In the cusp between seasons (& Wednesday Vignette)

Spring in coastal Southern California is rapidly giving way to summer's advance.  While temperatures have temporarily returned to spring-like levels after weeks in the upper 70s and 80s, spring blooms have been giving way to those more characteristic of summer.  Last week I noticed the first Jacaranda trees coming into bloom in my area.  Yesterday I noticed these trees were blooming everywhere.  My own garden is also showing signs of summer.  Buds have appeared on Agapanthus and Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum) throughout my garden.

In December, I finally broke down and bought myself a dwarf Jacaranda, 'Bonsai Blue', despite the plant's still exorbitant price-tag.  It's easier to fit into my garden and won't create issues with neighbors under my community's "view conservation" ordinance as the full-sized version could.  It isn't quite blooming yet but it has buds!

The first bloom appeared among the large collection of Agapanthus I inherited with the garden the week before last but other buds are close to following

Achillea 'Moonshine' provided perhaps the most dramatic evidence of summer's arrival, with flowers bursting into bloom seemingly overnight in the backyard borders last week.

Just as suddenly, the first-ever blooms appeared on the Santolina I planted in November 2015.

Santolina chamaecyparissus with its gray foliage can be seen in the foreground on the right and green-leaved S. rosmarinifolia is visible in the middle of the photo

Meanwhile, after a couple of weeks of high temperatures and drying winds, my sweet peas took an abrupt nose dive.  I pulled them all out, added compost to the raised bed, and planted sunflower and Zinnia seeds to greet the summer season.

As our spring gives way to summer, I was sad to note that there's been no sign that my Itoh peony is going to bloom this year despite the gift of winter's heavier-than-usual rains.  It also seemed that my bearded Iris were destined to disappoint me again this year.  A dwarf variety bloomed on my back slope when I wasn't looking but the taller bearded Iris planted elsewhere in the garden showed no sign of doing anything.  Then, late last week, I noticed a bloom stalk on a single plant in one of my backyard borders.  And yesterday morning, I found this:

This is Iris germanica 'Haut les Voiles'.  Planted in 2012 and moved in 2015, it stopped blooming during the height of our drought, like virtually all of my bearded Iris.  Dare I hope that some of the others will bloom as well?

The Iris stands as my Wednesday Vignette, a salute to spring's performance or a nod to the incoming summer season - see it whichever way you wish.  I'm just happy to see it show up.  For more Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: The floral celebration continues

We got rain this weekend!  It doesn't normally rain in May here so this was a locally news-worthy event.  The rain wasn't heavy and it wasn't steady but the forecast of afternoon thunderstorms did send me into the garden early Sunday morning to gather flowers for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  As usual, I overdid things.

Vase #1 features the last of my sweet peas and the foxgloves that were toppling over in my cutting garden.

Front view: the last time I cut foxglove stems, they straightened up within a day of being cut but these are still flopping

The back view is very similar

Top view

For once, I kept the arrangement simple, just Digitalis purpurea (top row) and two colors of Lathyrus odoratus (bottom row)

Vase #2 was inspired by the Matilija Poppy that recently bloomed for the first time at the bottom of my back slope.  Unfortunately, only one one bloom was even close to being vase-worthy but the noID honeysuckle bequeathed to me, for better or worse, with the slope is also in bloom so I let it dictate the color scheme.

Front view: a simple white and yellow composition

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Romneya coulteri (aka Matilija Poppy), Achillea 'Moonshine', Alstroemeria 'Claire', Jacobaea maritima, noID Lonicera (probably L. japonica), and Trachelospermum jasminoides

Vase #3 was the result of a spur-of-the-moment decision to cut a new bloom on the noID purplish-pink rose I inherited with the garden.  Most of my rose blooms were withered prematurely by the strong winds that blew through here for 2 weeks so I decided to bring this one inside before rain spoiled the flower.

Front view

I didn't bother to fill in the back of the vase as I might of done had I intended to put it where it could be viewed from all sides

Top view

Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: the beautifully scented noID rose, Abelia grandiflora, noID Alstroemeria, Pelargonium peltatum, and Tanacetum niveum

Coincidentally, all three arrangements this week are pumped with scent.  Here are mine in place.

Vase #1 on the dining table; vase #2 in the front entry; and vase #3 on the bedroom fireplace mantle

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for more arrangements created from floral and foliage materials garden bloggers have found close at hand.


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Battling it out on the edge

I have a tendency to cram too many plants into a space.  I dislike bare soil so I try to cover it, often using aggressive plants on the theory that, if they become too crowded, I can always thin them out.  But sometimes I just end up with a mess.  Here's a look at a group of ground covers growing at the edge of a walkway in the back garden:

This area along the walkway contains the following ground covers: Ajuga 'Mint Chip', Campanula portenschlagiana,  Erigeron karvinskianus, Euphorbia' Blue Lagoon', Liriope spicata and Persicaria capitata.  The Erigeron was self-planted.  The Euphorbia, Campanula and Persicaria, presumed dead during the drought, were resurrected by our winter rains.  The Liriope was a big mistake - I can't say I wasn't warned. 

I was only minimally successful in cleaning them up.

Much as I like its grass-like appearance, the Liriope probably needs to come out but it spreads by runners and removing it will require digging out the entire area.  If I don't talk myself out of that (again), I'll tackle that in the fall.

That's not the only area in the back garden that's a battleground.  On another front, Lotus berthelotii is fighting with creeping thyme.  Erigeron karvinskianus is duking it out with asparagus fern - and just about everything else in its path.  Cotula lineariloba is clambering over Gazanias and poking its way through daylily foliage.  And here's another battleground:

Phyla nodiflora (aka Lippia or frogfruit) is doing a pretty good job holding the line here but Erigeron karvinskianus (aka Santa Barbara or Mexican Daisy), Lobularia maritima (Sweet Alyssum), and Gaura lindheimeri, all self-planted, are putting up a fight.

Why can't they all get along?  A few do.

Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Wonder' is peacefully cohabiting with Campanula portenschlagiana and Pelargonium peltatum 'Dark Burgundy'

While others cut loose and seek uncharted territory.

Seedlings of Lobelia erinus have escaped the pots the plant shares with blueberry shrubs to find a new home under the garden bench in the space between the patio pavers

Do your ground covers behave themselves?



All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (and Wednesday Vignette)

A couple of weekends ago, a friend and I took a drive up north.  Our first stop was the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, which I last visited in May 2015 when Southern California's drought was near its worst.  I wondered if it might look very different after the heavier-than-normal rain we received this winter; however, it looked remarkably the same.  And it's still beautiful!

We were a bit early to see a mass display of the Matilija poppies (Romneya coulteri) but the meadow area near the garden's entrance didn't disappoint.

Orange and purple blooms dominated the meadow but there were other colors mixed in here and there

There were agaves and other desert plants both near the entrance and at the outskirts of the meadow.

From left, a mass of Agave shawii,  Agave sebastiana in bloom, and noID Yucca?

It was a very warm day and we appreciated the opportunity to stroll under the shade of the redwood trees.

A mass of wild ginger (Asarum caudatum) created a pool of green below the trees

We had a great view of the chaparral area along the Campbell Trail.  One feature caught my fancy and I'm offering it as this week's Wednesday Vignette.

Mature live oaks balanced precariously on top of a massive rock formation

A closer view from another angle (For other Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum)

There were other interesting rocks, like this one:

I don't know why but every time I see this rock, I think it's about to speak to me

We followed Mission Creek through the canyon area.

Although our rainy season has been over for some time, I still expected to see more water in the creek but perhaps the parched soil had already absorbed it

We weren't at much risk of getting wet at the stream crossing

We hiked up the trail on the other side of the creek

and found a reminder of just how old some of the trees at this site are

What I love most about Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is that it's very natural.  Unlike many other botanic gardens that provide visitors a little bit of everything - from manicured rose gardens to stylized Asian gardens and everything in between - the Santa Barbara garden is all about plants native to Southern California.  It doesn't seek to impress so much as it tries to enfold you into the unique natural environment of this part of the world.   There are flowers but not massed flower displays - you discover blooms at intervals as you pass through the garden.

Top row: Aesculus californica, Allium unifolium?, and Collinsia heterophylla
Middle row: Datura wrightii, Iris douglasiana, and Mimulus aurantiacus
Bottom row: noID yellow daisy, yellow Mimulus/Diplacus, and Penstemon spectabilis
(Note: most of these flower IDs are my best guess)

The garden deserved a longer visit than we gave it but it was hot and we were hungry.  We also had two more stops to make before we tackled the long drive home.  I have to make it back there one day during a different season, perhaps fall, when the temperature comes down again.



All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Wild or just weird?

Last week I mentioned another plant I wanted to feature in a vase.  This is that plant:

Salvia lanceolata, a South African native aka Rocky Mountain Sage, recently featured in my April plant favorites post

As you can see, it has an unusual flower and, frankly, I wasn't sure what to do with it.  I cut several stems, stuck them in a jar with water, and meandered through the garden looking for suitable partners.  I thought the end result had a wild and romantic air about it but you'll be forgiven if you think it's just weird.

Front view, highlighting a wind-ravaged Rudbeckia stem, from the only one of 12 plugs planted last November that's bloomed thus far

Back view: wispy stems of Gaura have sprung into bloom in throughout the garden as our temperatures soared

Top view (views including grasses always look funky)

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Salvia lanceolata, Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Dorycnium hirsutum (aka Hairy Canary Clover), Festuca californica, Gaura lindheimeri, and Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy'

Summer's advance becomes more evident each day.  In addition to rising temperatures, the wind here has been almost relentless for the past 2 weeks, sometimes producing gusts over 30 miles an hour.  Every time I admire a spring bloom in my garden, I fear it may be the last time for the season so, like a junkie in need of a spring floral fix,  I over-compensated this week by creating 2 more vases.  The first of these was inspired by Aquilegia 'Spring Magic', which just produced its first blooms.  I planted 3 clumps of this columbine in 2012 but, after our long drought, only one survives and its blooms generally don't last long.

Front view: the purplish-blue and white color of the columbine set the color scheme

Back view, which shows off the papery flowers of Limonium perezii and the first of the Achillea blooms

Top view, highlighting the white Centranthus

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Aquilegia 'Spring Magic', Achillea 'Moonshine', Centranthus ruber 'Albus', Lathyrus odoratus 'Big Blue', Limonium perezii, and Tanacetum niveum

The last vase was inspired by the bright orange flowers of Ornithogalum dubium.  I picked up this bulbous plant a few years ago and, lacking a good spot for it, stuck it in the corner of one of the raised planters in what is now my cutting garden.  It dies back every summer and I usually forget all about it until it returns following our winter rains.

Front view: I used my ornamental teapot for this arrangement but, in retrospect, it might have been better in a vase with a narrower neck to support the stems

Back view, dominated by the stems of Agonis flexuosa (aka peppermint willow)

Top view, showing how the stems tended to flop to the sides of the pot

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Ornithogalum dubium, Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Bulbine fruticosa 'Hallmark', Jacobaea maritima, and Rosa 'Golden Celebration'

Visit Cathy of Rambling in the Garden, our "In a Vase on Monday" host, to find more vases.  Or join in the fun and post photos of one of your own vases!

Today's vases in their places: the dining table, the coffee table in the living room, and the console table in the front entry

All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party