Flip-flop on fire risk zones

I addressed Los Angeles County's adoption of "defensible space clearance" requirements in a post on March 28th.  The requirements were applicable to all homeowners in areas facing significant fire risk.  We received a notice from the Los Angeles Fire Department outlining its guidelines and notifying us of inspections to be conducted by department personnel in or around June.  Among other things, the notice specified the following:

"It is required that all trees and shrubs shall be maintained free of deadwood and litter.  Native and ornamental vegetation known to be flammable, including, but not limited to: Acacia, Cedar, Cypress, Eucalyptus, Juniper, Pine, and Pampas Grass shall be removed within 30 feet of any structure..."

The fire hazard maps available online for our area at that time showed the majority of our peninsula was classified as facing severe fire risk.  Although we weren't specifically required to take any action prior to the inspections, the notice stipulated that homeowners would have just thirty days to resolve any issues that inspectors found and the preliminary guidance we received suggested that time frame could be difficult if extensive changes were required.  We decided to get ahead of the problem by taking a range of actions that made some sense to us.  We ended up removing a large number of shrubs, which I addressed in a post published on May 7th.

In July we received notice of our compliance with current guidelines.  We never saw an inspector nor received any specific input concerning future challenges, specifically the "zone zero" guidelines under development at the California State level.  As it became more and more apparent that "zone zero" guidelines will be implemented by year's end, I began formulating strategies to remove materials that might be considered "flammable" sitting within five feet of our house (i.e., within "zone zero").

One of my most recent actions involved pulling out two woody Coleonema album (breath of heaven) shrubs near the front door.  I subsequently filled in the empty area with a Lomandra, which is generally considered to be fire resistant. 

We dug up a Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty' in one area of the the front garden (shown in the photo on the left) and plunked it into the area formerly occupied by the 2 Coleonema shrubs.  I made an issue of checking its distance from the wall of the house to meet "zone zero" requirements (as shown in the photo on the right).

After I expressed my concerns about the pending "zone zero" guidelines, my husband did an internet search and discovered - drum roll! - that the local authorities responsible for our peninsula are in the process of adopting dramatic changes to our fire hazard severity zones.  These zone classifications are important because they determine where California's defensible space standards apply, including those relating to "zone zero."  I wasn't able to dig up a "before" map but the extent of the changes are remarkable as shown here:

The update was published by our city in mid-June but I don't follow the city's website, which was clearly a mistake in this case
Map Source: rpvca.gov

Moreover, when I checked the rating of our property and the properties within our immediate neighborhood, which consists of fifty-six homes and one large empty lot, I was even more surprised.

That black dot indicates our location within the green (no designated risk) area

So, at least at present, our home is not situated in a fire risk zone at all. (Regardless of this, I've noted that we still have to pay the annual inspection fee assessed by the County as the fee already shows on our property tax bill.)  In total, we and fifteen other neighborhood homeowners, including the owner of the empty lot (the house formerly on it burned down decades ago), are in the clear (green area).  However, twenty-one neighborhood properties are classified as at moderate risk (yellow area), thirteen are classified at high risk (orange area), and seven are classified at very high risk (red area).  As all of these homes are within minutes walking distance from our home, the close proximity to red and orange risk areas still makes me nervous.  How the zones were established isn't outlined in any specific way on the city's site, and our zone wasn't identified in our compliance notice, but I was led to understand that the approach followed the criteria established at the State level.  The factors considered in defining an area's "hazard score" included:

• An area's "fire history"
• "Existing and potential fuel" (vegetation)
• "Flame length" (which according to Google AI refers to wildfire intensity and potential for damage)
• "Blowing embers terrain" (which refers to how wind-blown embers spread during a wildfire) and
• "Typical fire weather"

Officially at least, it appears that I no longer have to worry about the following areas of my garden:

I'm under no obligation to remove the lovely Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' or Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' I planted next to the garage soon after we moved in over 14 years ago

I needn't worry that my beloved ever-blooming Grevillea 'Superb' is partially intruding in the 5-foot space between it and the house, despite a serious pruning this spring 

No immediate action is required with respect to the Coleonema and Pittosporum shrubs that make up the hedge here on the north end of the house

or the Camellia sasanqua and Pittosporum shrubs around the corner that we also inherited with the garden

The fence issue is also tabled for now.  We looked at a metal fence options and calculated that the cost, including installation, ran in around $10K.

Moving on to other less ambiguous matters, we did receive "significant" rain from the storm that passed through Southern California earlier this week.  It's been called a "Goldilocks" atmospheric river event as it put a temporary stay on the start of our fire season while avoiding mudslides in the areas affected by the fires last January.  Our net rain tally was 0.74/inch.  My 50- and 160-gallon collection tanks are full.  The 265-gallon tank didn't accumulate much.  After-the-fact, we discovered that one of the filters was blocked by an inch of mud, preventing rainwater from flowing into the tank during the storm.  That, and the fact that tank collects rain off the smallest roof surface (i.e., only the back half of the garage roof), accounted for the fact the tank was nearly dry.  The tank's placement can't be helped as it's too ugly to set up in front of the house.

This is the 265-gallon tank, which is seated flush with the back of the garage wall.  The clogged filter is shown in a closeup photo on the right.  It attached directly to the roof gutter.  There's a second filter the water passes through below it at the top of the tank itself.

I filled these plastic trugs with water flowing down the rainchain that I couldn't otherwise capture.  The first round I collected was used to water plants under the roof's overhang area and container plants sitting next to the house.  I dumped the water I collected after that into the 265-gallon tank once the clogged filter issue was resolved.  It was a pittance but at least it's a start.

The best news is that the garden is currently fully saturated.  I should be able to leave our irrigation system off for more than a week without touching any of the collected rainwater.  The only negative is that my work in the cutting garden remains on hold until the soil in the raised planters dries out and can be worked again.

All but one of the dahlia plants and tubers in the raised beds are gone.  I removed all 'Lady Darlene's' damaged foliage but she still has a few fat buds so I've given her another brief reprieve.  There are also 3 large foxgloves left in the middle planter I haven't made a decision about - they never bloomed but might do so in the coming cool season; however, they also may prevent me from getting any remaining tentacles of the dahlia tubers out to avoid a replay of the mosaic virus. 

Meeko and I may be getting some time off this weekend.

As soon as our daytime temperatures dropped into the 60sF, I turned on the heating pad below Meeko's pink afghan and she's been calmer ever since

 

Enjoy a great weekend and thumbs up if you're joining a "No Kings" march on Saturday!

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - October 2025

It's scavenger hunt time in my garden.  I'm never utterly without flowers, winter being virtually a foreign concept here in coastal Southern California, but, at the end of summer, having had months without measurable rain, my garden can't be described as particularly floriferous.  This is especially true since the dahlias made an early exit this year.  (If you missed it, you can find my salute to the dahlias here.)  There isn't a lot of any one kind of flower but I took a careful survey of what's out there and here it is, starting with the most prominent specimens:

Aloe labworana, surprising me with a second round of flowers at the start of fall

Not flowers, but the berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolium provide a colorful display

After a second flush of the bottlebrush flowers of Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', I recently got a third one

I added Chrysocephalum apiculatum 'Desert Flame' to my garden earlier this year, not knowing what to expect.  It's a winner.

Okay, the flowers of Coleus 'Florida Sun Rose' (shown on the right) aren't impressive (and I usually cut them off) but you've got to give it credit for its foliage color.  I planted this one in 2024 and it sailed through last year's winter season, getting bigger and better.

The Correas (aka Australian fuchsias) are getting their bloom on.  From left to right are Correa glabra, C. 'Ivory Bells', and C. 'Wyn's Wonder'.

Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) hasn't done all that well for me this year but I've got a scattering of the plants in different colors in various areas of my garden

The large-flowered Grevilleas bloom year round here.  On the left is Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' and the more profuse G. 'Superb' is on the right.

I cut back all my Lantana a month ago and they responded with another flush of flowers.  Clockwise from the left are: Lantana camara 'Irene', L. 'Lucky Yellow', and variegated L. 'Samantha'.

The colorful bracts of Leucadendron aren't true flowers either but many make good substitutes to fill vases.  Leucadendron salignum 'Summer Red' is on the left and L. 'Safari Sunset' is on the right. 

I can't say I love the flowers of Mangave 'Pineapple Express' but it has stature

Rudbeckia 'Juliana' has been putting on a good show for the past 2 months.  Even though I treat them as annuals, they're definitely worth the investment.  I wish I'd added more this year.

These are the flowers of Xylosma congestum, which forms a hedge running along major sections of my garden.  It doesn't seem to bloom every year, or at least not on a significant scale, but the bees love those tiny yellow flowers when they show up,

I added a few annuals earlier this month and also waved goodbye to the last of my seed-sown zinnias.

I recently planted plugs of Cosmos bipinnatus to fill holes in my garden

I cut the last of the Zinnia elegans I grew from seed earlier this week after mildew badly marred their foliage.  Left to right are 'Benary's Giant Lime', 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose', and a variety I can't account for.

There were a few surprises as usual too.

My one remaining Japanese anemone (now classified as Eriocapitella hupehensis), inherited with the garden, has managed to offer a few blooms even though summer's hot, dry conditions virtually torched its foliage.  I hope to add more of these plants, if I can find them, to a shadier section of my garden.

I cut back my ruffled Leucanthemum x superbum in early summer, hoping to prompt a second flush of bloom.  I didn't get that but I did get this one photogenic flower!

I cut back my Polygala myrifolia (aka sweet pea bush) and Tulbaghia violacea (aka society garlic) too and this pairing sprang back in bloom.  The former has become something of a self-seeding weed in my climate but it's admittedly pretty.

Yucca 'Bright Star' doesn't bloom every year but the largest of my 3 plants is getting ready to do so this year.  My guess is that it'll end up looking like an unshapely mess once it's done but perhaps I can divide it.

I've planted numerous rain lily bulbs (Zephyranthes) over the years but I rarely spot them.  I saw this one when I almost stepped on it following the tiny bit of rain we had earlier this month (0.02/inch). 

I've thrown the rest of my photos of bits of bloom into color-themed collages.

Clockwise from the upper left: Catharanthus 'Blueberry Kisses', Hebe 'Grace Kelly', Lavandula multifida, Liriope muscari, Pelargonium peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard', Rotheca myricoides 'Ugandense', Salvia 'Mystic Spires', and Symphyotrichum frikartii 'Monch'

From the upper left: Arbutus 'Marina', Argyranthemum 'Aramis Apricot', Boronia crenulata, Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', bud of Medinilla myriantha, Penta lanceolata, and Xerochrysum bracteatum

From the upper left: Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Argyranthemum 'Everest', Catharanthus 'Peppermint White', noID Dianthus, Fuchsia 'Windchimes White', and noID self-seeded Osteospermum

From the upper left: Gazania, Gaillardia 'Spin Top Copper Sun', Pelargonium peltatum, and Salvia 'Skyscraper Orange'

That's it!  Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to find other Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts.

As an aside, we got our first real rainstorm of the 2026 "water year" yesterday!  The total was 0.56/inch, which probably doesn't sound like much to those of you in wetter climates but it's a pretty good showing for us, especially this early in our rainy season.  Our total rainfall for the 2025 water year (October 1, 2024-September 30, 2025) was a measly 7.03 inches.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Going out with a bang

My efforts to clear my cutting garden are continuing in earnest now but, as I'd hoped, there were enough dahlia flowers left to put together two more arrangements.  In addition to missing the flowers themselves, composing arrangements in future weeks will require more foraging, at least until my cool season cutting garden switches into gear, which probably won't happen until sometime in early 2026.

As most of my dahlias began to fade away, Dahlia 'La Belle Epoque' stepped up, accompanied by Dahlia 'Bumble Rumble'.

'Bumble Rumble' (sold to me as 'Kelsey Annie Joy') upstaged 'La Belle Epoque', even though blooms of the latter were more abundant

Back view: I added stems of variegated Correa 'Wyn's Wonder' (aka Australian fuchsia) to fill out the vase.  All of my Correa shrubs are just beginning to bloom.

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', Dahlia 'Bumble Rumble' (probably), and D. 'La Belle Epoque'

Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' also stepped up production as my dahlia season rushed to its early end.  Unfortunately, I hadn't set up effective support for the lanky plant so the stems were anything but straight.

As I discovered in prior years, the flowers of 'Fairway Spur' can vary significantly in their form, some densely petaled with others bearing nearly single petals surrounding open eyes

Back view: I also cut the last 3 open flowers of Dahlia 'Summer's End'

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose', Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', and D. 'Summer's End'

Most of my zinnias were already gone.  I'd originally thought I'd end the season by leaving more cut stems for the neighbors but there were too few to make a decent giveaway so I once again popped them into a small vase to sit on our kitchen Island.

The Zinnia elegans here are mostly 'Benary's Giant Lime' and 'Benary's Giant Coral' but none of these stragglers were really giant

Hopes are high that rain is in our near future.  There's a chance of it today but it currently looks like the prospect will improve overnight into Tuesday morning.  Both Weather Underground and AccuWeather currently put the prospect at ninety-five percent by Tuesday morning.  It doesn't appear it'll be much more than half an inch in total at best but that's good for us, especially this early in the season.  In any case, it's an incentive to make progress with the cutting garden cleanup today.  Dahlia 'Lady Darlene' has three blooms left, which I'm holding onto as a thank you gesture to deliver on Tuesday.

For more IAVOM creations, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Going, going, gone

Consider this a requiem to my dahlia season.  Although I plopped my tubers into temporary pots in mid-April to give them a head start in sprouting before transplanting them into the raised planters of my cutting garden, flowering was delayed until early August, probably due to relatively cool spring temperatures.  In addition to getting a slow start, they faced an earlier than usual exit due to a combination of severe mildew and the appearance of the dahlia mosaic virus.  (You can find the American Dahlia Society's pictorial guide to recognizing the virus here.)  The mildew was promoted by the heightened humidity delivered by a persistent morning marine layer followed by warm afternoon temperatures but I contributed to the problem by using small sprinkler heads attached to a hose to supplement my drip system.  Overcrowding my plants didn't help.  Next year, I'll water more carefully, promote better air circulation, and try a natural fungicide.  As to the mosaic virus, there's no cure for that so I'll be discarding all my afflicted tubers and buying new ones.*

But on to the requiem!  I planted twenty dahlia tubers this year, the majority of which I'd saved from prior seasons.  There were seventeen dahlia varieties in the mix, with three duplicates.  For ease of presentation, I'll show them alphabetically by name:

Dahlia 'Blue Bell' was new to me this year.  The flowers were pretty but the plant was stingy in producing them and not overly impressive.  I've already pulled it out.

Dahlia 'Brown Sugar' has ball-shaped flowers.  It makes a nice accent to the larger flowers of other dahlias.  It wasn't affected by the virus but it was a mildew magnet.  I've already pulled it.

This collarette dahlia was sold to me as 'Kelsey Ann Joy' this year, which it isn't.  A commentator identified it as 'Bumble Rumble', which it more closely resembles.  It wasn't a prolific bloomer but it's still flowering and has buds.

This one was sold to me as 'Cafe au Lait' but I think it's one of that plant's cousins, either 'Royal' or 'Rose'.  It's been blooming continuously and still has flowers, although I've already removed a large number of its major branches and leaves due to the disfiguration caused by the mosaic virus.

This is the first and only bud produced by Dahlia 'Caproz Pizzazz'.  I bought a bag containing 2 clumps of the tubers on a last-minute whim from my local garden center.  I gave one clump to a neighbor and planted the other in a barrel.  My neighbor's tuber sprouted but didn't bud at all.  My plant appears healthy - it's virus-free and has been only minimally affected by mildew but one bud from an entire clump of tubers doesn't make it a keeper.

I'm fairly certain this is Dahlia 'Catching Fire', although it was sold to me 3 years ago under another name.  I've divided it a few times and given plants and tubers away.  It's a reliable bloomer.

Dahlia 'Creme de Cognac' is another reliable bloomer.  It was one of the first to bloom in my garden this year and also the first of the dahlias I gave to a neighbor to bloom.  However, it was badly affected by the virus and I've already pulled up both my plants. 

This flower is just the second bloom produced by Dahlia 'Excentric' this season.  It has a few more buds but it's not a keeper despite it's virus-free status.

Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' is another late bloomer but it's been picking up speed as other dahlias began to lag.  As in prior years, the form of the flowers vary.  The flower on the right is a current bloom and there are a few others still developing on that plant, which will probably be one of the last I remove. 

Dahlia 'Labyrinth'  is a holdover from prior years.  It was the first plant to display signs of the mosaic virus and the first one I removed.

Dahlia 'La Belle Epoque' was new to me this year.  It still had lots of buds and blooms in place this week.  It'll be among the last plants I remove.

Dahlia 'Lady Darlene' is perhaps the most dramatic of my dahlias.  It opens with vibrant red petals marked by yellow streaks, then fades to softer colors as the petals extend and lean backward.  It still has buds but nothing nearing bloom stage.

Last year, Dahlia 'La Luna' produced some flowers with clear yellow streaks against its otherwise ivory petals.  This year, there were no such yellow streaks, just ivory petals with a pale yellow glow.  This one was also badly afflicted with the virus.  I removed it earlier this week.

Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda' was one of my favorites last year and was as prolific with its lavender-tinged flowers this year as it was then.  It still has a couple of blooms and buds.

Dahlia 'Miss Brandy' was another newbie.  I love it but it was light on flowers and, as it was affected by the virus, I'm not able to give it another year to bulk up.

Dahlia 'Molly Raven' is the only dahlia I had with dark foliage this year.  It was among the last to bloom and the plant itself is spindly.  I don't see any obvious signs of the virus in its foliage but I'm wary about hanging on to it in the hope it'd provide a better crop of its dramatic flowers next year.

Last, but not least, is Dahlia 'Summer's End'.  It's a waterlily-type I've grown - and divided - in prior years.  I have 2 plants in my cutting garden this year but both seem to have been affected by the virus.  I hope to buy another tuber to plant out next year.

With the exception of 'Caproz Pizzazz' and 'Excentric', all the remaining dahlia tubers should be out by the first of next week, if not earlier.  I may wait to see if the bud on 'Caproz' actually reaches bloom status.  As both it and 'Excentric' are in barrels separated from the tubers in the raised beds and neither shows signs of the mosaic virus, they're welcome to a little extra time in place, although I've no intention of saving the tubers of either one due to their poor performance.

Because I hope that dumping all my existing tubers and refreshing the soil in my raised planters will put an end to the mosaic virus, I've already pre-ordered eleven dahlias for delivery next spring.  Three ('Creme de Cognac', 'Labyrinth', and 'Mikayla Miranda') are replacements for this year's losses.  Two others ('Belle of Barmera' and 'Enchantress') are tubers I grew in prior years and loved.  The others are new to me.  Will I add more?  That's entirely possible but maybe I'll spread them more broadly, dropping some in barrels and containers elsewhere in my garden to give them more breathing room.  What can I say?  Dahlias are an addiction and they brighten the summer months here when the overall dryness of my garden delivers fewer flowers.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

*Note: While most of the discussions of dahlia mosaic virus are focused on removing affected plants and their tubers from your garden, I found one post that included actions you might take to prevent exposure at the start of the season, namely by spraying for aphids and other sap sucking insects.  I didn't witness an aphid problem in my cutting garden so I'm wondering if the influx of grasshoppers was responsible - they don't suck sap but they do chomp leaves and stems so I speculate that they might also spread the virus.  You can find a link to the article here.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party