Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - November 2019

November isn't the best month for gardens in the Northern Hemisphere and mine is no exception.  There's less in bloom in my garden this month than there was last year at this time but that's a byproduct of both weather conditions and inattention on my part.  We've been dry since early May and, although our rainy season officially kicked off in October, we've yet to see a drop of rain.  We've had warmer days than typical for this time of year and bout after bout of high-velocity Santa Ana winds, which spread wildfires as has become the pattern in recent years.  On the positive side, the nights have been cool and the marine layer has raised our humidity during the morning hours of late.  We don't generally get freezes here but the warm daytime temperatures and wind have knocked out many of my plants and, as our 5-month home remodel finally nears its end, my attention has been focused on the inside of the house, with the garden forced to fend for itself.  I'm hoping that'll change in the next month.

I posted photos of my fall floral standouts in late October.  My Senna bicapsularis and Plectranthus 'Zulu Wonder' are mostly done for the season.  The bush violets are still blooming, although they're past they're peak now.

Barleria obtusa (aka bush violet), lending a cool note to our warm days

Several other plants are making a splash right now.

Bauhinia x blakeana (aka Hong Kong orchid tree)

The ever-blooming Grevilleas, 'Ned Kelly', 'Peaches & Cream', and 'Superb'

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' and P. 'Sky Rocket'

Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy'

Tagetes lemmonii (aka Copper Canyon Daisy)

A handful of others have just begun their bloom cycle.

NoID Camellia sasanqua, which lost a lot of bud-filled stems when the house exterior was painted

Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre'

Hemizygia 'Candy Kisses'

Hypoestes aristata (aka ribbon bush)

Mahonia x media 'Charity'

There were a few surprises too.

The foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea, left) I planted as plugs in October 2018 have bloomed off and on all year and those I didn't pull to make room for dahlias this summer are blooming again now.  Hemerocallis 'For Pete's Sake' (upper right) is blooming for a third time this year. Nerine bowdenii 'Stefani', picked up at The Huntington's 2017 fall plant sale. is blooming now for the first time.

I'm ending my post as I usually do with a few collages showing what's flowering on a smaller scale.

Clockwise from the upper left: Duranta repens 'Sapphire Showers', Polygala fruticosa, noID Wahlenbergia, Lavandula multifida, and Campanula poscharskyana

Clockwise from the upper left: Arbutus 'Marina', Gazania 'White Flame', Pentas 'Graffiti Pink', and 2 of the Zinnia elegans I haven't yet pulled from my cutting garden

Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Lantana 'Lucky White', self-seeded Osteospermum, Gazania 'Gold Flame', and 2 more varieties of Zinnia elegans

For more Bloom Day posts, visit GBBD's ringleader, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: A pall over the horizon

Visitors to my garden often exclaim about the view from my back garden, which overlooks the Port of Los Angeles.  It can be attractive and interesting but its appearance is frequently blurred by a dingy gray-brown blanket of smog.  Rain, when it comes, usually scrubs the horizon clean, at least for a time; however, we haven't had any significant precipitation since early May.  I know many gardeners feel melancholic when freezes bring an abrupt end to their growing season, as has happened to so many in the US this month.  I feel much the same kind of melancholy when I look out over the harbor and see this day after day:

The recent fires made the air even dirtier than usual.  I check the weather forecasts regularly to see if there's any chance of rain in the offing.  Yesterday was the first time I found forecasts showing a 40% possibility of rain during the middle of next week.  Hope springs eternal.

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


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Going tiny

Today is the anniversary of the popular meme, In a Vase on Monday, launched by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden six years ago.  I joined up at the end of March 2014 and have participated regularly ever since.  To recognize IAVOM's anniversary, Cathy challenged contributors to go small this week, creating diminutive arrangements.  I didn't quite make the six-inch height and width limit she suggested but I came close.

The Bauhinia flower was difficult to cut as all the flowers on the Hong Kong orchid tree are now well above my head

Rear view, showing off the delicate flowers of Hemizygia 'Candy Kisses'

Top view

From left to right: Bauhinia x blakeana (aka Hong Kong orchid tree), Hemizygia 'Candy Kisses', and Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star'

As usual, I cut more than I could stuff into the three-inch green vase so the overflow - and a couple of extras - went into a second vase.

I was surprised to find a Lisianthus bloom. You may be surprised to see the foxglove bloom on the left - that came from one of the plants I put in last winter.  I pulled most of them but I still have 3 or 4 in my cutting garden and they're flowering again!

Back view: given Cathy's theme, I couldn't resist tucking in a few stems of Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy'

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus), Alternanthera 'Little Ruby', Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', Hypoestes aristata (aka ribbon bush), Digitalis purpurea, and Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy'

Happy anniversary Cathy!  Thank you for leading this meme without ever dropping the ball.  You've made Monday special for many of us!  Visit Cathy to find more IAVOM posts.

All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Cleaning Up: First Steps

Our remodel is still hitting snags but nonetheless moving inexorably nearer to closure.  I've worn blinders for the past several months to avoid getting too worked up about the collateral damage to my garden.  It never looks its best at the tail end of our long dry season under any circumstances but some areas are looking truly terrible this year, especially in the back garden where work on our new kitchen spilled over into the beds surrounding the patio.  I've decided that a wholesale overall of several beds is in order but, until the construction workers are out of the picture, I'm holding off tackling anything anywhere near the high traffic areas.

Focusing on the little projects for the time being gives me some sense of accomplishment.

One of the first projects was pulling all the Lotus berthelotii I used as a groundcover on the south end of the back garden and replacing it with fresh plants.  Lotus is a short-lived perennial in my climate but after 2-3 years it was looking scruffy.  I planted daffodils (Narcissus 'Sunny Girlfriend') here too.  The upturned plastic flats are pinned into the ground to protect the new plants from raccoon rampages.

I've been doing some judicious pruning throughout the garden too.  Here, Agave 'Jaws' was in danger of being swallowed by Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' until I trimmed the latter plant back.

As I plan to sow seeds and plant bulbs in my cutting garden for cool-season flowers, it was time to dig up my dahlia tubers.  The plants had already taken a severe beating after 3 rounds of Santa Ana winds.  Technically, the tubers could stay in the ground all year in my climate but I need the space in my raised planters, and I don't want to risk rotting the tubers with the water my new seedlings will require.  Since I took this photo, I've cleaned the dirt from the tubers and have stowed them in the garage.

I still haven't pulled out all my zinnias but I've already tucked several Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) into the bed in the foreground where Dahlia 'Enchantress' once stood

I did clean out most of one raised bed, leaving just a few summer stragglers.  I supplemented the soil with compost and planting mix and sowed sweet pea seeds last weekend.  This week I soaked anemone tubers to plump them up before planting those as well.  I expect to sow larkspur (Consolida ambigua) seed this coming weekend.

I gave one of my large succulent pots a major rehab.  I couldn't bring myself to throw the Dyckia out so I painstakingly pulled the plant apart and included 3 divisions in the rehabbed pot.  We'll see if they survive the experience.

Mangave 'Red Wing' now serves as the pot's centerpiece, surrounded by (clockwise from the upper right): the Dyckia divisions and Portulaca 'Cupcake Lavender', Rhipsalis (?) and Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' cuttings, Portulacaria afra (from the original pot), and 3 Echeveria agavoides.

Other pots in the same area could use a refresh too but they'll have to wait their turn

The window boxes attached to my lath (shade) house were also in need of a refresh and got one .  I usually plant both with the same mix of materials but, as their sun exposure is different, I took a different tact with each this time.  I left the existing Coprosma 'Inferno' in both but added Coleus (Plectranthus scuttellaroides) 'Redhead' and 'Wasabi' plus Calibrachoa 'Coral Kiss' to the first one and Ipomoea batatas and pansies to the second one.

Yesterday I dug out all but the thyme edging of this bed.  Asparagus fern (awful stuff!) has crept in from the bed across the way.  I think I got at least most of it out but I probably need to tackle removal of the masses of it on the other side of the path if I'm to have any chance of keeping it out.  I've no idea what to plant here as nothing I've tried thus far has done really well.  The soil is on the sandy side despite the supplements I've added and the area gets partial shade.  Any ideas?

Meanwhile, a neighbor seems to be working on a project too.  My husband and brother-in-law guessed it's a guest house but, as construction proceeds, it looks more and more like a gazebo to me.

What's your guess?

Planting is usually best done during the cool season here (October through April) but our temperatures are stuck on the warm side at present with no sign of rain in the forecast.  Like the remodel, I'm hoping for change on that front soon.


All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: The zinnias keep going and going...

Are zinnias the Energizer Bunnies of the garden?  I think they might be.  I dug out the last of the dahlia tubers last week but I haven't had the heart to pull out the remaining zinnias even though I need their space in the cutting garden for my cool-season floral crop.  As flowers in my garden are getting harder to come by, the zinnias also came in handy when it came to making up arrangements for In a Vase on Monday, the popular meme hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden.

The zinnias were joined by other flowers that just keeping on giving, two of the large-flowered Grevilleas that literally bloom year-round

I used berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolium to dress up the back of the vase.  These berries look like tiny pumpkins to me.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolium, Grevillea 'Superb', Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', and Zinnia elegans (a combination of 'Queen Lime Orange' and 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose')

The bush violets (Barleria obtusa) have burst into bloom right on schedule.  They always appear in late October/early November.  Their bright blue color looks out of step with traditional autumnal colors but the flowers are welcome nonetheless.

Beautiful as they are, the bush violets often look a little ungainly in a vase

The violets might look better by themselves but I usually can't leave well enough alone

Top view

Clockwise from the top: Barleria obtusa. Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Lavandula multifida, and Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Wonder'

As I cut too much to stuff into my first vase (again), I ended up with some leftovers so, despite my relative flower shortage, I have three vases this week.

I grabbed a few neon-pink zinnia blooms to embellish the leftover stems

The bright pink zinnias were late arrivals but their centers play well off the color of the Leucadendron bracts

From left to right: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Leucadendron salignum 'Summer Red', and Zinnia elegans (possibly part of the 'Benary's Giant Wine' mix)

We hit yet another roadblock with our remodel last week and had to order more wood to complete our new floor.

The living, dining and kitchen area floors are done but the front entry and hallway are not.  The shortage has to do with the fact that the flooring subcontractor didn't use all the small pieces throughout when he established the layout pattern.

Hopefully, the extra wood order will be in at the end of the week or, worst case, the following week and we'll still finish by Thanksgiving.  Fingers crossed.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for more IAVOM creations.

All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party