Wednesday Vignette: The value of persistence

When I moved the bird feeders in my garden after two dead trees were taken down, it took only a short while before the birds became comfortable with the new location and came back.  It took only slightly longer for the squirrels to return.

The seeds are so close, yet so far

That feeder looks just a smidge closer

He makes a grab for it but his weight on the side supports pulls the seed prtals closed

Pulling it closer doesn't help

Defeated, he gave up - for awhile

Since that first sighting from my office window earlier this month, Mr Squirrel has perfected his seed-stealing technique once again and now hangs upside down from the upper portion of the two side feeders without applying any weight or pressure on the supports used by the birds, which would close the seed portals.  He feeds comfortably, at least until he gets dizzy or loses his grip.  He hasn't figured out how to get into the large feeder in the center, though, at least that I've seen.

There's no beating a persistent, hungry squirrel.  Speaking of persistence, my husband finally acquiesced to my "suggestion" that we buy a Ginkgko tree to plant in the area formerly occupied by the dead mimosa tree.  We don't have it yet as the local garden center won't get these deciduous trees in again until they begin to leaf out but I plan to place my order sometime in January.  Meanwhile, I have to content myself by imagining my new tree.

It helps that the neighbor directly across the street has a few of them

I hope you're being persistent with your safety precautions through this holiday season.  Best wishes for a pleasant, if subdued, Christmas.

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: Itsy Bitsy tangles with the queen of flowers

A friend of mine stopped by on Saturday with gifts, including peonies!  The same market that offers peonies in late spring/early summer now has "winter peonies" so of course I had to use them in a vase this Monday.  She brought two sleeves of peonies in different colors but, as one group opened far more quickly than the other, I ended up displaying them in separate vases.

I partnered the peony blooms with Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' and foliage from my garden.  According to legend, peonies are the queen of flowers (or king or empress, depending upon the source). 

Back view: I cut so many of the spindly 'Itsy Bitsy' stems, they repeatedly got tangled with the peonies and themselves, hence the title of this post

Top view

From left to right: Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', noID peonies, and Prunus caroliniana

The peonies in the second vase were still stubbornly curled in tight balls on Sunday afternoon but I'm expecting they'll open overnight.

These peonies were also paired with 'Itsy Bitsy' and the same foliage

Contrary to expectations, my garden produced yet another Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) bloom so, to celebrate its persistence, I constructed another arrangement around it.

I collected a range of blue and purple blooms to accent the dark blue Lisianthus

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: noID Ceanothus, Eustoma grandiflorum, Lavandula multifida, Osteospermum 'Violet Ice', Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', and Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic'

I showed a single photo of a wreath I constructed from scratch (my first ever!) in my Friday post but, thinking that members of the IAVOM community were perhaps most likely to appreciate the process, I saved the details for this post.

From left to right, the main ingredients were cuttings of Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', berries of Nandina domestica paired with stems of Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', and Leucadendron 'Winter Red'.  I tied the cuttings tightly together using fishing line.  In retrospect, I should have made more and smaller bundles of each material to create a denser wreath.

I used a wire frame I'd saved from a store-bought wreath purchased last year.  When I started, I hadn't planned to add the red berries or chartreuse Coleonema.  I placed two Leucadendron 'Chief' bundles for each 'Winter Sun' bundle, wrapping the wire around each bundle hree times before overlapping it with the next one.  I didn't cut the wire until I'd covered the entire frame.

I was fairly pleased with it when I reached this phase but I decided I needed some bright spots of red, which is when I assembled the berry bundles.  I wired these in separately but it would have been better to have wired in everything at the same time, as well as using smaller bundles of materials to create a denser wreath.

Luckily, I had some chartreuse ribbon on hand.  I watched an online video about making a bow with multiple loops.  Stiffer ribbon would have worked better in this instance.

This is the finished wreath.  Knowing what I do now, next time I'll: create smaller bundles of materials (about 4 inches long), alternate bundles facing in and out, and wire all materials as part of one continuous process.  As this wreath has dried out rapidly indoors, I think I'll also place it outdoors if possible.

 

All Christmas decorating is now complete for this year.  With Covid-19 filling our ICUs and stretching local hospitals to the brink, my husband and I will be spending our holiday alone this year.  However you're celebrating I hope you find a safe and pleasant way to enjoy the comforts of the season.  Best wishes!

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

The halls are decked (for Christmas)

In this most awful of years, it was hard to work up the energy to decorate for Christmas.  As the new stay-at-home order in Los Angeles loomed close, I briefly considered giving up on a tree this year, something I've done only once before, ten years ago when we were in process of moving into our current house.  Then, as dusk was falling just hours before the new order took effect, I dragged my husband out to grab a tree at our local garden center.  The tree subsequently sat on our backyard patio for several days before we finally hauled it into the house, where it sat for several more days before I finally decided to get my act together and hauled out the Christmas decorations.

So, starting with the outside front entry, here we go.

I purchased a basic wreath from the garden center and embellished it with Nandina berries and Pittosporum from my garden, along with a bow I've had for years and a few ornaments

Two of the ornaments, a Santa-like angel and a ladybug, fit the garden theme.  The rappelling gnome is the only one left from a group of four I bought decades ago.

The gnome on the left was pulled out of the garage where he spends the majority of the year.  Like the gnome, the dog-like gargoyle on the right got magnolia seedpods and berries to guard.

Stepping inside, the small front foyer has its own faux tree.

I put every bird ornament I have on this faux tree and placed my favorite bicycling Santa at its base

The natural tree sits in an open area between the dining area and the living room as we didn't want to disturb the cat by taking over the back corner of the living room where she spends her afternoons.

This placement avoided moving any furniture, or the cat.  The ornaments are an eclectic mix collected over all the years my husband and I have been together.

My husband and I made the three ornaments in the top row of photos above and the first one in the second row, as well as others constructed with sequins and beads.  The other two in the second row were made by my stepfather decades ago.  The red one bears an unfortunate likeness to the COVID-19 virus molecule but, with few of my stepfather's ornaments left, I couldn't bring myself to omit it.  The butterfly and bee ornaments, each part of groups of three, were purchased but they're also made of beads.

I have a lot of ornaments that can only be described as whimsical, some I purchased and others given to me by a friend who often includes one with her holiday gifts.  The raccoon ornament in the middle was her nod to my ongoing struggles with the troublesome beasts. 

I have a lot of ornaments that reflect light.  The most special is the heirloom ornament on the top left, which I dates back to the earliest Christmases I remember before my father died when I was six.

The cat was left (mostly) undisturbed.

Big yawn from Pipig (Swedish for "Squeaky") to emphasize that I woke her up taking this photo

Look of annoyance that I interrupted her long afternoon nap

While the tree is the main attraction in the living room (besides Pipig of course), I threw decorations in a few other places.

I've collected a few snowglobes over the years, displayed this year on the mantle my husband built following last year's home remodel

Another Santa with a friendly gnome/elf helper

On the fly, I also put together my first wreath using garden cuttings this year.  It's far from perfect but I learned a lot in the process of making of it.  My husband hung it on a narrow wall dividing the entry foyer from the kitchen.  I'll share more details regarding it in my Monday post.

After all was said and done, I can't really claim this is "Christmas-lite" but the decorations are a little sparer than usual.  No garlands, fewer ornaments on a smaller tree.  Very few presents under the tree as I direct-shipped most gifts to their recipients.  I look forward to more festive celebrations next year, when it should be possible to gather together again without risking harm to anyone.

I hope you find ways to enjoy the holidays even under the current circumstances.

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

Bloom Day - December 2020

It's been ridiculously dry here in coastal Southern California.  Other than one light rainstorm in mid-November, which delivered just a twentieth of an inch of rain in this location, we've had no rain and, without much in the way of a marine layer, humidity levels have been very low on average.  Plants that usually bounce back in the fall are lagging, even though I'm still running our irrigation system.  The long-term forecast isn't very promising either.  The latest update I read suggests that dry conditions in Southern California may continue through January.

It's cool here but we don't normally get freezes so there are still plenty of flowers, if not as many as I'd like to see.  At this time of year, I truly appreciate the plants that bloom year-round so I'll start off with those those this month.

I don't think I've ever given Gomphrena decembens 'Itsy Bitsy' the starring role in a Bloom Day post so that's long overdue.  The flowers might be small but they're certainly plentiful.

I can always count on the large-flowered Grevilleas when everything else is in decline.
Top row - Grevilleas 'Moonlight' and 'Ned Kelly'
Middle row - two views of Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'
Bottom row - two views of the well-named Grevillea 'Superb'

A close-up of hybrid Cuphea 'Starfire Pink'.  I have 10 of these shrubs in my garden.  They need to be pruned back hard at least once a year but I never cut them all back at the same time as I fear the bees and hummingbirds wouldn't forgive me.

Many of the plants that were blooming last month are continuing to put on a good show.

Correas 'Ivory Bells', 'Pink Eyre', and 'Sister Dawn'

Most of the Gazanias in my garden are now self-sown offspring of those I introduced years ago

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' makes the most of the light in the fall garden

Tagetes lemmonii (aka copper Canyon Daisy) is starting to get lanky but I'll give it a bit more time before I cut it back

Some of the usual cool-season bloomers are making a splash right on schedule despite our dry conditions.

Two of the Aloes that have developed bloom spikes are 'Safari Sunrise' (left) and hybrid vanbalenii x ferox (right)

Blooms are back on the Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana), although most are way above my head

Calliandra haematocephala (aka pink powder puff) was used as a foundation plant in several spots by a prior owner of our property.  All are regularly sheared within an inch of their lives but one or two manage to produce some blooms every year at this time.

Two varieties of Camellia sasanqua in similar colors were planted by a prior owner under the roof eave on the north side of the house.  This is one of these.

This, lower-growing form, is the other.  I've no names for either cultivar.

I've had Cyclamen in my shade house for years but I admit that I refreshed the plants in this pot this year and moved the older specimens to a shady border

I introduced Mahonia x media 'Charity' in 2016 and it's finally gained some substance

I'm incapable to resisting the allure of Violas and always end up buying plugs at some point even though they're thirstier than most of my plants

I planted several Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light' in 2016 for their foliage but they do produce tiny white flowers in the fall

The biggest surprise this December was a very late-blooming milkweed I'd thought was long gone.

I planted three Asclepias cancellata years ago and thought all were gone until this one bloomed when the butterflies have moved along.  The bees seem to like the plant, though.  (Aphids too.)

Another surprise was a bloom spike on my xMangave 'Silver Fox'.

Over the last several years, I've accumulated more Mangaves (intergeneric hybrids of Manfreda and various Agaves) than I can count off-hand, most purchased as small specimens.  'Silver Fox' is the first to produce a bloom spike but it's taking its time to flower.  Agaves are monocarpic but Manfredas aren't.  It remains to be seen which parent 'Silver Fox' will emulate.

And to conclude this post, here are my usual scavenger hunt finds, organized into color collages.

Top row - Eustoma grandiflorum (still producing blooms now and then!), Felicia aethiopica, and Lavandula multifida
Middle row - Limonium perezii (early or late?), Osteospermum 'Violet Ice', and Polygala fruticosa
Bottom row - Primula x polyantha, noID Scaevola, and Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic'

Top row - Arctotis 'Pink Sugar', Argyranthemum 'Angelic Giant Pink', and Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid'
Middle row - Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' and Osteospermums 'Berry White' and noID pink
Bottom row - Pelargonium peltatum 'Flamingo', Pentas lanceolata, and Persicaria capitata

Dianthus 'Dash White', Lantana 'Lucky White', and self-seeded Osteospermum

Burgundy Pelargonium peltatum and Penstemon mexicali 'Mini Red Bells'

Top row - Argyranthemum 'Yellow Beauty', Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschein', and Osteospermum 'Double Moonglow'
Middle row - Primula x polyantha, Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', and Leonotis leonurus
Bottom row - Osteospermum 'Zion Copper Amethyst' and Zauschneria californica

Thanks, as always, to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for organizing this monthly bloomfest.  For more Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, visit her here.

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