Bloom Day - May 2015

It's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and it's been a surprisingly wet month here in Southern California.  Our rainy season generally runs from November through March.  We don't expect rain in May and, given that we're in the fourth year of a serious drought, the 2 storms we've had this month have been more than welcome.  They did make picture-taking a little more difficult, however.

Heatwaves in March and early May took a toll on my garden.  Spring flowers are quickly giving way to those we traditionally associate with summer.  The following flowers are making the biggest splash (excuse the pun - the rain makes me giddy!):

Agapanthus are blooming throughout the garden

Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lily) is giving the Agapanthus a run for its money in terms of the sheer volume of blooms

Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain' is putting on a show in the front borders

Hemerocallis are blooming here and there throughout the garden (clockwise from upper left: H. 'Blythe Belle', H. 'For Pete's Sake', H. 'Indian Giver' and H. 'Spanish Harlem'

The Pelargoniums are continuing to make a strong showing

Flowers can be found in a range of colors:

White flowers include (clockwise from the upper left): Globularia x indubia, Abelia x grandiflora, the last few flowers of Carpenteria californica, the first flowers of Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo White', Leucanthemum superbum, and Osteospermum fruitcosum, encouraged to rebloom by the return of cooler temperatures

Yellow flowers include (clockwise from upper left): Argyranthemum 'Butterfly', Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' (shown with Osteospermum 'Zion Copper Amethyst'), Gaillardia aristata 'Gallo Peach', Gazania 'White Flame' (which looks more yellow than white at the moment), G. 'Golden Flame', Leucadendron 'Pisa', Sedum 'Lemon Ball', and Senecio cineraria (aka Dusty Miller and now classified as Jacobaea maritima)

Orange flowers include (clockwise from upper left): Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', Bignonia capreolata, Cuphea 'Stybring Sunset', Dahlia 'XXL Hidalgo', and Leonotis leonurus

Pink and red flowers include:
Top row - Arbutus 'Marina', Arctotis 'Pink Sugar', and Centranthus ruber
Middle row - Cistus 'Sunset', Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' and Fuchsia 'Swingtime'
Bottom row - Gallardia x grandiflora 'Goblin', Grevillea 'Superb' and buds of a no ID Hoya

Blue and purple flowers include (clockwise from the upper left): Senecio stellata (probably actually Pericallis), Aquilegia 'Spring Magic', Aster frikartii 'Monch', Delosperma (no ID), Duranta repens (no ID), Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly', prostrate rosemary, and Salvia 'Amistad' with Solanum xanti

Even a couple of my houseplants are blooming:

Hoya multiflora and Miltassia shelob (Note: Those droplets on the Hoya's leaves are a sticky sap produced by the flowers, not water)

There are some wonderful combinations of flowers too:

The gate between the vegetable garden and the dry garden is covered by a white trumpet vine (probably Pandorea jasminoides 'Alba') and Trachelospermum jasminoides with dark pink Pelargonium peltatum climbing up the left side

In the dry garden, lavender Lantana mixes with pink Oenothera speciosa and purple Limonium perezii

This jumble in a corner of the front garden includes Grevillea 'Superb', Nandina domestica, Gaillardia 'Goblin', Salvia 'Mesa Azure' and Agapanthus

But the best sight to my eyes this Bloom Day is this one:

160-gallon tank filled by yesterday's first rain (The 50-gallon tank is also filled and the 265-gallon tank is about 2/3rds full but we're still getting light rain)

Have a wonderful Bloom Day and don't forget to check in with Carol, our Bloom Day hostess at May Dreams Gardens.

Rainbow over the Los Angeles harbor Thursday evening - if you look closely you can see a second rainbow to the left of the one in the center of the photo

All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

A friend and I visited Santa Barbara Botanic Garden last weekend (when I should have been spreading mulch).  Although I lived in Santa Barbara for almost 4 years as a college undergrad and have visited the area at intervals over the years, I haven't been to the Botanic Garden in quite awhile.  My last visit was sometime prior to the 2009 Jesusita Fire that damaged the garden and other portions of Santa Barbara County.  Six years after the fire, I was pleased to find the garden looking beautiful and busy with visitors.

One of the first things you see upon entering the garden is the incredible meadow, currently dominated by the bright orange blooms of California poppies.

Views of the meadow from different angles

Bright yellow lupines (top row) dotted the meadow and pink flowers (Clarkia unguiculata perhaps?) provided a punch next to the orange poppies here and there but my favorite flower was the Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri).  

Although we missed the peak period of spring bloom, there were still lots of flowers.

Most of the flowering plants weren't labeled but here are my best guesses:
Top row - Aesculus californica, Aquilegia desertorum, Eriogonum grande rubescens
Middle row - Eriogonum umbellatum, Heuchera 'Old La Rochette', Iris douglasiana
Bottom row - Isomeris arborea (which died suddenly after 2 years in my garden), Opuntia littoralis, Penstemon (no ID)

There were other plants of interest too:

Clockwise from top left: Agave shawii, Asarum caudatum, Yucca whipplei (almost in bloom!), and Dudleya (no ID)

We took a walk through the Redwood forest area.

There's nothing like a Redwood to put your place in the world in perspective

Although some people clearly need a reminder not to mess with the trees; however, on the good news page, the tree shown above was the only plant we saw carved up

Views from the forest area - doesn't that rock look as though he could speak?  (Or is that just me?)

We walked the canyon area and strolled through the woodland area following the stream.

Views along the stream, which was mostly dry

My favorite view in the garden

I loved these 2 seating areas too

We didn't spend any time sitting.  I spent a good amount of time in in the native plant nursery checking out the stock.  Despite my intention to avoid any further planting until fall, I left with 5 plants: 3 Erigeron 'Ron's Pink,' a Physocarpus capitatus, and a Vaccinium ovatum.  The Physocarpus was probably a mistake as our area may not have sufficient winter cold but my fingers are crossed it'll manage the zonal stretch.

With my rule against spring/summer planting broken, you can imagine how our stops at 3 nurseries on the way home went.  But that's a story for another post.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Crowding the Stage

In my area of Southern California, we're at the juncture between spring and summer.  It felt like summer 2 weeks ago but last week was blessedly cool and this week promises to be much the same.  There's even another chance of rain toward the end of the week.  Still, the unseasonable heat in March and again early this month sent many spring flowers into a speedy decline.  There were just a few Alstroemeria left in the garden so it seemed only right to select those for "In a Vase on Monday," the weekly feature hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden.  I'd never even featured my Aquilegia and they also appear on the way out, while the white Eustoma grandiflorum I planted last June is currently making a comeback.  Although there were many flowers clamoring for the spotlight this week, I did very little editing, squeezing everything together, hence the title of this post.

Back view

Here's what I included:

• Alstroemeria (no ID)
• Aquilegia hybrid 'Spring Magic'
• Cerinthe major (also reaching burn-out)
• Coriandrum savitum (rapidly going to seed)
• Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo White' (new on the scene)
• Hebe 'Wiri Blush'
• Heuchera maxima
• Limonium perezii
• Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet'
• Pelargonium peltatum (no ID)

The last of the Alstroemeria, shown with a stem of the ever-blooming Pelargonium peltatum and the fading coriander

The navy blue and white Aquilegia 'Spring Magic' deserved more attention that it received this year

Tucking the white Eustoma grandiflorum I planted last June from 6-packs in spots around the edges of my Agapanthus, where they were partially screened from last summer's heat, paid off - the white form looks far better this spring than the blue forms

Hebe 'Wiri Blush' just produced another flush of flowers

Heuchera maxima, a California native, is making a slow start in my garden but it has produced a few stems of flowers

Last week's tall vase featuring Arthropodium cirratum and Solanum xanti lasted the entire week but I retired it when I created today's vase.  The second of last week's vases, featuring Agapanthus, still looks pretty good.  It has moved to the dining table while the new vase sits in the entryway.  As Arthropodium and Agapanthus are currently making a big show in the garden, I expect you'll see more of them in coming weeks.

Last week's vase, relocated

This week's vase in the entryway

Visit Cathy to see what she and other gardeners have created from materials they have on hand this week.

All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

It's always something...

The good news this week is we got some rain!  Admittedly, it wasn't much.  According to Weather Underground, my area received 0.12 inches (3.05 mm) of rain early this morning.  But rain of any kind in May is reason to rejoice.  The sky remain gray much of the day but we got nothing more than a few sprinkles after daylight.

This morning's view of the cloud-covered Los Angeles harbor

Although we received relatively little rain, it was enough to fill my small, 50-gallon rain barrel.  Or it would have been, if the valve hadn't been turned partially in the "on" position, causing us to lose a good portion of what nature delivered.

The relocated rain barrel surrounded by soaked pavement

We recently emptied, cleaned and moved the barrel from it's former location attached to the gararge to its new location attached to the house.  Apparently the valve was left partially open.  The soaked pavement was the clue.  That problem was easily fixed.

We were pleased to see that our new, 160-gallon tank had collected approximately 25 gallons of water from what was very modest rainfall.

The tank has notches on the side to indicate how much water it holds 

But we noticed that the pavement was also soaked underneath that tank's valve.  After emptying a portion of the contents into our other barrel, we determined that the new tank, thankfully, wasn't cracked but the valve required tightening to prevent the precious rainwater from slowly dripping away.  Locating and correcting the problem took more than half an hour but at least we discovered it before we had a really significant rainstorm.

Our morning was capped with the delivery of the other rain tank we had on order.  We'd hoped to pick it up from the same warehouse our other tank came from but, as the result of confusion between me and the distributor, we found that the pick-up location for this tank was almost 100 miles away.  So we had to arrange freight delivery at (ouch!) extra cost.  Now, though, all "we"  (by which I mean my husband) have to do is install the thing behind our garage, which will give us a total of 475 gallons of rain storage capacity.

The delivery truck

Frankly, despite the cost, I'm just as glad we didn't have to haul this thing on the LA freeways in a pick-up truck

My husband's not sure the extra water storage is worth the cost but it gives me peace of mind that I'm doing what I can to take care of my garden during our drought.  Other measures include shortened showers, recovery of kitchen and shower water for reuse, use of washing machine graywater, and lots and lots of mulch to retain soil moisture.

This week's mulch delivery

Mulching will be in process throughout the weekend.  (A second delivery may be required.)  I hope you have a fun weekend in store!


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: Coming Together

I'm joining Anna at Flutter and Hum to present this vignette of plants from my front garden.  This particular area was planted between November last year and January this year as I collected the plants I was looking for.  The plants are far from mature but the look I was seeking is beginning to come together already.

Agave gentryi 'Jaws' is surrounded by 3 Cuphea 'Strybing Sunset' and backed by Abelia x grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' (a fraction of the size it will achieve at maturity), and Carex testacea

The individual elements

Echoing the colors in a pot near the front door are some pretty Dahlias I picked up on a whim.

Dahlia 'XXL Hidalgo' with Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' and lime Alternanthera in a pot

I hope your garden is offering a bit of sunshine today even if the skies are gray.  Visit Anna at Flutter and Hum to see what scene caught her attention this week.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: An Homage to Mothers

Next Sunday, May 10th, is Mother's Day in the US.  Although my own mother, as well as my mother-in-law, are now gone, they've been on my mind of late as a close friend faced the loss of her mother.  I was thinking of all 3 women as I cut flowers for this week's vase, prepared in connection with the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  It seemed only appropriate to dedicate my vases this week to these women.

This first vase was photographed on my back patio.  It includes only 3 flowers, all of which are a challenge to photograph:

• Arthropodium cirratum)
• Coriandrum sativum 
• Solanum xanti 'Mountain Pride'

Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lily)

Coriandrum sativum (aka cilantro, coriander and Chinese parsley)

Solanum xanti 'Mountain Pride'

The Arthropodium is coming into bloom throughout the garden.  Its tall stems allowed me to use a taller vase than those I usually select.  The white flowers have a touch of gold and the vaguest hint of pinkish lavender in the center.  Those colors and the similar shape in the flowers led me to select the Solanum as a companion.  The Coriandrum adds a lacy quality.

Not the best photograph but it provides a side-by-side comparison of the Arthropodium and the Solanum flowers

The flowers in the second vase were originally intended for inclusion in the first one but the composition was too crowded so I opted to put them in a separate vase.

This vase also contains only 3 ingredients:

• Agapanthus (no ID, probably A. praecox orientalis)
• Coriandrum sativum
• Limonium perezii (aka statice)

Top row: 2 different shades of blue Agapanthus; bottom row: Coriandrum and Limonium

The vases both found places inside the house.

The first landed on the dining room table

and the second on the entryway table

To see other vases composed of flowers from the creators' own gardens, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  For those of you celebrating Mother's Day next week, best wishes!


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wide Shots - May 2015

As I mentioned last month, I'm altering my approach to my monthly wide shots post.  This month, I'm focusing on the front and southeast side garden areas.  Despite 2 heatwaves in March and another this week in which temperatures in our area have been stuck in the mid-90sF (35C), the front garden is holding up and continuing to fill in.

The beautiful blue sky doesn't tell the whole story.  It's hot and very, very dry.

The area to the left of the central walkway, occupied by lawn this time last year, continues to fill in nicely

This area behind the roses in the front right foreground, all the way to the trees in far background, was also lawn in May 2014

This is the same area, viewed from the other side.  The thyme continues to spread and the variegated Ceanothus griseus horizontalis has begun to creep but the Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' looks much like it did when it was first planted - if my other 'Cousin Itt' hadn't behaved the same way, I'd be worried.

The adjoining southeast side garden has undergone a few changes, although they may not be readily evident in these first 2 photos.

The usual view through the arbor looking toward the Los Angeles harbor

The usual view of the side garden from the patio

My third photo reflects the changes I made.  I found 3 more of the Solanum xanti I've been looking for and snapped them up, replacing an Osteospermum, Euphorbia and Pennistetum that had failed to thrive in the area in the foreground on the left.  The Solanum I planted in the backyard in November have done well and I can only hope that these California natives can get established before the heat gets worse.  The plastic bottle you can see in the photo is one of 3 attached to funnels that slowly drip water into the root system of my new transplants.  I also moved 3 Agave 'Blue Glow' from the bed in the background and placed them in the center of the bed on the left, surrounding them with Crassula radicans, moved from the same area, Lavandula augustifolia and Seslaria caerulea.  It was bad timing on my part given the heat we experienced this week but I expect its the last of the spring planting I'll do this year.

The newly planted area is on the left

 The last major change is this one:

Our new 165 gallon rain collection tank, not yet hooked up to the gutter system

It's not especially attractive and it'll probably get no use until the next rainy season begins in November or thereabout but I'm hoping it and another 265 gallon rain collection tank, currently on back-order, will help make a difference in next year's garden.

That's it for this month's wide shots.  My thanks to Heather of Xericstyle for starting me on this monthly exercise.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party