Wide Shots - July 2023

I posted a detailed review of the southwest corner of my garden earlier this week but it's also time to share my quarterly wide shots of the rest of the garden.  While the marine layer and cooler temperatures have surprisingly persisted into the summer season here along the coast, most of the spring flowers are gone nonetheless while the Agapanthus have finally taken off.

I'm starting as usual in the back garden.

View from the back door looking east in the direction of the harbor's entrance.  In addition to the Agapanthus, the dormant variety of orange-red daylilies that came with the garden (Hemerocallis 'Sammy Russell') have shown up.

From the back patio looking east, this photo shows one of the several groups of Agapanthus spread throughout the garden.  This used to be the most prolific group when the mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) was in place but many of those bulbs were lost when the dying tree was removed.  The Ginkgo biloba 'Autumn Gold' that replaced the mimosa is coming along but it's still far from establishing the same presence in the garden.

View from the back patio looking north

View from the north end of the back garden looking south

From the middle of the back garden's flagstone path looking toward its south end.  That mass of Helichrysum thianschanicum 'Icicles' in the foreground on the right needs a serious trim now that the yellow flowers have turned a less attractive mustard color.  The mass of foliage on the left beyond the colorful Salvia canariensis is Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid'.

This is a frontal view of that Callistemon, which has become wider than I expected.  I removed several large branches earlier this spring.

This is a final view of the back garden from its south end looking north

 

Pivoting to the left from the direction of the last shot brings us to the south-side garden.

View of the south-side garden looking west.  The Agave 'Blue Glow' bloom spike has shed its flowers but it's yet to show obvious signs of developing bulbils.  However, after reviewing an online post indicating that it can take 6 months for these to develop, I'm giving it another month.  Meanwhile, like a neighbor's bloomed-out Agave 'Blue Glow', the plant itself is showing no signs of impending death.

 

View from south-side patio looking across a canyon at a neighbor's house in the distance

View of the south-side garden looking east

 

Pivoting left again brings the main level of the front garden into view.

The view of the front garden looking north is now significantly obscured by the Grevillea 'Superb' and Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' on the right

View of the same general area from the other direction.  Are you noticing a color theme in my summer garden?  Foliage and flowers in the orange-red range seem to have proliferated this summer.

View of the area surrounding the Magnolia grandiflora from the front door.  The Magnolia is dropping an endless number of leaves and flower petals.  Most of the leaves used to get caught in the roof's gutters but, now that we have leaf filters, the leaves drop all over the garden and I'm collecting them twice a day.

Front view of the house from the driveway.  The Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' are looking very red this summer.  They're also producing more sprays of flowers along their stems than they did last year so maybe I timed my pruning effort correctly last year (or maybe all the credit goes to our relatively abundant rainy season).

South (right) side of the front garden.  Gaura lindheimeri is also putting on a good show this month.

North side of the front garden.  The semi-evergreen Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) looks sad at this time of year.

Another angle on the front garden, taken from the driveway

This is the succulent bed on the west side of the garage in the front garden.  I still want to dig up and replant the entire area but, even though summer's heat has been slow to arrive here, I'll probably put that off until the fall.  My first step will be to get more rocks.

View from the walkway between the succulent bed and the other planted area on the same side of the driveway.  This area is still sparse, which probably means I've selected the wrong plants to thrive in an area like this, honeycombed with roots from the ornamental pear tree on one side and the Xylosma congestum hedge on the other.

 

The cutting garden is to the north (left) side of the house on the other side of the driveway.

The dahlias, zinnias and sunflowers in the raised planters are responding to the warmer temperatures but they're still a long way from reaching bloom stage

 

The north-side garden is just beyond the fence shown in the background of the last shot.

North-side garden looking northeast.  The Agave vilmoriniana in the background has also bloomed out.  Although it's showing signs of developing bulbils, I'm not sure I have the time or patience to collect them from 3 agaves so I may remove this one soon, even though it was the last of the 3 to bloom.

 

The back slope can be viewed as one proceeds down the concrete stairway that begins where that gravel path in the north-side garden ends.

I'm once again neglecting the back slope out of fear of the fire ants but I do need to get down there soon to cut down the spent Centranthus flowers

 

 

Finally, I have one shot of the street-side succulent bed at the front of the property.

View of the stretch of succulents planted in front of one section of the Xylosma hedge that runs along most of the street in front of our house

 

 

That's it for my wide shots until October.  Best wishes for a pleasant weekend!

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Succulents appreciate rain too

One of my pandemic projects was a wholesale renovation of the planting scheme on the moderate front slope in the southwest corner of my front garden.  I started it in early November 2020 and continued working on in at intervals into March 2021.  I recently noticed how well the succulents I planted there have filled out, especially after our heavier-than-usual rainy season.  I decided it was time for a closer look at that slope and the area surrounding it, including the lath house.

This is the path that leads from the main level of the front garden down to the lower level area sandwiched between a moderate slope and my street-side succulent bed on the southwest side of our property

View from the pathway looking down into the area

Wide shot of the slope, loosely terraced using rocks

Another wide shot from a different angle

 

Views of the area by segment offer a little more detail.

This is the eastern end of the bed, dominated by Aeoniums.  The south-side succulent bed is visible in the background.

This is the mid-section of the southwest-facing slope.  The small tree in the middle is a pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana).  The larger tree in the background at the top of the slope is an Arbutus 'Marina' (aka a strawberry tree).  The shrub surrounding the base of the Arbutus is a noID self-planted Cotoneaster that I'm constantly cutting back.

The western end of the bed turns the corner and runs parallel to the Xylosma congestum hedge that flanks the street.  The low dry-stacked wall runs the entire length of the area shown here and the front driveway.

 

There are a lot of plants crammed onto that slope.  Here are some closeups:

I took down 2 variegated Agave desmettiana after they bloomed out in September 2019, harvesting multiple pups and lots of bulbils.  I planted 6 of the pups on this slope, all of which are now larger than the parent plants were at the time I harvested them.  The photo on the right shows one of these paired with an Aloe vanbalenii x striata.

I planted 3 of the many Agave desmettiana bulbils I harvested on the slope.  They show varying degrees of variegation.

Other plants with a prominent presence on the slope include, clockwise from the upper left: a mix of Aeonium arboreum and A. haworthii 'Kiwi', Crassula falcata (aka propeller plant), Sedeveria 'Fanfare' with Agave bracteosa, Graptopetalum 'Fred Ives' with Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty', Mangave 'Kaleidoscope' with Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', and Mangave 'Pineapple Express'

 

The lath (shade) house, built by my husband in December 2019, is still the centerpiece of the area.

I caught a photo of the lath house with its glow on

Various exterior views.  The 2 bottom views show the "windows" in the structure, both featuring window boxes filled with succulents.

Various interior views.  Plants in pots line the ground level and 2 levels of shelves.

Not all the plants inside the lath house responded to the cooler, wetter weather as well as the garden in general has.  Some essentially drowned in their pots when I wasn't paying attention.  I've replaced a few but many more deserve additional care.

One of several noID Rex Begonias (left) and a tuberous Begonia

None of the 4 fuchsias inside the lath house are currently blooming but these 2 are among the most interesting: Fuchsia 'Autumnale' (left) and F. procumbens (right)

Clockwise from the upper left: Discocactus anguiliger (aka zig-zag cactus), Fatsia japonica 'Camouflage', and Platycerium veitchii (aka staghorn fern)

One of the upper shelves is entirely occupied by orchids of different types but none of those are currently blooming (and most could use repotting).  However, Epiphyllum 'King Midas' (left) currently has a very flashy bloom, as does a recently purchased miniature Phalaenopsis (right).

I wired moss and assorted Tillandsias to a a dead branch last year (left).  Other Tillandsias include T. 'Spirit' (upper right) and T. xerographica (lower right).

 

There are plenty of potted plants in the area surrounding the lath house too.

These are just a few of the plants I have in pots outside the lath house.  Some are succulents, some aren't.  Those shown in closeups in the middle column are Echeveria 'Afterglow', Dyckia 'Tarzan', and Pilosocereus nobilis f. cristatus.  The plants in the column on the right are a Fuchsia arborescens and Begonia luxurians.

 

Sometimes I'm surprised at how many plants I've crammed into this area - and at other times I wonder how many more I could squeeze in.  The same could be said for the street side succulent bed that fronts this part of the garden.

View from the southwest corner area looking toward the street

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Red, white - and blue

In honor of Independence Day tomorrow, I'd intended to create a red, white and blue arrangement but the reds I have on hand are limited and they didn't mix well with the blues I'd selected so instead I have a red and white arrangement and a separate blue and white arrangement.

Daucus carota 'Dara' was the inspiration for this arrangement but Lilium 'Pretty Woman' assumed center stage

Back view: Unfortunately the small white flowers of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' were almost lost in the arrangement

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Red', Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Daucus carota 'Dara', and Lilium 'Pretty Woman'

 

I spent a lot of time dithering with the blue arrangement, although Agapanthus remained the primary element from the outset.

Like a lot of flowers in my garden, the Agapanthus were slower to get started this year but they're currently coming on like gangbusters

Back view: I included cuttings of the twisty mystery vine I discovered in my cutting garden to add some interest.  The stems of Salvia 'Winnifred Gilman' I added were largely lost among the Agapanthus but they do add scent.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian White', Osteospermum 'Violet Ice', Prunus ilicifolia, noID blue Agapanthus, Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman', noID vine, and noID white Agapanthus

 

Our marine layer is still intact but it's been clearing between 10am and 11am each day so our afternoon temperatures have crept up. 

I took this photo Saturday morning but the view was the same on Sunday morning.  Our temperature reached a high of 84F/29C on Saturday but it didn't climb above 80F/26C on Sunday.  However, our humidity levels remained significantly higher than usual both days.

 

For more IAVOM creations, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  For those of your celebrating Independence Day, best wishes for a happy and safe holiday!  Avoid the noise, air and water pollution caused by outdated firework displays and the heightened risk of wildfires that accompany them and try out the new drone-driven light shows if you have that option.  It frankly sounds - and smells - like a war zone in my area on the 4th of July.  The Los Angeles Regional Water Control Board recently nixed the professional firework displays along a large stretch of our south coast due to the plastic pollution that ends up in the ocean.  Amateur displays of even the so-called "safe and sane" fireworks are illegal in my high fire-risk area but that hasn't stopped the fireworks we've been hearing regularly for more than two weeks leading up to the holiday, despite the exposure to hefty fines.

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party