Raccoon Picnic

The raccoons have put me back on their visitation schedule, stopping by several times a week.  I know they've been here because they leave their usual calling card at the fountain, picking up the seashells from the top tier and dropping them elsewhere in the backyard.  I also find the occasional muddy paw-print.  They've done some digging, upending small plants here and there, but nothing akin to the rampant damage they've caused in the past (see here, here and here).

I thought maybe my Magnolia cone obstacle course might be having a positive effect.

After planting a Dasylirion longissimum (aka Mexican grass tree), I used the prickly cones that fell from the Magnolia tree to create a barrier around it in what I thought might well be a futile effort to keep the raccoons from digging in this area

The Magnolia cone barrier clearly wasn't impenetrable.

Cones were knocked out of place and there was evidence of some digging but it wasn't extensive

Then I noticed that cones had been moved, in large numbers, to the tree stump at the edge of our property.  It didn't seem that the squirrels could be responsible - they ignored the area.

The timing matched other evidence that one or more raccoons had visited overnight

To test my theory that the raccoons were using the stump as a picnic table and my carefully constructed Magnolia cone obstacle course as their buffet, I removed all the cones I found on the stump, set up the area around the Dasylirion with new cones, and waited.  Two mornings later, the raccoons' calling card in place around the fountain, the cones were back on the stump with smashed red seeds strewn about.

So, I guess the Magnolia cones served a purpose, if not the one I intended.  They've distracted my uninvited visitors, giving them a new focus during their nightly foraging exercises.  Still, in my book, eating the Magnolia seeds beats digging for grubs and destroying my planting beds.

Do you think they'll mind if I fill the decayed center of their picnic table with soil and plant it?  I was thinking that a fern might be nice there.


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

Wednesday Vignette: A golden sunrise

My cat, Pipig, hasn't adjusted to standard time.  She's up early and, when she wants her breakfast, she can be very persistent.  She jumps on the bed, sits on my pillow, and licks my face until I either get up or pull the sheet over my head.  Monday morning, I gave in and got up, arriving in the kitchen as the sun was rising over the harbor.  Ignoring Pipig and her breakfast demands, I grabbed my camera and clicked a series of shots of the sunrise.

I decided to use these photos as my post for the Wednesday Vignette meme hosted by Anna of Flutter & Hum even though I posted another sunrise shot barely 2 months ago.  Although both featured harbor views, the color of the light was dramatically different.

The photo on the left was taken on September 1st.  The photo on the right was taken on November 9th, angled slightly further south to show the entrance to the Los Angeles harbor, which is called Angel's Gate.

As for Pipig, she follows a predictable routine.  After breakfast, she harasses me until I take her out for her daily romp.  I usually give her 5 to 10 minutes outside under loose supervision to investigate, stalk lizards, and chew on the ornamental grass - unless she manages to slip out of my sight, in which case it can take me another 20 minutes to round her up.  Then she goes down for her nap, which generally runs until about 5pm, when she starts hollering for her dinner.

Curled up in her own bed in mid-afternoon, I called her name several times before she deigned to raise her head an inch to face in my general direction

For more Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.


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

In a Vase on Monday: A Bouquet for Cathy

Cathy of Rambling in the Garden celebrates the second anniversary of her popular "In a Vase on Monday" feature with today's post.  While I prepared vases in connection with a couple of other blogger's memes in the past, I never did so consistently until I joined in with Cathy's merry band at the end of March last year.  By my count, I've participated for 85 weeks without a break.

Cathy's own dedication to the meme has been the driving force behind my participation.  She always brings enthusiasm to the process.  And, rain or shine, in town or on holiday, her posts appear like clockwork.  She encourages participation on whatever level works for each blogger and she supports everyone with appreciative comments.  So, Cathy, my vase this week is dedicated to you.

Front view

Back view

Top view

After the hottest October on record here, as well as two bouts with Santa Ana winds (also known as "devil winds"), flowers are in relatively short supply in my garden this week.  My Senna bicapsularis, one of the mainstays of my fall garden, is already fading but I took advantage of the fact that there was still enough to cut.  However, the Senna came with two surprises:

As I was preparing a Senna stem for my vase, I discovered a bright yellow caterpillar chomping away, accompanied by several ants.  The ants got washed away but I took pains to move the caterpillar back to the shrub where it can continue to pursue its life goal.  The Senna is a host plant for the sulphur butterfly, Phoebis sennae.

The second surprise was the fasciated (flattened) stem I found on the Senna.  Fasciation (aka cresting) can be caused by genetic abnormalities or bacteria.  If I'd had more time, I would have tried to create an arrangement around this stem.

Here's a closer look at what was included in this week's vase:

Clockwise from upper left: Eustoma grandiflorum 'Borealis Yellow', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', the inedible berries of Pyrus calleryana (aka ornamental pear), and Senna bicapsularis (aka Winter Senna)

Visit Cathy to see how she's celebrating her meme anniversary and to find the intriguing contributions of a diverse group of bloggers from different parts of the world.  Their ingenuity, enthusiasm, and the beauty of their creations is a large part of the draw of this meme.

This week's vase on the dining table

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

Racing El Niño

In late September, we had our remaining lawn, a long strip in the back averaging 8 feet in width and a section along the street in front, removed.  Although the service provider assured me he and his crew would do more than strip the top layer of sod, that was not the case.  As a result, my husband and I spent hours upon hours digging up the soil to clear it of grass roots, sod netting, and some of the rocks that riddle our soil.  We completed that effort in the backyard this week and also spread 3 cubic yards of new topsoil, which we tilled in to raise the soil level and improve drainage.  While we haven't yet touched the former lawn area in the front yard and still need more topsoil for the back area, we nonetheless got started laying a new flagstone pathway through the backyard.  Frankly, we were tired of tracking in dirt every time we walked through the backyard.

The new path through the backyard continues from the point the side yard path leaves off, marked here by the 2 green pots.  The new stone we've laid here represents only one-quarter of the new path through the backyard.

We brought home, unloaded and laid 1000 lbs of stone, which is the maximum my husband's truck can carry.  Now, spatial relations has never been one of my strong suits but it dismayed me to discover that it'll take at least three more trips to the stone yard just to complete the pathway through the backyard.  I suppose this shouldn't have come as a surprise given the time it took just to complete the digging process - the area is much larger than it seemed when it was laid with lawn.

The last section we dug, shown here covered by the bender-board that formerly divided garden beds and lawn, was 25-33% rock, which was especially time-consuming to "sift" out.  This property was part of a large rock quarry in the 1940s and we've found large masses of rock here and there throughout the garden.

My husband handled most of the heavy lifting in laying the flagstone.  I took care of filling in the soil between the flagstones and laying the creeping thyme (Thymus serphyllum 'Minus').

It's hard to believe that's 1000 lbs of rock, isn't it?

'Minus' thyme grows only 1-inch in height but it spreads more slowly than some of the creeping thyme I've used elsewhere

I'm also responsible for plant selection once the path is completed.  I expect I'm going to have to move some of the low-growing plants that formerly lined the lawn area forward and fill in with taller specimens behind those.  In addition to replacing plants that didn't make it through our hot, dry summer, I'm going to need a lot of new plant material to fill the area created by taking out the lawn.  I'm already eyeing some of the plants I have sitting around in pots for in-ground installation.

Agave bracteosa is screen testing for a role in the backyard

Furcraea foetida mediopicta is outgrowing its pot and looking for more root space

I may take cuttings or relocate other plants.

This hybrid Cotyledon orbiculata 'Silver Storm', supposed to grown just 18 inches tall and wide, is already expanding its boundaries in the front garden and may be a good candidate for relocation

Buying sprees, by mail order and road trip, are also in the offing.  I'm racing El Niño to get what I can planted before the rain that accompanies that weather phenomenon arrives.

I have no idea when I'm going to get around to tackling the denuded area along the front of the property.

Grass is already growing back in this area but it's taken a backseat to work in the backyard

What garden projects do you have hanging over your head as winter approaches?


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

Wednesday Vignette: It's the little things

For this week's Wednesday Vignette, the meme hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum, I have a miscellaneous trio of photos taken within the last few weeks of some of the little things that make the garden a wonderful place.

I was taking a photo of a plant when I noticed this little guy sitting calmly on a sprinkler head right next to me.  This tiny western fence lizard - barely 2 inches in length - was not at all perturbed by my presence (until I stroked his back, at which point he took off).

I noticed bees clinging to the edge of the fountain in search of water to sustain them during one of our recent heatwaves.  Although I have a bee-ball floating in the fountain (a generous gift from Alison of Bonney Lassie when she visited earlier this year), the bees insisted on clinging to the rough concrete sides of the fountain.

The birds are regular visitors to the fountain.  They drink and splash about, especially when the heat spikes.  Oblivious to the upheaval in the former lawn area just beyond the fountain, this photo captured a lesser goldfinch, a house finch, and what I think was a sparrow hanging out in harmony.  I narrowly missed a shot of the scrub jay that chased them all away so he could enjoy the fountain by himself.

Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum for a look at the images she and other gardeners found compelling this week.


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

In a Vase on Monday: Anonymous Rose Makes the Grade

I headed out into the garden with the intention of cutting stems of Barleria obtusa to use in this week's arrangement for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  I did make up a small vase using the Barleria but this week it's the unplanned arrangement, created on the fly, that makes my heart sing.  It features an anonymous lavender rose I inherited with the house.   To the best of my recollection, this is only the second time it's produced a bloom all year.  The bloom was full blown when I cut it so it may not last long but I'll appreciate it while it lasts.

The best guess thus far is that the sweetly scented lavender rose is 'Angel Face'

In addition to the lavender rose featured in the top row, the vase contains a white rose (also unidentified), Pentas 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom', Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' (aka 'Little Grape') and Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' (not included in the collage photo)

The second vase with Barleria obtusa as a focal point didn't turn out as I'd envisioned it.  The Barleria has relatively short stems, which flower from base to tip.  Using it in an arrangement requires stripping the lower blooms to create a clean stem to place in the vase, which seems a pity so I cut just 2 stems and used a short vase.   I'd intended to stick to blue and white flowers but, with white blooms in short supply in my garden at the moment, I tucked in a few pink flowers to fill out the vase.

Front and back views

I like the view of the vase from the top best in this case

The vase contains (clockwise from the left): Barleria obtusa, Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink', Leucanthemum x superbum, Pelargonium reniforme, Pittospormum tobira and, not shown in the collage, Duranta 'Sapphire Showers' and Lobularia maritima (aka sweet alyssum)

The second vase sits in the front entry.  The first sits on the dining room table, where we can enjoy its scent.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other gardeners have in their vases this week.


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

Wide Shots - The Dry Garden

This month I'm using my wide shots post to take a closer look at my dry garden, which sits on the northeast side of the house.  Although I hadn't placed a priority on this area, by happenstance it was the first one I tackled after we moved here in late December 2010.  The driving force behind my initial effort was to create a path through the area to enter the hidden slope at the back of the property.  The area was originally half grass, in terrible condition even in winter, and contained a hodge-podge of fruit trees.  I have no "before" photos.  The earliest photo was one taken by my brother in December 2011, after we'd already pulled out the lawn, installed a gravel pathway, removed a few poorly performing (and over-crowded) fruit trees, and begun introducing drought tolerant plants.

The resin solar birdbath shown here was a housewarming gift from my mother-in-law.  It didn't hold up to the weather and has been replaced with a birdbath-style succulent planter.  (Photo courtesy of ericnp.net)

My earliest photos of the area, taken in May 2013, featured the garden at the height of spring bloom.

While the dry garden was also more colorful in spring 2014 and 2015, I don't think it's looked this good since irrigation levels were cut back in early 2014

It wasn't nearly as colorful in July 2013.

There were more evergreen perennials and fewer succulents in 2013 than there are today

My first wide shot post showing the dry garden was published in December 2013.  The view was much more somber than the colorful spring photos but many of the elements of the current garden were already in place.

The photo on the left was taken from the side yard patio and the photo on the right from the backyard lawn area

Photos taken for my November 2014 wide shots post show more mature plants but the thyme groundcover shown in my 2013 photos had died back.

It apparently rained on November 1st last year.  No such luck this year, although there is a slight chance of rain on Monday evening.

Here are the photos of the dry garden today.

Photo taken from side patio

Photo taken from outer edge of the backyard

Photo taken from the end of the gravel path as it extends down the back slope, looking back at the house

Photo from the slope looking back toward the house

I'm not going to show wide shots of the rest of the garden this month.  The backyard is still torn up, although we're almost done clearing the grass roots and sod netting from the former lawn area in preparation for adding topsoil to improve drainage.  It's been a long, slow, painful process (and I haven't even begun work on the former lawn area inside the hedge along the street).  I really underestimated the scope of this project - the area is significantly larger than the front yard area we tackled last year.  The last section of the former lawn area in the backyard nearest to the dry garden has been the most difficult.  Each shovelful of soil is 25-33% rocks, some as large as my fist but most gravel size.  All this rock is being used elsewhere, mostly as gravel mulch.

The former backyard lawn area, photographed from near its terminus looking south

My thanks, as always, to Heather of Xericstyle for starting me off on the process of looking at the bigger picture in my garden.


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