In a Vase on Monday: Sprinting to the finish line

Most of my dahlias are showing signs of finishing up their season.  Flower stalks have grown overly tall; blooms are getting smaller; and foliage is mildewing.  The majority peaked right in the middle of our last heatwave.  Some bloomed out so quickly they ended up in my compost bin.  Faced with too many blooms to use even after handing some off to friends, I left six bottles filled with dahlias and zinnias on the curb for neighbors and other passers-by to take last week.  Yesterday morning I cut all the dahlias that were in full bloom, filling six vases for the house.  Two of those contained blooms that were past their prime but I'll share the other four here.

Vase #1:

Dahlias 'Belle of Barmera' and 'Labyrinth' played the starring roles in this arrangement

'Belle of Barmera' has pretty blooms but its foliage is hideous and I don't think I'll be making room for it next year

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Labyrinth' (a winner by any measure), Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Correa 'Wyn's Wonder' (aka variegated Australian fuchsia), Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Blush'

Vase #2:

Dahlia 'Mr Optimist' was the inspiration for this vase but, when I discovered aphids on two of the blooms and tossed them, I added two other dahlias to fill out the arrangement, using Alstroemeria 'Inca Sunshine' to mediate their differences

Back view: I also used zinnias as fillers

Top view: I initially had reservations about this arrangement but now it's my personal favorite this week

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Dahlia 'Mr Optimist', D. 'Loverboy', D. 'Candlelight', Lantana 'Samantha', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', red and yellow Zinnia elegans and, in the middle, Alstroemeria 'Inca Sunshine'

Vase #3:

Dahlia 'Rip City' is running neck and neck with 'Enchantress' as the most prolific bloomer among this year's dahlia crop but the zinnia blooms may have eclipsed it in this arrangement

Back view: Very similar to the front view

Top view

Clockwise from the left: Dahlia 'Rip City', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary Giant Lilac' and 'Benary Giant Purple'

Vase #4:

With another heatwave in the offing, I couldn't bring myself to leave the very large Dahlia 'Iceberg' bloom to face incineration.  The blue Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) blooms are holdovers from one of last week's vases.  The buds on cut stems open in a lavender color rather than dark blue.

Back view: In retrospect, the arrangement might have looked better without the Salvia stems

Top view

Clockwise from the left: Dahlia 'Iceberg', Baleria obtusa (aka bush violet) with Eustoma grandiflorum, Salvia leucantha, and Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light'

Although yet another heatwave it expected to start today and continue for several days, I expect stray blooms out of many of my dahlias before I give up on them in November and dig up the tubers to make room for cool season flowers in my cutting garden.  Dahlias 'Labyrinth', 'Enchantress', and 'Rip City' certainly seem ready to continue blooming for awhile yet.  I still have high hopes for 'Gitts Crazy' which finally has bloom stalks (five of them!) studded with buds, and I haven't entirely given up on 'Rancho', part of the last, very late shipment of tubers I received in early May.

For more arrangements this week, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to find links to other IAVOM posts.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Getting started

It's finally cooled down and the air quality, while not good, is much better.  Yesterday was the first day that actually felt like fall to me here in coastal Southern California.  We're expecting temperatures to rise again starting Sunday but, for now, I'm taking advantage of the improved conditions to get started on some garden projects.  Two trees are slated for removal and others are to be trimmed on October 29th but I felt I could get a bit of work done on my front slope even before the tree service crew troops in.

The initial focus of my attention was the south end of the moderate front slope across from my lath (shade) house.  It hasn't looked great for some time but a den set up by a gopher earlier this year at the slope's base made things worse, which finally pressed me into action.  My husband actually kicked things off when, just before the last heatwave, he decided to remove the three 'Mutabilis' rose shrubs I'd been talking about taking out for months.

This photo was taken shortly after the roses were dug up but their absence isn't all that noticeable

The roses, which came with the house, had never done well.  The photo on the left shows two of the shrubs (one nearly dead) before they were removed and the photo on the right shows the emptied space.

The day before yesterday, I started removing masses of dormant Aeonium arboreum from the area, as well as the Honey Euryops (Euryops virgineus) that partially hid the gopher's den.

The Euryops had grown too large for this spot and in any case  I couldn't do anything to clean up the mess the gopher had made without removing it.  I took cuttings of the plant in the hope of getting viable plants to put elsewhere or give away.

At one time there was a fairly neat mound outside the gopher's den but I flattened it considerably since I started working in the area.  The photo on the right shows the tidy opening the gopher had made.

This is what the space looked like after I threw in the trowel late yesterday.  In addition to pulling most of the Aeonium, I cut back the self-planted Cotoneaster on the upper left and cleaned up the clumps of Festuca californica next to it on the right.  However, I spent most of my time pulling up the opportunistic roots of asparagus fern.  I'll never get it all but I'd like to seriously slow its spread.

There's still a lot to do before I'll be ready to replant the area.  I have to dismantle the portion of the dry-stack curb the gopher tore apart and refill his hidey-hole with the dirt he excavated.  I'll also try to remove still more of the asparagus fern roots that riddle the area.  Then I plan to create flatter planting areas using the rock we saved after dismantling the indoor barbecue in our dining room during last year's home remodel.  That may be the toughest step as the rock we have isn't ideal - I'm hoping I can break some of it into smaller pieces.  When that's done, I'll add some planting mix and/or compost and replant.

I've got a few ideas in mind for replanting the area but I'm not hurrying the plant selection process.

When the mimosa tree comes out in the back garden, I'm going to redesign the area surrounding the patio to make room for a new tree (yet to be identified).  The succulent beds adjacent to the patio will be scaled back so these Agave colorata will probably need relocating and I think the front slope may be just the place for them.

In the meantime, I'm happier having a cleaner slate.

The photo on the left shows the area as I photographed it for my October 2nd wide shots post.  The photo on the right shows it when I completed my initial cleanup yesterday.

I'm sure I can find a few other things to take care of before the heat returns and the tree service arrives.  Best wishes for a pleasant weekend of gardening to all!

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: This week's bright spots

At present, the only way to maintain my sanity is to shut out some of the daily news barrage and concentrate on what's right in front of me.  Here are the bright spots that boosted my spirits over the past week:

This is Iris germanica 'Autumn Circus'.  A friend gave it to me in late May and it produced its first bloom in the middle of our heatwave.  It's a reblooming variety.

I rarely see dragonflies in my garden, probably as it's a relatively dry place but I caught sight of this one over the weekend and it was kind enough to pose atop Cordyline 'Renegade'.  My best guess is this is a female or immature male variegated meadowlark (Sympetrum corruptum).  I read that the Native Americans believe that a red dragonfly foretells a period of rejuvenation following a period of trials and hardship.  I'm hoping that's true!

The third bright spot was another neighbor giveaway, not of plants or citrus this time but rather cut flowers.  My cutting garden reached its zenith during our heatwave.  While I cut a lot of the blooms to decorate our house and passed others along to friends, I thought it'd also be a good time to leave some for neighbors to find.  I cut them yesterday morning and left them on the curb late yesterday afternoon.

I put the flowers, mostly dahlias and zinnias, in glass ice tea bottles and packed them in a beverage carryall supplied by the market on a recent visit 

They were a little too tightly packed so I dug out another carryall to give each a chance to shine

Here they are on the curb.  All but one were gone this morning.

The fourth pick-me-up was giving to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, my fifth donation this year, this one prompted by yet another story on the food insecurity plaguing this, the richest nation in the world.  The situation was already bad before the pandemic but it's worse now and the man who calls himself President and the Senate he controls haven't been willing to come up with the additional coronavirus relief assistance so many people badly need.  Instead he's promising to provide this after the election.  House Speaker Pelosi's assessment of the situation seems right on point to me.  If you're in a position to give, consider a donation to your local food bank.  It may do your heart good too.

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

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Heatwave holdouts

While the heatwave that started last week hasn't been as bad as the prior one, it's held on longer than originally forecast and it's not over yet.  Temperatures have come down from our 102F (38.9C) peak but we've been stuck at 92F (33C) here for days now.  Our air quality has worsened again too so nothing but the most minimal gardening work is getting done but hopefully the weather and air will be better by the end of this week.  In the meantime, I've slogged through all the propositions on California's November ballot (12, not including an LA County measure) so I'm prepared to vote as soon as my ballot arrives.  I haven't tackled my ironing backlog yet but that's on the docket next...

The dahlias in my cutting garden went into hyperdrive last week.  I don't think it was a response to the heat but the heat had an impact nonetheless.  Lots of the top-heavy blooms toppled over and even those that didn't bloomed out quickly.  There are still a lot of flowers out there but last week was crazy and I only had the energy for two arrangements yesterday.

The sudden appearance of several new Lisianthus blooms after a lengthy hiatus was the inspiration for this arrangement but I think Dahlia 'Iceberg' stole the show

Back view: The rose was a last-minute addition.  It's the first white rose I've had bloom this year and it seemed smarter to cut it than let it wither in the heat.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Iceberg', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus), Salvia leucantha, Pandorea jasminoides, Leucophyllum laevigatum, and noID rose

Dahlia 'Rip City' is blooming like there's no tomorrow so it won more time in the limelight this week.

I love 'Rip City' but I haven't found it easy to find appropriate companions for it

The manicured fingernails of this vase were the inspiration for this pairing, although I managed to largely cover them up when I added the stems of red Penstemon 

Back view

Top view: I added the pink Lisianthus mainly because the burgundy centers of those flowers echoed the color of dahlias

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Rip City', Eustoma grandiflorum, Hebe 'Purple Shamrock', Penstemon mexicali 'Mini Red Bells', and Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star'

For more IAVOM creations, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden is the one to see.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wide Shots - October 2020

I've been conducting a quarterly big-picture overview of my garden for some time now but taking photos during a heatwave when the garden is dry and tired wasn't easy to get excited about.  Still, as the removal of two trees, one dead and one nearly so, is pending it's a useful time to take stock so, starting with the back garden, here we go.

This is the view from the north end of the house looking in the direction of the back patio.  I cut a Melianthus major below the Arbutus 'Marina' on the left down to the ground last week because it looked dreadful and it would've been trampled anyway when the Arbutus gets trimmed later this month.  The mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) to the left of the patio will be taken out at the same time.  I'm hoping to plant another tree in the same general area but that'll require major changes to the panting areas surrounding the patio.

This is a view of the same area looking in the other direction.  The mimosa tree is just outside the frame on the right.

I cleaned up most of the dried up aster (Symphyotrichum chilense) stems in the area surrounding the fountain but I still need to do something to corral the plant's rampant rhizomes.  I'd also like to remove the Liriope spicata to the right of the fountain but then I've been talking about that project for a few years now.

View from the patio looking south: There's a large bare area in front of Callistemon in the mid-section of the area on the left (outside the view of this photo).  I have a pink-flowered Ceanothus slated for that area but I need to juggle some of the existing plants before it goes into the ground.

This view of the back garden from its south end shows the mimosa tree slated for removal in the distance.  I tried to save it two years ago by removing the front part of the tree that had been damaged by shot-hole borers.  Other major branches died back this year and now the remaining trunk is caving in on itself.

Continuing clockwise around the house, next up is the south side garden.

This is the south side garden from the east end looking west.  I need to replace the Zinnias I planted as temporary color in the bed on the right with something yet to be determined.  I'm thinking of a shrub, possibly another Leucospermum.

This is the view from the small patio off the house on the south side looking at the succulent bed on the right.  The tree-sized toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) in the background on the right is dead, probably killed off by the same pathogen that causes sudden oak death.  It'll be coming out but because of where it sits atop a steep slope overlooking a neighbor's property I can't have the stump ground out, which means I can't plant another tree there unless I move other plants out of the way.

View looking at the south side garden from the south end of the front garden

Continuing in a clockwise direction around the house moves brings us through the main level of the front garden.

This area is looking a little jungle-like to me but I haven't decided whether I should cut anything back.  The Magnolia tree in the distance and the Arbutus outside photo's frame on the left will be thinned, which may be enough for now.

I'm planning to replant those wine barrels under the Magnolia soon and I may replace some of the wood mulch surrounding the tree with creeping thyme and other herbs.  Wood mulch is flammable and this area is right next to the house.

View from the driveway looking at the front door

A longer-range shot of the front garden taken from the garden area on the west side of the driveway

This is a view from the garden area on the northwest side of the driveway looking toward the house

This succulent bed is one of the areas I'm most unhappy with at present.  I generally start with the smallest plants available but this area looks so piecemeal to me I may need to consider either using larger succulents or adding gravel or non-succulents to knit things together (stealing the term from Loree Bohl's article in the current addition of Fine Gardening magazine).

On the other side of the garage we come to the cutting garden.

The dahlias are sprinting now but a lot of the top-heavy blooms have been taking nose dives during the current heatwave

Passing through the gate in the fence shown in the last photo brings us to the northeast side garden.  The gravel path through that area takes us down the back slope.

There's bare ground in this area that needs covering

View from the top of the slope looking down. The area to the left of the hedge on the left belongs to a neighbor.

I didn't actually venture down the back slope to take any photos as, after three rounds with the fire ants just this summer, I don't go down there without protection: long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, gloves and boots.  The best I can say of the area is that the ivy covering the steep upper area wasn't badly burned this year (although it may be looking worse after the current heatwave).  I was down there briefly last weekend and cleaned up most of the lemons that dropped from the tree following the last heatwave but the area in general is in need of a serious clean-up, which I'm putting off until it cools down again.

Back on the south end of the garden on the main level, I'll conclude this tour with the lower level of the front garden we skipped on our first run through.

View looking down from the main level of the garden to the area below surrounding my lath (shade) house:  It may not be readily evident but my husband recently removed three 'Mutabilis' roses from the slope below the path.  I intend to cleanup the area still further and add rock salvaged during last year's remodel before replanting the slope (after our annual tree trimming exercise).

View of the same area from the flat area adjacent to the street: The shrub front and center (Euryops virgineus) has to be pulled so I can repair the stacked wall area torn apart by a gopher when he constructed his den.  A lot of the succulents will also be torn out and replanted but that work is on hold until the Arbutus at the top of the slope has been pruned.

The Xylosma congestum shrubs added a few years ago to continue the hedge on the left have beefed up dramatically this year but I haven't yet filled in the spaces left following the removal of two bloomed-out agaves in 2019.  I'm planning to cleanup and replant this area during the cool season too.  The Agave 'Blue Flame' on the right is spilling into the street so I need to pull out the parent plant and let the pups take over.

I'm still waiting to hear back on the date for removal of the two trees but that'll probably happen sometime this month or early next month.  Five other trees and one cherry laurel hedge will be trimmed at the same time.  Once all the debris is cleared, then work on some of the projects I've mentioned will start in earnest.  By that time, hopefully temperatures will be cooler too.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party