It's finally cooled down and the air quality, while not good, is much better.  Yesterday was the first day that actually felt like fall to me here in coastal Southern California.  We're expecting temperatures to rise again starting Sunday but, for now, I'm taking advantage of the improved conditions to get started on some garden projects.  Two trees are slated for removal and others are to be trimmed on October 29th but I felt I could get a bit of work done on my front slope even before the tree service crew troops in.

The initial focus of my attention was the south end of the moderate front slope across from my lath (shade) house.  It hasn't looked great for some time but a den set up by a gopher earlier this year at the slope's base made things worse, which finally pressed me into action.  My husband actually kicked things off when, just before the last heatwave, he decided to remove the three 'Mutabilis' rose shrubs I'd been talking about taking out for months.

This photo was taken shortly after the roses were dug up but their absence isn't all that noticeable

The roses, which came with the house, had never done well.  The photo on the left shows two of the shrubs (one nearly dead) before they were removed and the photo on the right shows the emptied space.

The day before yesterday, I started removing masses of dormant Aeonium arboreum from the area, as well as the Honey Euryops (Euryops virgineus) that partially hid the gopher's den.

The Euryops had grown too large for this spot and in any case  I couldn't do anything to clean up the mess the gopher had made without removing it.  I took cuttings of the plant in the hope of getting viable plants to put elsewhere or give away.

At one time there was a fairly neat mound outside the gopher's den but I flattened it considerably since I started working in the area.  The photo on the right shows the tidy opening the gopher had made.

This is what the space looked like after I threw in the trowel late yesterday.  In addition to pulling most of the Aeonium, I cut back the self-planted Cotoneaster on the upper left and cleaned up the clumps of Festuca californica next to it on the right.  However, I spent most of my time pulling up the opportunistic roots of asparagus fern.  I'll never get it all but I'd like to seriously slow its spread.

There's still a lot to do before I'll be ready to replant the area.  I have to dismantle the portion of the dry-stack curb the gopher tore apart and refill his hidey-hole with the dirt he excavated.  I'll also try to remove still more of the asparagus fern roots that riddle the area.  Then I plan to create flatter planting areas using the rock we saved after dismantling the indoor barbecue in our dining room during last year's home remodel.  That may be the toughest step as the rock we have isn't ideal - I'm hoping I can break some of it into smaller pieces.  When that's done, I'll add some planting mix and/or compost and replant.

I've got a few ideas in mind for replanting the area but I'm not hurrying the plant selection process.

When the mimosa tree comes out in the back garden, I'm going to redesign the area surrounding the patio to make room for a new tree (yet to be identified).  The succulent beds adjacent to the patio will be scaled back so these Agave colorata will probably need relocating and I think the front slope may be just the place for them.

In the meantime, I'm happier having a cleaner slate.

The photo on the left shows the area as I photographed it for my October 2nd wide shots post.  The photo on the right shows it when I completed my initial cleanup yesterday.

I'm sure I can find a few other things to take care of before the heat returns and the tree service arrives.  Best wishes for a pleasant weekend of gardening to all!

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

Most of my dahlias are showing signs of finishing up their season.  Flower stalks have grown overly tall; blooms are getting smaller; and foliage is mildewing.  The majority peaked right in the middle of our last heatwave.  Some bloomed out so quickly they ended up in my compost bin.  Faced with too many blooms to use even after handing some off to friends, I left six bottles filled with dahlias and zinnias on the curb for neighbors and other passers-by to take last week.  Yesterday morning I cut all the dahlias that were in full bloom, filling six vases for the house.  Two of those contained blooms that were past their prime but I'll share the other four here.

Vase #1:

Dahlias 'Belle of Barmera' and 'Labyrinth' played the starring roles in this arrangement

'Belle of Barmera' has pretty blooms but its foliage is hideous and I don't think I'll be making room for it next year

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Labyrinth' (a winner by any measure), Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Correa 'Wyn's Wonder' (aka variegated Australian fuchsia), Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Blush'

Vase #2:

Dahlia 'Mr Optimist' was the inspiration for this vase but, when I discovered aphids on two of the blooms and tossed them, I added two other dahlias to fill out the arrangement, using Alstroemeria 'Inca Sunshine' to mediate their differences

Back view: I also used zinnias as fillers

Top view: I initially had reservations about this arrangement but now it's my personal favorite this week

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Dahlia 'Mr Optimist', D. 'Loverboy', D. 'Candlelight', Lantana 'Samantha', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', red and yellow Zinnia elegans and, in the middle, Alstroemeria 'Inca Sunshine'

Vase #3:

Dahlia 'Rip City' is running neck and neck with 'Enchantress' as the most prolific bloomer among this year's dahlia crop but the zinnia blooms may have eclipsed it in this arrangement

Back view: Very similar to the front view

Top view

Clockwise from the left: Dahlia 'Rip City', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary Giant Lilac' and 'Benary Giant Purple'

Vase #4:

With another heatwave in the offing, I couldn't bring myself to leave the very large Dahlia 'Iceberg' bloom to face incineration.  The blue Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) blooms are holdovers from one of last week's vases.  The buds on cut stems open in a lavender color rather than dark blue.

Back view: In retrospect, the arrangement might have looked better without the Salvia stems

Top view

Clockwise from the left: Dahlia 'Iceberg', Baleria obtusa (aka bush violet) with Eustoma grandiflorum, Salvia leucantha, and Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light'

Although yet another heatwave it expected to start today and continue for several days, I expect stray blooms out of many of my dahlias before I give up on them in November and dig up the tubers to make room for cool season flowers in my cutting garden.  Dahlias 'Labyrinth', 'Enchantress', and 'Rip City' certainly seem ready to continue blooming for awhile yet.  I still have high hopes for 'Gitts Crazy' which finally has bloom stalks (five of them!) studded with buds, and I haven't entirely given up on 'Rancho', part of the last, very late shipment of tubers I received in early May.

For more arrangements this week, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to find links to other IAVOM posts.

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

Mindful that Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is just a day away, I'm limiting this post to a single image, collected as I was taking photos of my flowering plants for tomorrow's post.  

The yellow-flowered Lantana, while no longer at its peak, picks up the similarly-colored edging of Agave multicolor next to it.  I'd like to say that was planned but it wasn't.  It was simply a lucky coincidence.

I'm feeling calmer this week.  I scaled back my news consumption; completed my ballot and mailed it (with ballot tracking turned on to follow its delivery to the Los Angeles Registrar of Voters, which confirmed receipt); and even took care of my large backlog of ironing.  Before the newest heatwave settled in, I also got started on one one of my fall garden projects.  Addressing what's within my control while turning off the noise relating to what I can't control was the ticket.

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

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

Last month on Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day we'd just put our worst heatwave of the season behind us but California and a good part of the Pacific Northwest were dealing with catastrophic wildfires and truly terrible air quality.  We've had more heatwaves since, including this week, and our air quality has been up and down but at least things are better than in mid-September.  We enjoyed a brief flirtation with fall last week and I'm hoping that, when the current heatwave passes, cooler temperatures will stick around for the long haul.

This month I'll start my bloom review with the newest arrivals.

These Anemone hupehensis (Japanese anemones) came with the garden but it still startles me when they return despite our generally dry conditions.  The pink variety in the front garden has yet to appear but I'm not about to count them out.

I invested in a flower-less one gallon container of Barleria obtusa (bush violet) at the local botanic garden's fall plant sale in 2014 and the plant now occupies several areas in my garden.  If I hadn't been vigilant, it probably would've taken over by now.  It certainly keeps trying but I can forgive a lot for those blue blooms.

The Australian fuchsias (Correa) are off to their usual slow, measured start.  From left to right are: Correa 'Ivory Bells', 'Sister Dawn', and 'Wyn's Wonder'.  Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre' is covered in buds but appears to be waiting out the heatwave before it flowers.

This Hibiscus trionum (flower-of-an-hour) is a recent gift from a friend.  I grew it previously but it died out, while she's blessed with more seedlings than she can use.  Like daylilies, the blooms don't last long.

Plumbago auriculata 'Imperial Blue' is a virtual weed in this climate and I've never planted it in the ground but I have two plants in pots that take off at this time of year.  I love the color of the flowers if not their stickiness.

Zauschneria californica (California fuchsia) is making a big splash this year, although it's battling for space with a Grevillea I'd forgotten was planted just behind it

I planted rain lilies (Zephyranthes candida) here in 2014 but never remember they're there until they appear each fall, rain or not

While the new blooms have added flashes of color here and there, the old summer stalwarts still dominate the stage.

The dahlias went crazy during the last heatwave.  I photographed these last weekend before the current heatwave set in.  The blooms are steadily decreasing in size and their foliage is getting grungy so I suspect this is their last Bloom Day appearance of the year. Top row: Dahlias 'Belle of Barmera', 'Labyrinth', and 'Candlelight' Middle row: 'Enchantress', 'Iceberg', and 'Sellwood Glory' Bottom row: 'Loverboy', 'Mr Optimist', and 'Rip City'

This is one of 15 buds on Dahlia 'Gitts Crazy'.  I planted it in late April and it sprouted less than three weeks later.  As all the other dahlias are finishing up, it's only just now preparing to bloom.

The large-flowered Grevillea bloom all year but they're really floriferous right now.  The closeups in the top row are, left to right: Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', 'Peaches & Cream', and 'Superb'.  Photos of the last two shrubs are shown below.  When grooming the shrubs, I'm surrounded by a constant buzz of bees, none of which have ever stung me.

These Lantana are blooming especially well this year.  The orange and yellow varieties (left), planted in a half barrel container three years ago, may have gotten a boost from the fertilizer I've been adding to get another dahlia, planted late in the season, to bloom, but the variegated Lantana 'Samantha' (right) never received any fertilizer and it's going strong after being cut to the ground last winter.

I can always count on Pennisetum to put on a show starting in late summer.  On the left is Pennisetum 'Fireworks' and on the right is P. advena 'Rubrum'.

Salvia leucantha is also having a good year

This is probably the last hurrah for the Zinnia elegans this year too.  The foliage is developing a bad case of mildew due to the mixed influence of our damp morning marine layer and the continuing high temperatures.

The Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) that had burned out earlier this summer also staged a recovery, or two varieties did anyway.

I'm always happy to have them back

There were several other surprises as well.

A friend gave me this Iris germanica 'Autumn Circus' in late May.  I didn't expect any blooms until next year but I got this one earlier this month.  Another bud followed but it was incinerated by the last heatwave.

I planted Lessingia filaginifolia 'Silver Carpet' (carpet beach aster), a groundcover, in 2015.  It's persisted but I seldom notice it until it flowers, partly because Helichrysum petiolare 'Petite Licorice', a weed here, is constantly seeking to overwhelm it, as shown.

Stapelia grandiflora made another appearance.  Its bud, shown on the left, opened a couple of days after I discovered it.  I took the photo on the right before its characteristic odor began attracting flies.

This isn't quite a bloom yet but it's the first time I've ever seen a bloom stalk on Vriesea ospinae cv gruberi (now classified as Goudaea ospinae)

This Yucca 'Bright Star' bloomed earlier this year but it unexpectedly developed a side bloom I only just noticed last week

That brings me to the the usual color collages I end my Bloom Day posts with, featuring the best of the rest.

Clockwise from the upper left: Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic', Brachyscome 'Brasco Violet', Lavandula multifida, Plectranthus neochilus, Polygala myrtifolia, Oxalis triangularis, and Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud'

Clockwise from the upper left: Cuphea 'Honeybells', Rosa 'Pink Meidiland', Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Pentas lanceolata, noID rose, noID Phalaeonopsis, and Bauhinia x blakeana

Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance', Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', A. 'Kaleidoscope', Euryops chrysanthemoides, Hemerocallis 'For Pete's Sake', Oncostele 'Wildcat', noID self-seeded Osteospermum, and noID Phalaeonopsis

Clockwise from top left: Rosa 'Medallion', Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', noID Amaranthus, Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', Pelargonium peltatum, Penstemon mexicali, and Rosa 'Joseph's Coat'

For more on what's blooming in other parts of the country and around the world, visit our bloom-fest host, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

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

The title of this post has less to do with my mental state than the fact that, at long last, Dahlia 'Gitts Crazy' has bloomed, earning it the starring role in my first arrangement.  The dahlia was planted during the latter part of April, late based on my usual practice, but not as late as others that bloomed much earlier.  I'd nearly given up on it when it finally budded out.

I sacrificed several nascent buds to cut the first blooming stem of 'Gitts Crazy' but, as its season is going to be relatively short, that seemed a better approach than sacrificing the bloom while waiting for those buds to mature

I filled the arrangement out with stems of Dahlia 'Labyrinth', which has continued to be generous with its blooms.  The 'Labyrinth' and 'Gitts Crazy' tubers were planted on the same date.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlias 'Gitts Crazy' and 'Labyrinth', Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Auranticarpa rhombifolium, Calliandra haematocephala, Correa 'Sister Dawn', and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Blush'

Barleria obtusa was the inspiration for this arrangement but Dahlia 'Iceberg' is nudging everything else into supporting roles

Back view: I used variegated mint bush (Prostanthera ovalifolia)  to lighten up the darker foliage of the bush violet.  Mint bush produces beautiful purple blooms in the spring but I grow it for its wonderful foliage.

Top view

Clockwise from the left: Barleria obtusa, Dahlia 'Iceberg', Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', and Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus)

For more arrangements created by contributors from materials on hand in their gardens, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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

For some reason, now that our temperatures are slowly cooling, the house and lesser gold finches have been throwing one pool party after another in our backyard fountain.  The finches are here year-round, although they've been less actively present since I stopped filling the bird feeders in the interest of discouraging visits by the peacocks that discovered my garden earlier this year.  I still haven't filled the feeders as I plan to take them down, clean and move them once the dead trees near them are cut down next week.  So, why the finches are paying regular visits en masse to the fountain is perplexing but I'm not complaining.  They've been having a great time and I've enjoyed watching them.  Here, with just a few comments, are some of the shots I captured from my bird blind (i.e. inside the house alongside the fireplace between the dining and living rooms).

This photo was taken without a telephoto lens but the rest were taken using one

I love the splash shots

Hey, where'd everybody go?

Beak down, wings up!

Thanks for sharing the bath but I'm out of here!

I hope you find joy on wings or otherwise during the course of the week.  For more Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.

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

I stopped by South Coast Botanic Garden again two weeks ago.  Actually, "stopped by" is a misnomer as advance reservations are still required, along with masks and social distancing.  

This sign is positioned to be viewed as soon as you enter the garden after checking in (from a distance)

My main purpose was to check on the Dahlia Garden but I took a general look around to see what's been going on since my visit in late July.  What follows are the highlights of my one hour tour.

The Japanese Garden was looking neat and tidy

There were lots of blooms in the Fuchsia Garden, leading me to wonder once again what I need to do to get these plants to bloom in my garden.  While they want shade, I think they need more light than they're getting in my shade house, especially when the extra sunscreens are up during the summer months.

This area had been cleared just before our March lockdown.  It's being designed to offer a bright spot for visitors this coming spring.

The Dahlia Garden sits directly to the right of the area under construction shown above.  The area surrounding it has changed dramatically since my last visit.

The photo on the left, taken in June, shows the Dahlia Garden as an intimate enclosed space (even if the storage shed to the rear didn't offer the best backdrop).  I took the photo on the right on October 9th.

This area to the left of the Dahlia Garden once housed storage sheds, a greenhouse and SCBG's tram buses.  It's been cleared to make way for an exhibition area scheduled to open next year.

Exposed on three sides and now open to the two new areas under construction, the Dahlia Garden struck me as small and almost out of place

Additional dahlias had been planted to fill areas of the raised beds that had been empty on prior visits.  Unfortunately, many of the older plants were well on the road to decline.  I photographed the best of what the Dahlia Garden still had to offer at the time of my visit.

The new plants were enclosed in cages, presumably to protect them from critters

Blooming, top row were: Dahlias 'American Beauty', 'Bahama Mama' and 'Cafe au Lait' Middle row: 'Emory Paul', 'Kelvin Floodlight' and 'Lisa Lisa' Bottom row: 'Penhill Dark Monarch', 'Thomas Edison' and a variety I can't identify based on my records

Exiting the Dahlia Garden, I continued my rounds, starting with the Volunteer Garden. The volunteers themselves are still on hiatus, awaiting guidelines to cover their recall.

The Japanese anemones (Anemone hupehensis) were blooming en masse in a few areas

My own bush violets (Barleria obtusa) came from a fall sale at the botanic garden years ago.  If I'd seen how big it can get before I planted it, I might have been more careful about spreading it throughout my garden.

I've never grown Justicia carnea (aka flamingo flower) in my garden but whenever I see it in bloom I always wonder why.  (The short answer is that it needs more water than I give most plants outside my cutting garden.)

However, I did hunt down Tithonia diversifolia (aka Mexican sunflower tree) for my garden, although I haven't planted it out yet.  I'm almost afraid to as it obviously gets very big at maturity.

These photos are from the Vegetable Garden.  The seating area on the left is planted with herbs.  I discovered Helianthus maximilliani (right) growing in one of the raised vegetable beds.

The succulent and fern-planted Living Wall is well-maintained and always looks good

This blue potato bush (Lycianthes rantonnetii) occupies a bed on the edge of the garden's lower meadow across from the Vegetable Garden

Before the pandemic, people could often be found painting in the garden but this is the first time since March I've seen any doing that

The Desert Garden has been well-weeded since my July visit

The Rose Garden was still in serious need of deadheading but I managed a few presentable shots.  From left to right are: Rosa 'Gemini', 'Grauss an Aachen' and 'Sparkle & Shine'.

The plants in the Lavender Field had been trimmed back but the area looked good.  The desert willows (xChitalpa tashkentensis 'Morning Cloud') were still flowering.

The Mediterranean Garden wasn't looking its best but then that's normal for this time of year.  In my opinion, it could use some Australian and South African plants to give it more year-round interest.  I liked the Salvia x jamensis 'Golden Girl' growing there, though.

I only covered the front third of the garden before I ran out of time and headed back in the direction of the exit, snapping a few more photos on my way.

The silk floss trees (Ceiba speciosa) are in bloom throughout the garden right now and I'd be remiss not to show at least one.  The one shown in the top two photos (from two directions) stands along the path between the Rose Garden and the entrance area.  The photos in the bottom row show a closeup of the tree's flowers, as well as the closeups of the Dahlia 'Mystic Spirit' and Salvia leucantha that sit adjacent to the tree.

My last shot was taken in the parking lot as I walked to my car.

I believe this is also a silk floss tree.  I wish my own garden were large enough to support a tree this size.

Best wishes for a colorful weekend!  We have a slight chance of light rain in the forecast at intervals through Monday but it's nothing to bank on at this point (although that doesn't mean my hopes haven't been raised).

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

I hadn't intended to go overboard on floral arrangements again this week but I started clearing out my cutting garden and, rather than dispatching with some perfectly presentable dahlias and zinnias, I cut a lot of them.  When I was done with that, I gathered other materials from the larger garden to serve as fillers and I ended up with this:

My process of composing an arrangement is usually very different.  I pick a bloom as my inspiration and wander the garden to search of suitable companions so, when I bring in a jar of plant materials into the kitchen, all that's left to do is to choose a vase and arrange the contents.  This time, I had a hodge-podge of loosely-connected materials to pull together into something, or rather several somethings.

Vase #1 was inspired by two 'Belle of Barmera' Dahlia blooms and a couple of late blooming roses.

This dahlia bloom and the 'Medallion' roses won't hold up long but they were too pretty to ignore

Back side: The second 'Belle of Barmera' bloom had only just opened and was much pinker in color so I played that up with other pink flowers.  I placed this side facing the wall in the front entry but, when the flowers shown in the front view wither, I'll turn this face forward.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: The older 'Belle of Barmera' Dahlia bloom followed by the more recent bloom, Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre', Rosa 'Medallion', noID pink Zinnia elegans, and Zinnia 'Senora'.  Did you notice the droplets of water on the dahlia and roses?  We got 0.02/inch of rain yesterday morning.  Pitiful, yes, but our first rain since April.

Vase #2 is a rehash of one of last week's arrangements.

There were more blooms on Dahlia 'Gitts Crazy' this week, although once again I had to sacrifice well-developed buds to get stems long enough to work in a vase

Back view, showing off more 'Queen Lime Blush' Zinnias and the first flowers of Senna bicapsularis, another of my favorite fall bloomers

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Gitts Crazy', D. 'Labyrinth', noID Lonicera, Senna bicapsularis, and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Blush'.  (Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' was included in this arrangement too.)

The vase itself is different but the contents are the same as last week's arrangement, albeit with somewhat different proportions

Back view: The bush violet shrubs are now densely covered in flowers

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Barleria obtusa (aka bush violet), Dahlia 'Iceberg', Eustoma grandiflorum, and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata'

Shown here clockwise from the top left are: front and overhead views of the arrangement, noID pinkish-purple rose, Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant 'Lilac' and 'Benary's Giant Wine', and Agonis flexuosa 'Nana'

It's a weird time.  Election day in the US is less than a week away and, although I voted early, I'm anxious to reach the end of the long, tumultuous period of political grandstanding.  Yet, the election itself may prompt another round of ugliness.  I'm sometimes tempted to take shelter as one does in an earthquake, close my eyes, and pray for it to be over without a tragedy of some sort.  In the garden, I've got two large trees, one dead and one nearly so, scheduled for removal tomorrow, and I'm apprehensive about the impact there.  And it didn't help that this week's latest bout with Santa Ana winds triggered two more vicious wildfires in Southern California, neither of which is anywhere near containment.  A flurry of firework displays last night, sparked by the Dodgers' win in the World Series, intensified my fire-related anxiety.

Despite once again contending with poor air quality due to smoke, I've spent time in the garden off and on since the fires started early Monday morning.  What I noticed in the back garden in particular was the prominence of blue color.

The odd light levels when I took this photo of the back garden near mid-day on Monday reflected the early influence of the Silverado Fire

The bush violets, Barleria obtusa, immediately draw attention.  The plants started blooming a couple of weeks earlier than usual this year and appear to be in full bloom now.

At the time of my mid-October Bloom Day report, this Barleria obtusa next to the backyard fountain had only a handful of blooms

These photos show close-ups of the violets, accented in the area next to the fountain by another strong flush of Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) blooms

On the other side of the path that runs through the back garden there's a second large clump of bush violets.  As this one was swamping its neighbors earlier this month, I'd cut it back hard but it's flowering well anyway.

This plant seems to produce a new flush of bloom every time the marine layer returns

This is one of a number of Duranta I have that sport yellow foliage

This clump of Salvia 'Mystic Spires' has been in this very dry corner of the garden for years, blooming on its own schedule

The front garden has the blues too.

Yet another bush violet, this one backed by Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum'

The chartreuse color of Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' in the background allows the blue flowers of Lavandula multifida to stand out

This is Hypoestes aristata, aka ribbon bush.  In my former garden it grew into a 4 foot shrub but I've struggled to keep it alive here.  This one is just a foot tall.

Blue in the garden is great.  However, feeling blue isn't.  I'm hoping the change I've been sensing in the country is real and that, once the dust settles, November will mark a positive shift in the national dialogue.

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

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

I had two large trees removed yesterday.  It was a necessity, not a choice, and it was painful.  In fact, it was more painful than the removal of our 60-foot Eucalyptus back in 2013 or the removal of one of our peppermint willows (Agonis flexuosa) in 2015, both of which were initiated in response to a neighbor's complaints about impairments to her view of the harbor.  Thankfully, that neighbor moved in 2018 but nothing can stop Mother Nature when she decides a plant's time is up.  Yesterday, we had both our mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) and the large tree-like toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) taken out.  The impact to the garden seems greater than any of the major changes we've made before.

The mimosa has been featured and discussed here many times but, before I summarize what happened to it, let me share a couple of photos of it at its best.

This photo was taken in June 2013, roughly two and a half years after we bought the house.  We still had lots of lawn and even the snorkel spa inherited with the house (heated by burning wood) back then.

This photo was taken in July 2017, the last time the tree looked good, at least from a distance.  It was already showing signs of stress at this point when viewed close up.

The tree's decline was readily evident by 2018.  Shot-hole borers had damaged major limbs, which didn't properly leaf out.  After discussion with an arborist, we performed major surgery on the tree in an effort to extend its life.  We gave it almost three more years but, this year when it came time for our annual tree service visit, we decided it was time to let it go.

I took this photo on October 27th

The tree had recently leafed out again along a couple of limbs, almost as if in protest to our plans to take it down

The arborist had pointed out that the remaining trunks were starting to cave in, as shown on the left.  The photo on the right shows where the trunk was cut before when we tried to save it.

It's a tree I've had a love-hate relationship with almost since we moved it.  While it was beautiful when it was in full leaf and flower, it was bare much of the year.  It also created a huge amount of litter and self-seeded with abandon.  Even so, I couldn't bring myself to watch much of the removal process.

I snapped this photo through the kitchen window as the last limb was coming down

The middle of the garden seems very empty to me and, although my husband is currently opposed to putting in another tree or even a large shrub in that spot, I don't personally feel the view that it's removal reveals is worth the feeling of exposure it creates.  But that's a discussion for another day.

This shot was taken this morning from the same angle as the one taken on October 27th

The toyon's case is different.  Although like the mimosa it came with the garden, it's not a plant I gave much thought to until the middle of this year when I noticed that its leaves were turning red and what few berries it had were shriveled.  I found one source that suggested that this could happen with native plants like Heteromeles arbutifolia but by August it was clear to me that the huge shrub was dead.

In light of the toyon's rapid demise, it's likely that the cause was the pathogen that leads to the phenomenon known as "sudden oak death."  Like native oaks, toyon is susceptible to disease due to exposure to this pathogen.

I took these shots on October 27th.  When the evergreen toyon was green, it provided a nice neutral backdrop for the garden area fronting it.  The red foliage of the dying plant actually provided an even more attractive backdrop in my view but, by this month, it was less red than brown.

Like the mimosa, the toyon sat atop a fairly steep slope but in this case it was adjacent to the property line, looming above the driveway of our neighbors on the south side.  There was no question that it needed to be removed but, as grinding the stump in that location was problematic for a number of reasons, I was apprehensive about opening up this particular view.

After they toyon's removal, we have an unfavorable view of the facade of a house down the block, a variety of scruffy trees owned by another neighbor off a spur road, and the street than runs through our neighborhood

I'm thinking of ways to screen out the facade of the neighbor's house and those scruffy trees.  I'll cover that in more detail at another time too.

In the good news category, the other trees we had trimmed look spiffy and the collateral damage associated with their annual haircuts was relatively minimal.  We didn't have any of our peppermint willows trimmed this year, nor any of the smaller trees or the citrus trees.

These two Arbutus 'Marina' occupy opposite ends of the front garden

Two more Arbutus 'Marina' in the back garden were also thinned.  The Arbutus rapidly develop dense foliage and, left unattended, they develop a sooty mold.

Also getting trimmed were, left to right, a hedge of Prunus caroliniana, Magnolia grandiflora, and Pyrus calleryana

That's it for me this week.  There's a LOT for me to do in the garden in the coming weeks (and months).  Unfortunately, our temperatures are slated to rise again with yet another, hopefully less forceful, round of Santa Ana winds in the forecast even as fire crews are still working to fully contain the two wildfires that broke out in Orange County earlier this week.  I'm looking forward to reliably cooler weather - and rain of course - but at present I'm not sure when we can expect either.

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

Last week was very warm, dry, and windy and the dahlias still left in my cutting garden looked the worse for it by Sunday morning.  I'm calling this the end of the season for the dahlias (with the exception of 'Rancho' which has yet to open its first buds).  I also pulled the remaining zinnias, which like the dahlias were too badly mildewed to bear any longer.  I'm sorry to see them go as a flower-filled cutting garden simplified the weekly process of creating arrangements for "In a Vase on Monday," even if the arrangements themselves became a bit repetitive.

So here's the last of Dahlia 'Labyrinth', offered once again in a starring role.

Cuphea 'Honeybells' was a last-minute addition after I trimmed it back

The last Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' was tucked in the back of the vase to fill it out

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Labyrinth', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Blush', and Z. 'Senora'

Although Dahlia 'Gitts Crazy' had an all-too-brief moment in the spotlight, I'm calling an end to its run as well.  It's possible it could produce a few more blooms before the weather gets cold here (if that ever happens!) but its once pristine foliage is too ugly to tolerate.

I lost a couple 'Gitts Crazy' blooms to last week's weather conditions too and I sacrificed two ready-to-pop buds when I cut these stems

I threw two bright red zinnias into the mix to dress up the back view of the arrangement

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Gitts Crazy', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Tagetes lemmonii, and noID Zinnia elegans

The vases containing the dahlias found places where they could be admired for as long as they last.

I couldn't leave the kitchen island empty so I cut a few bush violet stems again this week for a small vase.

This vase is a re-run of the prior vases featuring Barleria obtusa (bush violet) with Caladium 'Debutante' as the only new element

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

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

On Monday, I made a quick trip to my local garden center to buy supplies so I could bury myself in garden-related activities all day on Tuesday, Election Day in the US.  I voted weeks ago by mail (and tracked my ballot to ensure delivery to the County Registrar of Voters) and, knowing that the process of counting ballots across the country will be a protracted process this year, I expected it would be essential to my sanity to stay away from the moment-to-moment updates that are likely to plague our news feed for days.  While at the garden center, an employee pointed out two new residents in the on-site pond.

I took this photo with my cell phone so it's not as clear as I'd like but doesn't the little fellow on top look content with his back legs stretched up in the air?

At times like this I wish I had a shell I could pull myself into and hide if needed.  A safe place to rest with a trusted companion doesn't hurt either. 

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

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

I got started on my fall garden projects in early October but, mindful of the fact that I'd scheduled removal of two trees and the annual pruning of several others in late October, I held off on much of what I'd planned for a time.  Another round of hot weather, vicious Santa Ana winds, and smoke from fires fueled by those winds put the skids on even the work thought I could tackle before the tree service arrived.  I did manage to get a little planting done, however.

I pulled all the zinnias I had in this bed and replanted it using Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow', Heuchera 'Marmalade' and Osteospermum 'Sunshine Beauty'

I cleared space for Ceanothus x pallidus 'Marie Simon' by moving Salvia 'Bee's Bliss', digging out a lot of the horrible roots of asparagus fern in the process

In an effort to diminish the wood mulch covering the area around our Magnolia tree, I planted a few herbs there, including Origanum 'Compacta Nana'.  If these plants thrive and spread, I'll add more herbs throughout the area.  Wood mulch can pose a fire risk here.

I've planted a variety of bulbs, including four more giant sea squill (Drimia maritima) bulbs at the bottom of my back slope.  Those four bulbs weighed more than 10 pounds!  I caged them for now as last year the raccoons pulled my original bulb up when it was first planted.  In other areas of the garden I've planted Freesias and Sparaxis.  I'm still waiting for delivery of other bulb orders.

Since the trees were taken care of last week, my focus has shifted to addressing the areas affected by the removal of the mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) and toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) trees.  The area formerly occupied by the mimosa needs major work and I've only just gotten started there.

For some reason, a prior owner installed parallel hedges of Ceanothus and Xylosma in both the front and back gardens.  The Ceanothus in the front died out years ago and we removed them.  I removed part of the back Ceanothus hedge earlier and removal of the mimosa tree prompted me to chip away at it still further.  These are before and after shots from one end.

This is a before and after shot of the other end.  Honeysuckle was planted between the Ceanothus shrubs here and it'd run amok.  At some point, I may break down and pull the rest of the Ceanothus here but this is not the year.  My focus was only on cleaning it up.

On the south end of the garden, the biggest issue has been finding room to plant a tree that will help hide views of neighbor properties and the street.  I've identified a suitable spot and plant for that area but more work is required before I dig it into place.

Squeezing a new tree in here is complicated by the presence of a huge tree stump near the property line (here when we moved in), the existing Xylosma hedge, and the fact that there's a sharp slope on the other side of that hedge.  I'm in the process of moving rock and succulents to clear a space for the tree daisy (Olearia albida) shown on the right.  It's said to grow 11 feet tall (possibly taller) and about 6 feet wide.

In both of the areas in which we removed trees, I needed to move bird feeder poles, which I did this week.

I moved the bird feeder pole on the east side just a few feet, putting it between an Arbutus 'Marina' and Leucadendron 'Pisa', both of which provide the birds safe perches from which to visit the feeder.  I moved the feeder pole that formerly sat on the south end of the garden near the toyon to the front of the house under one of our peppermint willows (Agonis flexuosa).  The feeders on the south end were implicated in too many window strikes but there are very few windows at the front of the house.

I haven't gotten nearly as much done in the area of the front slope facing my shade house as I'd intended but I've made a little progress.

This is what the area looked like in early October

This is what it looks like now.  I've added rock saved when we took down a rock-faced structure during our home remodel last year.  It doesn't exactly "match" the rock used in this stone-stacked wall but, once planted, most of that rock should be hidden anyway.  I still need to move more rock and dig in soil supplements before I plant.

I expect to plant one Agave colorata (moved from the back garden before the mimosa tree was taken down) on the front slope but this one may get planted along the street (to the right of the hose bib)

I haven't entirely ignored other areas of the garden.  I finally dug up all of the badly mildewed dahlias and zinnias in my cutting garden to clear the way for my cool season flower crop.

I've cleaned, divided and stored the dahlia tubers I want to hang onto.  Two of the raised planters have been prepared for planting.  I sowed sweet pea seeds last weekend but held off on sowing other seeds until the temperatures came back down, which happened today.  It was 88F (31C) here yesterday!

My husband and I've returned most of the furniture we'd moved from the back patio in advance of the mimosa tree's removal and I replanted several pots to improve the area's appearance.

The circle pot on the patio dining table (left)was replanted using succulent cuttings.  I replanted all the pots shown on the right with the exception of the one containing the Agave.  It's been in that pot for a good 10 years or more and I don't think I can get it out without breaking the pot.

There's still a lot to do but hopefully cooler weather is here to stay.  For now, I'll close with a couple of sunset views captured last weekend.

There's no mimosa tree here to obscure the view to the northeast but I'm still hopeful of convincing my husband to accept a replacement.  I'm currently considering a Gingko biloba.

The sunset scene on the south end of our property was enough to temporarily distract me from the neighbor's house on this occasion but I'm still hoping the tree daisy grows quickly

I hope you enjoy your weekend!

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

Cathy of Rambling in the Garden is celebrating the seventh anniversary of the popular "In a Vase on Monday" meme.  I didn't come on board until late March 2014 but I haven't missed many Monday posts since.  As a challenge, Cathy suggested that participants create an arrangement without flowers this week.  That takes a measure of restraint from a flower freak like me but I did come up with something to meet the spec.

I've got no colorful fall foliage to flaunt so I drew on the flower-like rosettes of an Aeonium and colorful Leucadendron stems as focal points.  I cut stems of a deep red coleus too but felt they overwhelmed the arrangement so I pulled them.

The back view presents a cleaner profile and, in retrospect I probably should have pulled the Caladium stems shown in the front view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', Caladium 'Debutante', Leucadendrons 'Devil's Blush' and 'Jester', and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata'

The volume of flowers available in my garden took a nose dive once I dug up my dahlias and zinnias so flowers will be in shorter supply for some time but there are still some and I decided to use the last respectable pink Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) and stems of Correa 'Pink Eyre', currently blooming with abandon, for a second vase with flowers.  If you've read many of my prior IAVOM posts, you already know that I seldom stop at just one.

The Lisianthus blooms weren't perfect after being pounded by intermittent showers on Saturday and early Sunday but I thought they still deserved an opportunity to shine

The Caladium stems are quickly succumbing to colder temperatures so I cut the longest ones I could find in good condition, none of which were very tall

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflorum, Caladium 'Debutante', Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre', Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Pentas lanceolata, Persicaria capitata, and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata'

Last week was a mix of emotional ups and downs.  On the down-side, I received news of a serious illness within my extended family; however, the week also delivered rain (just 0.18/inch but that's something!) and the long-awaited news that we have a new US President-elect.  With respect to the latter, there are still legal steps that need to be completed before the decision of the voters is certified but there's a very high statistical probability that will happen even if the current incumbent doesn't have the grace to acknowledge it for the sake of his party or the nation.

For more IAVOM posts, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  Many thanks to her for creating and nurturing what has become a wonderful weekly celebration.

Our temperatures dropped from 88.5F (31C) on Thursday to 59F (15C) on Sunday.  As we probably won't get anything that could pass for "fall foliage" until December or January, this little mouse on the dining room table is my nod to the change of seasons.

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

There are plants in my garden that appear to be biding their time, waiting for the appropriate moment to bloom.  One finally has while it remains a mystery whether the other will or not.

Although ordered last December, the Dahlia 'Rancho' tuber wasn't received until May.  Its first - and possibly only - flower is only just opening now.

I bought three bulbs of Scilla maderensis, classified as "rare," on a whim earlier this year.  I thought the chance of blooms was unlikely, especially in the first year.  As instructed, I planted them with their purple tips above the soil line but, when I no longer saw any sign of them, I thought they'd perished, only to have these plants suddenly appear.  Will they bloom this year?  I can only hope.  You can find a photo of the flowers here.

A nation that celebrated new leadership last week is also biding its time while those frantically clinging to delusions try to come to terms with a change they knew or should have known was likely.

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

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

The tree daisy, purchased by mail order from Annie's about a month ago, is already a little over a foot tall and I hope it'll continue to beef up.  It's supposed to reach 11 feet in height and 6 feet in width.

I took down the sunshades that line the interior of the lath (shade) house during the hot summer months.  This is another time-consuming exercise.  Every plant has to be removed from the shelves before each piece of screening can be removed.

I used the opportunity to neaten up each plant before returning it to its place.  All the shelves were swept clean of the cherry laurel berries the rats stockpile behind the plants in the dead of night.

I evicted a poorly-performing fuchsia and stole its pot for a recently purchased Begonia gehrtii 'Comet', with its wonderful puckered leaves

Yesterday, I decided it was time to remove one of the 'Blue Flame' Agaves that was encroaching on its neighbors.  In this case, I took "before" shots to illustrate the problem.

The mother plant produced pups and careened over on its side as it increased in size

Among other things, it was overwhelming one of the Agave americana mediopicta 'Alba'

After pulling out some of the mother plant's dead leaves, I was able to saw through the trunk that connected it to the pups

Hopefully the smaller variegated Agave will now be able to right itself.  The 'Blue Flame' Agave I removed was so heavy I had to get my husband's help just to chuck it in the green bin.  If you've never grown an agave, you'd be surprised at just how heavy these plants can be.

I've continued to work on the sloped area adjacent to the lath house.  I finally got the remaining stone in place to stabilize the slope for planting.  I dug out still more of the bulbous asparagus fern roots that riddle this area (and many others in my garden) and supplemented the hard-packed sandy soil.  I'm still debating what to plant there and it may take me some time to finalize my choices.

At present, I've selected two Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty' to join another already there (just outside the photo's frame on the right).  Most of the other plants will be succulents but I'd like to throw in a few softer notes as well.

That's a wrap on my project updates.  Sunday is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day so I'll be back then with my monthly bloom report (assuming that whatever has happened to Blogger's edit function is fixed by then).  There's a lot less out there than there was a month ago but, in my climate, there's always something.

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

As "In a Vase on Monday" arrived on the heels of "Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day" this week,  I hadn't planned to put together more than one vase but I expect you won't be surprised to learn I've got two.  Really, the garden dictates these things and I just follow its directions.  The title of today's post comes from the fact that the focal flowers in both vases are the last of their kind for the season.

The first vase was inspired by Dahlia 'Rancho', which produced its first and only bloom last week.  I've dug up and stored all my other dahlia tubers and in that 'Rancho' gave me just a single bloom during the six month period it occupied space in my cutting garden, I won't be saving this tuber.  One bloom wouldn't make an arrangement on its own so I drew on more reliable flowers to flesh this one out.

The large-flowered Grevilleas bloom year-round here so Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' with its yellow and pale orange flowers were a natural choice to play off the dahlia's color

Back view, featuring more Grevillea flowers, as well as the orange berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolia (aka diamond leaf pittosporum).  The berries are plentiful this time of year.

Top view, showing off the yellow flowers of Senna bicapsularis, another reliable fall bloomer.  The warm weather we had in October seems to be hurrying the Senna's bloom season along this year.

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Rancho', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Auranticarpa rhombifolia, Senna bicapsularis, Correa 'Sister Dawn', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', and Leucadendron 'Jubilee Crown'

The inspiration for the second vase was actually the flowers of Salvia discolor I didn't manage to photograph for Bloom Day but the arrangement fits the "last dance" theme as it also includes what I think is the last flowering stem of Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) I'll have until spring.

Three stems of Salvia discolor (aka Andean sage) are positioned toward the back of the arrangement with the blue Lisianthus grabbing center stage.  The Salvia's flowers are nearly black.

I dressed up the back of the arrangement with 'Purple Ruffles' basil (Ocimum basilicum var. purpurescens)

Top view, showing off the still abundant Barleria obtusa (bush violet) used as filler material

Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflorum, Barleria obtusa, Salvia discolor, Ocimum basilicum 'Purple Ruffles', and Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light'

Last week's arrangements held up well.  That was perhaps to be expected in the case of the flower-less arrangement featuring succulents and Leucadendron stems but it was surprising in the case of the second vase.  I down-sized the contents of that arrangement, tossing out the pink Lisianthus that had already seen better days when I cut the stems last week, but retaining much of the rest.

The remaining ingredients in the down-sized arrangement include Caladium 'Debutante', Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre', Pentas lanceolata, and Prostanthera ovatifolia 'Variegata'

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

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

Coastal Southern California isn't known for fall color, and what little we get usually comes closer to winter than fall.  We had a good stretch of cold weather this month until Monday, when summer paid us a return visit.  Despite that blast of heat, yesterday I noticed that my coral bark maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku) had colored up nicely.

I have two other Japanese maples but this is the only one that's thrived probably because, planted against the garage, it's protected from the afternoon sun and the wind

On the other side of the cutting garden, Persimmon 'Fuyu' had also suddenly turned orange when I wasn't paying attention.

I could swear this color change happened in the matter of a day or two.  The leaves on my other persimmon ('Hachiya') never color up like this and most have already fallen.

The ornamental pear in our front garden and a neighbor's noID maple and Gingko trees usually lead with their color displays but for some reason these two trees in my cutting garden are off to an early start this year.

Luckily, Monday's heat was short-lived.  On Tuesday, I woke to the sound of fog horns in the Los Angeles harbor and knew it would be cooler even before weather forecasters confirmed that.

A thick blanket wrapped the harbor, leaving the shipping cranes jutting up above it like prehistoric creatures rising from the sea

Yesterday was a good day for gardening and I hope that will remain true for the balance of the week. Whatever your weather, I hope you're able to get out and enjoy what nature has to offer.

For more Wednesday vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.

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

Honestly, I'm not sure how much further my trust in the party currently in power in the US can sink.  The behavior of the White House and its minions in actively subverting the will of the people to gratify the ego of the current incumbent this week strikes me as tantamount to treason and the GOP's failure to stridently condemn it may forever cement this independent voter's position on the integrity of all members of that party.  I grudgingly accepted the court challenges filed by the incumbent but manipulating the electoral college process is beyond the pale.  That said, I'm still trying to manage my blood pressure by keeping my focus on the garden.  The good news is that the physical effort involved helps me sleep (most nights).

I took a good look at my potted succulents this week.  Some look good while others are in serious need of an overhaul.  But let's focus on my current favorites.

A friend passed this fountain base off to me years ago for use as a pot.  I planted the Mangave 'Red Wing' and its companions there almost exactly a year ago and it just looks better and better.

This mixed succulent pot near the front door, planted in June, makes me smile every time I look at it.  It contains Crassula platyphylla, Graprosedum 'Vera Higgins' and Sedum rupestre 'Angelina'.

This Aloe deltoideodonta and Cotyledon orbiculata have been virtually untouched in this pot since 2014

This quartet of pots alongside the front door was unplanned but I like it.  The noID red Aeonium probably needs to be beheaded and started over but I haven't gotten around to it (beyond replanting one broken rosette).  The Mangaves are 'Bad Hair Day' and 'Kaleidoscope', the latter a gift from a friend.  The plant in the small yellow pot is Kalanchoe beharensis 'Minima'.

Another friend passed along a second Mangave 'Bad Hair Day', which I popped into a pot on the other side of the front door.  The taller pot behind it could use a refresh, though.

The Crassula pubescens radicans in this pot could use a refresh too but I love the stressed red color of the scrappy plants against the green frog

I had more Crassula in this pot but it looked pretty sad so yesterday I pulled it out and planted fresh cuttings of the Crassula from elsewhere in my garden along with a small Echeveria hookeri I picked up on the fly on my last trip to the garden center

A friend, a true Mangave aficianado, gave me a pup of Mangave 'Mayan Queen' this summer and I decided it needed a pot upgrade.  I can't even remember what I previously had in this pot but 'Mayan Queen' is a perfect match (until she gets too big).

There are several pots and hanging baskets of succulents that need a rehab but my local garden center has already switched into its holiday season mode so there's not much of a selection to be had, and I suspect that's true of the local stores I haven't visited recently as well.  I expect I'll need to mail order succulents if I want to make major changes now rather than waiting until January.  One pot in particular makes me sad every time I walk by it so I need to do something about it sooner rather than later.

The pot is a rusted wok and I expect it got too much sun and too little water, cooking the contents this summer.  Mangave 'Tooth Fairy' in the center certainly deserves better!

The shortage of succulents in small pots is impacting my ongoing project on the front slope as well.  There, I've been using cuttings taken from other parts of the garden but the result thus far is underwhelming in the extreme.

Everything I've planted looks so small!  With only three exceptions, all the plants in the newly renovated space shown here are transplants, cuttings or divisions from other plants in the garden.

Top row: Aeonium arboreum (rooted cuttings still in their pot), Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', and Agave bracteosa Second row: Aloe striata, Baccharis mangellanica (new), and Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' Bottom row: Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty' (new), and Pelargonium peltatum (new) with a transplanted Mangave 'Kaleidoscope'

These are two of the three bulbils I harvested from my two bloomed-out Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' in September 2019 and planted out in this bed.  They looked much more impressive in the pots I'd had them in.

I did a little work in the street-side succulent bed as well this week, although it wasn't my own idea.  After I told my husband I needed to cut back another of my 'Blue Flame' Agaves because the mother plant was careening into the street after producing two good-sized pups, he decided to tackle the job on his own.

He'd already started massacring the mother plant before I arrived.  I spent a good deal of time cleaning up the area after he'd finished.  I'll probably plant one of my homeless Agave colorata, and possibly Tithonia diversifolia (aka tree marigold), here after I supplement the soil in this bed.

I did a little work in my cutting garden this week too, though it had nothing whatsoever to do with succulents.  I finally cleaned out the remaining contents of the third of my raised planters to make room for more cool season flowers.  I'd pulled the last dahlias and zinnias weeks ago but a large segment of the planter had been taken over by strawberry plants and those had to go too.

The strawberry plants seemed to put more energy into reproducing than into producing berries in the raised planting bed.  I transplanted many of the plants into two containers and offered the rest to my neighbors.

I've planted some 70 Anemone corms and have sowed sweet pea, larkspur, Orlaya, and Nigella seeds in the three raised planters, as well as adding small foxglove and feverfew plants to provide color during our cool season.  The upturned plastic flats are intended to protect developing seedlings from bird visitors.  Every flat I had is piled up here but I could use several more.

I'd like to find some flower plugs to fill the two half-barrels in the cutting garden but there's little other than pansies, snapdragons, and Iceland poppies available at present.  I do love snapdragons but they're rust magnets here so planting them seems an exercise in futility.  

I planted Iceland poppies (Papaver nudicaule) and Violas in this half-barrel in the front garden in the hope they'll do better here than they've done in other areas of my garden in the past

I received a dozen tulips in lieu of the more climate-appropriate Triteleia bulbs I'd ordered from one mail order provider but they'll be chilling in my refrigerator for another couple of months and, even properly chilled, the likelihood that they'll bloom in my garden is low.  All the other bulbs I ordered, including those that were received nearly two months late last week, are now in the ground or in pots.  Meanwhile, I still have lots of seeds that need sowing elsewhere in the garden but that's a project for next week.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend puttering in your own garden.

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