetable garden.   After pulling out the sweet peas that fried in the early May heat, I recently planted the empty raised planter with more corn seeds, as well as pole bean seeds and some basil.

Despite the heat and limited irrigation, the dry garden is holding its own.

View of the dry garden from the start of the gravel path leading to the back slope

That's it for my wide shots this month.  Please visit Heather's site to see her post this month and to find links to the posts of other participating gardeners.

My favorite plant this week: Cotula 'Tiffendell Gold'

For the last month or more, every time I sit on the living room couch and look out the window, I've seen a mass of bright yellow in the backyard border.  Much of this comes from Achillea 'Moonshine' but recently Cotula 'Tiffendell Gold' has added an echo at the edge of the border.

Cotula 'Tiffendell Gold' is in the foreground

Attracted by the foliage, I put in 3 of these plants, also called "Martian Moondrops," last summer. Rhizomes spread 12 inches (30 cm) or more to form an evergreen, gray-green ground covering mat less than 3 inches (7.6 cm) tall.  Pretty as the foliage is, the yellow button flowers that sit atop wiry stems averaging 5 inches (12.7 cm) tall add a nice quirky element to the mix.  Regular dead-heading extends the bloom period.

While the flowers of 'Tiffendell Gold' are about half and inch (1.27 cm) in diameter, I have another variety, Cotula lineariloba 'Big Yellow Moon,' that produces flowers an inch (2.54 cm) in size.  The foliage of this plant is similar but its spread is said to be far greater.  Reportedly, it can grow up to 3 feet (.91 m) wide.  Mine spread rapidly since it was planted early this year, although it has developed a hole at its center along the way.

Cotula lineariloba 'Big Yellow Moon' has larger flowers and a broader spread but requires more water

Both plants will grow in full sun to partial shade but on-line sources suggest that 'Tiffendell Gold' is more cold hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as -20F (-28.8C), as well as drought tolerant.  Cotula 'Tiffendell Gold' is my favorite plant this week and my contribution to the meme sponsored by Loree at danger garden.  You can see Loree's favorite and find links to other gardeners' selection by clicking here.