Wednesday Vignette: Sunrise on a hot day

I hesitated to publish another post featuring sunrise photos only 3 weeks after an earlier post on the same topic but the following photos, taken earlier this week, capture the sense of scorching heat we've been feeling during our latest heatwave.

Yesterday's sunrise looking out toward Long Beach and the Los Angeles harbor

A long distance view from the master bedroom window, just as the sun stretches along the southeast side of the house - you can see the warm light streaming through the windows on the south side of the house through the glass insets in the front door, as well as how the sun lights up the east-facing side of the Magnolia tree

The sun focuses on the grass (Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum') in the mid-ground on the right and the Western Redbud tree behind it (Cercis occidentalis)

Pennisetum really makes the most of sunlight

The skies are partly cloudy today.  The temperature has fallen to the mid-80sF (29C) but the humidity level sits at 60%.  There's a slight chance of rain but as the last rain forecasts have failed to produce measurable precipitation, I'm not counting on it.

Wherever you are, I hope your day better reflects the norms of the season.  Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum to find images that she and other participating gardeners found interesting this week.


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

In a Vase on Monday: Rose starts but doesn't finish

A week ago, it felt as though fall was finally getting its start in my area of Southern California but before the sigh of relief escaped my lips, the heat returned with a vengeance.  Temperatures soared, hovering just below 100F (37C) all weekend.  We're not expecting significantly cooler weather until mid-week.  Under the circumstances, I didn't spend a lot of time outside deliberating on flower selections for this week's "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden.  I clipped a peach-colored rose because it's the first time the shrub has bloomed in recent memory and I knew the flower wouldn't last long in the heat.  I snipped a range of other flowers in similar and complementary colors and made a bee-line for the relative comfort of the house.  The rose initially served as the vase's centerpiece but it looked out of place so I removed it.

Vase with the 'Medallion' rose on the left and without it on the right

Unfortunately, I can't say I'm any more satisfied with the second version of the vase than I was with the first but I didn't have the energy to plunge back into the heat to look for alternatives so I let the second version stand. 

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Leonotis leonurus, Abelia x grandiflora 'Confetti', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', unripe berries of Nandina domestica, flowers of Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', and seedpods of Phlomis fruticosa

Perhaps the most interesting element of this week's vase are the seedpods of Auranticarpa rhombifolia (aka Diamond Leaf Pittosporum)

I returned the succulent vase created 4 weeks ago to the dining table and placed the new vase in the front entryway.

The heat forestalled my plan to plant out the cuttings used in this vase but I'm surprised how fresh they look given that they've had neither water nor soil to support them for 4 full weeks

I decided against scattering the dried Auranticarpa seedpods around the bottom of the vase, certain that my cat, Pipig, was likely to scatter them throughout the house

Although Pipig doesn't look like she's interested in any strenuous activity

Leftover flowers went into a small bud vase, which I placed next to my computer.  As I was preparing this post, I noticed that the tentacle-like stigmas on the Grevillea were moving.  At first, I thought maybe the air conditioner was blowing them about.  But the movements were irregular and uncoordinated.  Then, one by one at intervals, tiny beige blobs, each smaller than a grain of rice, landed on my desk.  They were squishy to the touch.  They didn't move and, in short order, they dried up.  But the Grevillea continued to twitch periodically.  It appears that this tiny creature, whatever it is, was parachuting from the flower to my desk, dying soon afterwards.  So, the Grevillea is no longer in this vase.

I put the rose in a tiny vase next to the kitchen sink.

The rose doesn't look as raggedy on its own

Lest you wonder, despite the heat there are still some pink Eustoma grandiflorum in bloom in the garden but I decided to make this a pink-free post.

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

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

The illusion of space and distance

When we moved into our current house, after spending most of our adult years in densely-populated urban environments, we had the impression of lots and lots of space.  During our graduate school years, we'd lived in a rent-controlled apartment.  The apartment, our neighbors and our neighborhood were great but we shared walls on both sides and the area was packed solid with condos and rental units.  Parking was an everyday challenge.  Later, when we bought a townhouse in a local beach city, we shared a driveway but no walls and we gained a tiny backyard all our own; however, we were surrounded by 2-story condos and townhouses on all sides which blocked most of the sun in the garden.  Only the jungle-like garden I created in the backyard gave us a modicum of privacy.  When we moved into our 1950s era house with its open view of the Los Angeles harbor almost 5 years ago, we felt we had real breathing room at last.  The properties on either side of us sit below us so we don't feel crowded by them.  But space is an illusion.  Although our property is a little over half an acre, our neighbors are still close.  Taking down the giant Yucca elephantipes at the bottom of our slope eliminated the visual boundary between us and the neighbor on one side.  The shrubs I planted down there have yet to repair the breach.  The boundary between us and the neighbor on the other side, made up of fences and plants, was fairly solid - until this week when she cut down the Strelitzia nicolai (Giant Bird of Paradise) and banana trees that lined her side of the fence.

Before and after view from the northwest corner of our property, which we recently cleared of sod

This before and after shot from our vegetable garden looking west over the corner of our garage shows the most dramatic change - from here and the front garden we now have direct views of 3 of our neighbors' homes

The change between the before and after shots in the dry garden doesn't look dramatic but, from another angle we can now see the neighbor's house, previously invisible except from the bottom of the slope

The neighbor's house with its teal trim peeks above the fence

On the good news side of things, the plants on our side of the fence will get more sun and better air circulation.  In addition, the neighbor didn't take out her plants but just cut them back to the ground so they should be back, eventually.

The main trunks were cut flush with the ground but side shoots were left

On the other hand, I now have a clear view of the homes up the street - the illusion of distance between us and our neighbors has been shattered.  My biggest concern is that the front area on our northwest side, recently cleared of sod and destined to become a shade garden, just became a whole lot sunnier.  Still, it's a good thing that the change occurred before I planted rather than afterwards.


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

Wednesday Vignette: Pumpkin Palooza

My free time is mostly occupied with digging and sifting the soil we recently had stripped of sod.  It's a seemingly never-ending project but I escaped for several hours last weekend to attend a plant sale at the local botanic garden and a garden center with a friend.  I took very few photos but one is perhaps worthy of the Wednesday Vignette hosted by Anna of Flutter & Hum.

I love those warty pumpkins, although I haven't brought any home with me (yet).  Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum to find more interesting images.


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

In a Vase on Monday: The Same but Different

I've heard many bloggers comment that they've felt the shift in the weather that fall brings but the change in seasons wasn't evident to me until Sunday when the daytime temperature plummeted, falling below 70F (21C) for the first time in months.  We even got a tiny bit of rain - 0.03 inches (0.8mm).  Although I haven't seen signs of many of our traditional fall bloomers yet, Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior', featured in a minor role in my "In a Vase on Monday" post 2 weeks ago, is coming on strong so it was time to give him his due.

I have 2 clumps of Plectranthus 'Zulu Warrior' in the garden, both grown from cuttings originally brought from my old garden

I considered a few additions to this vase, such as blue Eustoma grandiflorum and ivory Clematis terniflora, but in the end I let it stand with just 2 elements so that nothing stole attention from the 'Warrior' this time.

Plectranthus 'Zulu Warrior' (left) makes me think of Wisteria.  Polygala  fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly' (right) has a subtle presence that supports 'Zulu Warrior' but doesn't compete.

However, as you may have already guessed, I didn't stop at one vase.  There are too many pink Eustoma in the backyard border to ignore so I have yet another pink vase this week.

As the pink Eustoma can hold its own in a vase with just about anything, I had no compunction about throwing in other floral and foliage elements.

Top row: Eustoma grandiflorum 'Mariachi Pink' looking particularly rose-like; bottom, left to right: Angelonia 'Archangel Raspberry', Pelargonium reniforme, and Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star'

The first vase landed in the front entry.

The pink vase ended up on the dining room table, mainly because it blends well with the table runner that was already there.

The large succulent vase constructed 3 weeks ago was displaced and now sits on the stone wall in the dining area, part of a built-in barbecue that came with the house.  (Apparently, in-home barbecues were an "in" thing in the early 1950s when the house was built but, after almost 5 years in the house, we still haven't figured out what to do with the space.)

The water-less succulent vase is STILL doing relatively well, although I did have a minor battle with mealy bugs that showed up on the teal blue succulent

My sympathies to any of you on the east coast affected by the terrible floods.  I hope the system clears out quickly without further damage.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, the host of "In a Vase on Monday," to see what other gardeners have put together this week.


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

Wide Shots - October 2015

I'm finding it very hard to believe it's already October.  It feels like summer here.  The days are a bit shorter and the nighttime temperatures have finally dropped below 70F (21C) but those changes are the only real signs of fall.  Although we got a touch of rain early last month, giving us the wettest September in Southern California in 75 years, the garden remains very dry.  Daytime temperatures are hovering close to 90F (32C) so work in the garden is still largely confined to early mornings and late afternoons, which has made our work in digging up the backyard area formerly occupied by lawn slow going.

I estimate we've cleared  between 120 and 150 square feet of soil of grassroots, the plastic mesh used in sod, and rocks but we still have a LOT to do before we can lay paving stones and plant the area

That's all I'm going to show of the backyard this month.  Like last month, instead of showing photos of each of the major areas of my garden for this wide shots post, I'm focusing on just one section: the front garden.

The earliest photos I have of the front of our house were taken by my brother on Christmas Eve Day, 2011, approximately one year after we moved in.  They show a front yard with lots of lawn. The lawn was green because the photos were taken in winter, our rainy season, and because irrigation wasn't restricted until 2014.

Photo courtesy of ericnp.net

Photo courtesy of ericnp.net

My first wide shot of the front garden was taken on September 30, 2013.

The quality of the photo is poor but you can see that the lawn was still in place

When I took photos for my wide shot post one year later in October 2014, we were in the middle of digging up the area formerly covered by lawn, going through a process nearly identical to the approach we're currently taking in the backyard.

You can see piles of recently dug soil in the far right side of this photo

By January of this year, we'd completed soil preparation, laid flagstones and planted the area.

Most of the plants in the foreground were installed in November and December 2014

Last month, I didn't post photos of the front garden but I did take pictures.

This month, the view is much the same except that it shows the bench/plant shelf we added surrounding the Magnolia tree in mid-September.  (Details are provided here.)

Photo taken looking east toward the front door from the far side of the driveway

Photo taken looking south

Photo taken looking north

The starkest before and after comparison I can provide is this one:

My brother's photo from December 2011 is on the left and my current photo, taken yesterday from a similar angle, is on the right

I can only hope that I'll be as pleased by the transformation of the backyard currently in progress as I am with the transformation of the front garden.

As always, my thanks to Heather of Xericstyle, who started me on the process of collecting wide shots of my garden in 2013.

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

Wednesday Vignette: Spider Season

It's that time again.  Carrying a stick or a broom as one moves through the garden in early morning is recommended, at least if one wants to avoid getting one's face wrapped up in the silky strands of a spider's web.  The Cross Orbweavers (Araneus diadematus) are out in force.  As spiders go, they're very attractive creatures and an appropriate subject for a Wednesday Vignette, the meme hosted by Anna of Flutter & Hum to share interesting images.

The spider's common name derives from the white spots that form a cross on the creature's abdomen.  The spider is native to Europe but immigrated to North America like so many of our American ancestors.  It weaves an orb-shaped web and is generally found at its center with its head faced downward.  

This female spider initially constructed her bed, considerately I thought, just outside the flow of traffic above a grouping of Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass) adjacent to the outdoor porch we created for our cats, occupied now by just one cat, Pipig.  (To be truthful, our house is Pipig's domain but she does hang out on the porch off and on.)

If you look closely, you can see the delicate spider web with the female spider at the center

She wasn't alone in the area.  Spider webs are everywhere.

This web, still covered in morning dew, was easier to see but I couldn't bring myself to look at it closely to determine if what was caught in it was debris or something else

However, yesterday morning, after finding that the neighborhood raccoons had left their calling card at the fountain, I was stalking through the garden in a mission to determine what damage they had wrought and I found that my considerate spider had moved, weaving a new web across one of our main paths, which I came within inches of walking into.

The web between the pillar and the frame of the cat's porch was nearly invisible

I stopped just in time as I saw her, seemingly hanging in open air in the middle of the path as it transitions from the side porch to the flagstone pathway leading through the arbor to the front yard.

Neither she nor I would have been happy if I'd charged through the space

As gently as I could, I broke the web, allowing the spider to move safely to a nearby potted Copper Spoons plant  (Kalanchoe orgyalis), where she rested for a time.

In this position, the cross on her abdomen is less apparent but this is the same spider as in the preceding photo.  She looks rather pretty against the felt-like brown foliage of the Kalanchoe.

She was gone just a little later when I checked on her but I suspect I'll see her again.  Hopefully, I'll be prepared for our next encounter.

Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum to see what images captured her attention and that of other participants this week.


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