Foliage Follow-up: In Praise of Thyme

I had no idea what to focus on this month for my foliage follow-up post, the meme hosted by Pam at Digging to celebrate the important role foliage plays in the garden.  Or, to be more accurate, I had several ideas but couldn't get excited about any of them when I went out into my garden to take photos.  Then I noticed how well the creeping thyme surrounding the flagstones in my garden was doing and, instantly, I had my focus.

A number of people have commented on how nice the thyme looks in my southeast side garden.  Frankly, I'm surprised at how well it has filled in since I planted the area close to 18 months ago.

Photo of pathway through my southeast side garden taken earlier this month

Photo of the same path facing the opposite direction, taken yesterday

The thyme I used in this area was Thymus serphyllum 'Minus' (aka wooly thyme), a very low-growing form that spreads widely.  I bought flats and planted small clumps approximately 2 inches in diameter roughly 12 to 18 inches apart around the flagstones.  I watered a few times a week after my initial planting but cut back to twice a week within a month or so.  The area now gets watered once a week during our cool season and twice a week during our warm season.

This photo shows just how densely the thyme grows

"Weeds" such as Erigeron karvinskianus (Santa Barbara Daisy) and Lobularia maritima (Sweet Alyssum) occasionally gain a foothold but they're easily pulled if they try to take over 

When we tore out the lawn in our front yard last year and installed flagstone paths throughout that area as well, it was natural to select the same thyme to fill in between and around the stones.  Upon inspection, I was pleased to find that it's filling in nicely too even though it was just planted in December.

Despite our limited rain and my stingy irrigation, the pretty green carpet is steadily filling in - perfect for both foliage follow-up and St. Patrick's Day!

This area to the left of the front door was planted in late December and somewhat more sparsely than the area on the other side of the doorway but, despite this and the fact that the soil in this area is poorer, the thyme is filling in, albeit a bit more slowly

Although the thyme flowers too, I love mainly it for the dense blanket of evergreen foliage it provides year-round, for its drought tolerance, and for the way it sets off both stone and other plants.

For other foliage highlights, please visit Pam at Digging.


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

In a Vase on Monday: No Fuss Bouquet

Despite our current unseasonable heat (or maybe because of it), there's a lot in bloom in my garden at the moment.  But heat makes me cranky and, this week, I didn't want to spend a lot of time futzing with my creation for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  On the theory that the beautiful blooms of 'Grevillea 'Peaches and Cream' wouldn't last long with dry Santa Ana winds blowing and temperatures above 90F (32C), I cut one of those blooms for my vase, the first time I've ever done so.  As there were a lot of blooms on G. 'Superb', I cut one of those too.  Then I grabbed stems of a few other plants and, plopping them in a vase, called it done.

I could have added Narcissus perhaps, or yellow Freesia or orange Bulbine or peach Gaillardia but I stood pat with the following plants, collected during a 5-minute spin outside (in the miserable heat):

• Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin'
• Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Goblin' (or maybe 'Arizona Sun' - they look the same to me)
• Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'
• Grevillea 'Superb'
• Phlomis fruticosa
• Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata'

Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin', planted last spring is perennial here

Gaillardia 'Goblin' is a trifle bedraggled but the stem has a few buds I hope will open to follow this one

The mature bloom of Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' is on the left and the less mature bloom of G. 'Superb' is on the right

Phlomis fruticosa, a very Seussian flower, is just coming into bloom throughout the garden

Prostanthera ovalifolia was the first foliage plant to catch my eye

I didn't spend time fussing with the arrangement and I didn't create any secondary arrangements with cast-off stems because there weren't any.  A sunny creation, sent by my subconscious to put me in a less cranky mood perhaps, it sits on the dining room table as my breakfast companion.

Please visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she's put together this week.  Link up and share your vase if you've put together something with makings from your own garden.


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

Bloom Day - March 2015

Last May, Southern California was slapped with 2 major heatwaves, breaking records and signaling an early demise for many spring blooms, while setting back some summer-blooming plants as well.  We hoped that was an anomaly but now find ourselves in the midst of a record-breaking March heatwave.

Yesterday afternoon's temperature reached 94F (34C) with near zero humidity (and my garden sits along the coast!)

I've been giving the garden extra water since the temperatures started to soar on Thursday but the plants are struggling nonetheless.  Some early spring flowers, like the Anemone coronaria, are withering in bud.  The heat is expected to hang on until mid-week.  The damage of this extraordinarily early heatwave won't be entirely evident for a few weeks but it's reasonable to expect some plant losses as even extra water can't offset the impact of the combination of unseasonable heat and Santa Ana winds.

There are a few stars in my garden this Bloom Day.  The one making the biggest splash at the moment is the perennial Ageratum corymbosum, which is far flashier than its cousin, Ageratum houstonianum.

Ageratum corymbosum produces large blooms and has interesting foliage

Ageratum houstonianum, a short-lived perennial here, does get points for a long bloom period

Two of my Grevillea are also putting on strong showings.

This Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' was purchased in a one gallon container almost a year ago and this its first bloom cycle (the larger G. 'Peaches & Cream' in the front garden has only buds right now but its been blooming off and on)

Grevillea 'Superb' is loaded with blooms and buds, which unfortunately don't show up well in my photo

From the left, Grevillea 'Superb,' G. Peaches & Cream,' and the fading blooms of G. lavandulacea 'Penola'

Many of the genera I featured in last month's Bloom Day post are still going strong.

NoID yellow Argyranthemum frutescens, A. 'Butterfly,' and A. 'Madeira Red'

Freesia in assorted colors

Gazania hybrids 'White flame' and 'New Day Yellow'

Osteospermum, clockwise from top left: trailing O. (noID) and O. hybrids 'Blue-eyed Beauty,' 'Peach Magic,' 'Zion Copper Amethyst,' 'Serenity Purple,' 'Pink Spoon,' 'Berry White,' and '3D Silver' 

Pelargonium : Top - P. hybrid 'White Lady'; Bottom, from left - P. ionidiflorum 'Pink Fairy Cascade' and 3 NoID P. peltatum

The biggest surprise was the appearance of flowers on a hedge I'd never seen bloom before but there were a few other surprises as well.

Prunus caroliniana, inherited with the house, bloomed for the first time 

Plants just beginning to bloom this month include: Top row, from left - Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin' (last year's plants, blooming again), Anigozanthos hybrid 'JoeJoe Red' and self-seeded Euphorbia' Dean's Hybrid';  Middle row - self-seeded Cerinthe major, Cynoglossum amabile and Felicia aethiopica 'Tight & Tidy'; Bottom row - Helleborus orientalis 'Phoebe' and 2 Schizanthus pinnatus from 'Star Parade' series

As a change this month, I also put together photo collages by garden area.  (This is what happens when one has to take refuge in the house to escape the heat rather than spend the weekend working in the garden.)

Flowers blooming in the front garden: Top row - Arctotis 'Pink Sugar,' Gazania 'White Flame,' and Coleonema album; Middle row - Grevillea 'Superb,' Calliandra haematocephala and Polygala fruticosa; Bottow row - Gaillardia 'Goblin,' Argyranthemum 'Butterfly' and noID Westringia 

Flowers blooming in the dry garden, clockwise from upper left: Limonium perezii, Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl,' Gomphrena decumbens, and Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink'

Flowers blooming on the slope, clockwise from the upper left left: Geranium incanum, Pelargonium 'White Lady,' P. Pink Fairy Cascade,' Zantedeschia aethiopica, and NoID Heuchera

Flowers blooming at the northern end of the backyard, clockwise from upper left: Arbutus 'Marina,' Gaillardia 'Gallo Peach,' Solanum xanti, Ceanothus (noID hedge), Hibiscus trionum, and Calliandra hybrid 'Hot Pink'

On the back patio: Bryophyllum manginii and noID Sedum

Flowers blooming in main backyard border: Top row - Alstroemeria (noID), Hebe 'Wiri Blush,' and Cynoglossum amabile; Middle row - Osteospermum '3D Silver,' O. 'Pink Spoon,' and Cerinthe major; Bottow row - Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream,' O, 'Blue-eyed Beauty' and Ipheion uniflorum

In the fountain border, clockwise from left: Dutch Iris (an early casualty of the heat), Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum,' noID Narcissus, Anagallis, and Gazania

Blooming in the bed outside the living room: Top - Ageratum corymbosum; Bottom - yellow and white Freesia and Helleborus 'Phoebe'

In bloom in the side garden: Top row - Phlomis fruticosa, Bulbine frutescens and Osteospermum 'Peach Magic'; Middle row - O. fruticosum, O. '3D Silver' and limonium perezii; Bottow row - Cistus x skanbergii, noID Hoya and Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid'

That's it for this month's Bloom Day wrap-up, sponsored by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.  Visit Carol to see if her Indiana garden has thawed out and to find links for the Bloom Day posts of other gardeners from all over the world.

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

My favorite plant this week: Pelargonium peltatum 'Crocodile'

On Sunday, I received a visit from another blogger, Denise of A Growing Obsession.  I've admired Denise's blog since long before I started one of my own - she grows an intriguing variety of plants and her posts always offer an interesting point of view on all things gardening related.  On the day she dropped by I was still reeling from the changes resulting from removal of a mature tree and pruning of 9 others (described here).  Denise gave me an opportunity to vent, endured a lengthy tour of my garden, and she brought plants!

Denise's delivery of seedlings and divisions included Pelargonium peltatum 'Crocodile,' an infant Agave 'Joe Hoak,' a succulent I can't identify, 3 Ballota pseudodictamus, 2 Papaver setigerum, and 3 Orlaya grandiflora

I've coveted Pelargonium peltatum 'Crocodile' since I spotted it during a local garden tour in 2013.

In a garden filled with beautiful and unusual plants, 'Crocodile' garnered a lot of attention

Although I've grown other varieties of Pelargonium peltatum, commonly known as ivy geranium, I'd never come across this cultivar with ivory veining before 2013 and I've failed to find it on any of my many nursery treks.  Denise remembered my interest in the plant and put aside a cutting for me, which I planted in my front garden earlier this week.

Newly planted 'Crocodile'

'Crocodile' sits in one of my new beds in the front garden among other recent introductions, including Agave 'Jaws,' Cotyledon orbiculata, Cuphea ignea 'Strybing Sunset,' Festuca 'Patrick's Point,' Pelargonium 'Mrs. Pollock,' and Abelia 'Kaleiodscope'

It's small now but it should grow to 2 feet tall and perhaps 3 feet wide in time.  It's suited to a range of conditions, from full sun to partial shade.  It's a tender perennial that can't tolerate frost but that isn't a problem in my zone 10b garden.  Like other ivy geraniums, it flowers, but it's grown primarily for its mottled foliage.

While 'Crocodile' is my favorite plant this week, all the plants Denise gave me have found homes in my garden.

I mistook the small Agave 'Joe Hoak,' shown here in a blue pot, for Furcraea foetida mediopicta, like this one in my backyard - they do look a lot alike at this stage, don't they?

The Ballota seedlings went into the side yard, while the Orlaya and Papaver went into the backyard border, where they'll get more water  (The unidentified succulent landed in my street-side succulent border)

Hopefully, despite temperatures that have recently jumped into the stratosphere, all my new plants will survive and thrive.  Thanks again Denise!


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

What should I do now?

Every border needs a focal point, doesn't it?  My backyard border changed dramatically last weekend with the removal of the Agonis flexuosa that marked its mid-section.  The removal came about in response to a complaint lodged by a neighbor concerning what she perceived as the obstruction of her view by our trees.  You can read the gory background details here so I won't reiterate them in this post.

Rather than engage in a battle arbitrated by our city's "view conservation commission," my husband and I decided to remove one tree and to thin and reduce the crowns of 9 others in a good faith effort to address the neighbor's objections.  Even after receiving notice of our intent, she sought to insert herself into details of the decision process.  After I declined her request to tour the property and discuss each tree in turn, she delivered photos, including at least one taken with a telephoto lens, showing the "offending foliage" circled with a yellow highlighter.  I haven't asked her opinion of the completed work and I don't intend to.  If she's dissatisfied, then we'll let the city commission address the matter - at her expense.

The removal of the Agonis broke my heart a little.  It  left a large empty spot in the middle of my backyard border.

Photos snapped from inside the house as the tree service crew brought down the Agonis and ground the stump to dust

The photo on the left shows the 2 Agonis trees in the backyard border before the one in the foreground came down; the photo on the right shows the remaining tree, with its crown reduced and its foliage laced out

I dug up a large number of plants in advance to clear room for the tree crew to work.  After the work was done, my husband and I swept up the sawdust left behind when the tree's stump was ground down, then dug in supplemental topsoil, raising the soil level a bit to improve drainage.  I've replanted some things but I'm taking this opportunity to reconfigure the border before putting all the plants I removed back.  I expect it'll take me another week or so to finish that up.

Area cleared in preparation for the tree service crew

Area as it looks now, cleaned up and partially replanted

What to do with the blank space left by the tree's removal is my current conundrum.  It's a very long border and I think it needs something taller than 3 or 4 feet to give the area between the 2 remaining trees, an Albizia julibrissin on the left and the remaining Agonis flexuosa on the right, definition.  To avoid future conflict with the complaining neighbor, I'd like to keep the height to a maximum of 12 feet as that's our rough estimate of the height of our roofline (although my husband proposed keeping it lower still).  In addition, I'd like to leave the remaining Agapanthus where they are so I want something that will coexist peacefully with those plants.  Finally, as our drought conditions continue to represent a serious problem, anything I put in should be relatively drought tolerant.

I've been driving myself crazy trying to identify the right focal point.  Some of the options I'm seriously considering include:

• Drimys lanceolata - it has attractive red stems and produces flowers and berries but it's slow-growing and needs regular water
• Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' - it's a beautiful drought-tolerant plant with both winter and summer interest and well under my height limit but I already have 2
• Metrosideros collinia 'Springfire'  - it's drought tolerant and has beautiful orange-red flowers that attract birds and butterflies but, if not kept pruned, can grow well above my 12 foot limit and it appears to have a dense canopy
• Persimmon - although these trees are deciduous, I love their leaves and beautiful orange fruit but can I find a dwarf variety and will it attract more raccoons to my back border?
• Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Ivory Sheen' - it's attractive and has a naturally lacy appearance but it seems more of a background plant than a focal point

Clockwise from top left: Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' with its summer foliage; nursery containers of Metrosideros 'Springfire'; containers of Drimys lanceolata; and a Pittosporum 'Ivory Sheen'

Do you have any thoughts or additional suggestions to offer?  I hope to add more Grevillea and other mid-sized plants to the border as well but I'd like to make a decision on the taller focal point first.


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

In a Vase on Monday: Ageratum corymbosum blooms at last!

I noticed buds developing on my Ageratum corymbosum in late December.  The buds became larger and more prolific in January.  I thought they'd open in time for Bloom Day in February but, as they did last year, they kept me waiting until March.  They finally began opening en masse at the end of last week so their inclusion "In a Vase on Monday" didn't require any deliberation whatsoever.

Ageratum corymbosum planted outside our living room window

Front view of completed vase

Back view

In addition to the Ageratum, I included lavender and yellow Freesia and Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly.'  The stems of yellow Freesia were a last minute addition, intended to perk up the mix by picking up the subtle yellow color in both the lavender Freesia and the Polygala.

Close-up of Ageratum flower stalk

Lavender Freesia

Polygala fruitcosa

The new vase replaced the one containing Cymbidium stems I created 3 weeks ago on the dining room table.  The orchids had faded a bit but they still looked surprisingly good even when I tossed them.

Cymbidium arrangement just before it was chucked

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she's got in a vase this week and to find links to other participants' creations.


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