Wide Shots - July 2021

A very dry winter was followed by a very dry spring.  Thanks to regular irrigation, the wide shots of my garden don't show any severe impact of the pathetically low rainfall but, as our drought worsens, I have to wonder if I'm going to be able to continue watering as much as I have been.  I reduced my water use in the garden in 2015, when restrictions were previously imposed, and I didn't increase my usage after those restrictions were lifted the following year.  In April of this year, I'd already exhausted the last of the rainwater I'd collected in my three tanks; however, last week my husband drained "his" spa tub and emptied that water into my 160-gallon tank so I'll have use of that once the chlorine has evaporated, which is a boon of sorts.   My well-established plants are probably fine with my regular irrigation routine but the newer plants will be at risk if I can't offer them extra water.  

I took advantage of the lingering marine layer on Wednesday to take my quarterly wide shots, although the sun came out part way through the process so there's more sun-shade contrast than I'd hoped for.  This time, I'm starting at the front of the house.

View of the beds surrounding the front door from the west side of the driveway

View from the northwest side of the house looking across the front borders

The beds on the north side of the front walkway.  The Agapanthus are in full bloom.  The Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) is looking sad next to the tree-like Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' but it should leaf out more fully when cooler temperatures return in the fall.

The beds on the south side of the front walkway

This is the view behind the shrubs shown in the prior photo, looking south.  You can see my lath (shade) house in the distance on the right in the second photo.

View looking across the front garden from its south end toward the garage, barely visible in the distance.  This is one of my favorite views at the moment.

View from the front walkway looking across the driveway at the garden area behind the hedge that lines the street.  I recently replanted a portion of the area under the ornamental pear tree on the right which you may be able to see if you squint.  It's partially covered by upturned plastic flats to keep the rabbits from eating the new plants.

This is the succulent bed in the northwest corner of the property.  The tiny succulents I used here when I replanted the area in January are still struggling to get established.

Moving to the other side of the garage, we come to the cutting garden, followed by the north side garden and the slope below.

Some of my cool season annuals bloomed later than expected.  I pulled the sweet peas in May and the last of the larkspur in June but there are still some foxgloves and Nigella in the raised beds.  Fifteen of my dahlia tubers sprouted and I've planted eleven of them in the cutting garden, with the rest tucked in elsewhere.  Despite my best intentions, my dahlias got a late start and I expect it'll be August before I see any blooms.

After some pruning and general cleanup, the north side garden is looking tidy, if not especially colorful

The back slope, on the other hand, looks truly awful.  The bay hedge and the lemon tree get some irrigation and the shrubs along the south property line (not readily visible in these photos) receive graywater but the rest of the plants have received very little water.

Back on the main level of the property, we enter the back garden from the north side.

The white-flowered Argyranthemum in the foreground is looking sad but I probably won't replace the shrubs unless/until inspiration strikes in identifying an alternative.  I've been giving the plants between the Arbutus 'Marina' (the red-trunked strawberry tree on the left) and the tall Leucadendron 'Pisa' (on the right) extra water every 10-14 days and they're looking pretty good.

This is a look at the area between the Leucadendron and the Arbutus from the other direction

View from the back door looking at the harbor when the marine layer was still in place.  The red-orange daylilies (possibly Hemerocallis 'Sammy Russell') are among the very few plants I inherited with the garden I still have (other than the trees and hedges).

View from the middle of the back garden looking south

View from the small south patio looking northeast across the back garden

The south side garden is next up.

The Hesperaloe parvifloa and Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman' are blooming but the succulents steal the show here

View of the same area, looking from the west end toward the entrance to the Los Angeles harbor.  I recently pulled the last of the bunny tail grass (Lagurus ovatus) that had overrun the area in the foreground on the right.  I think I need to add more succulents there as groundcover.

Heading to the right (southwest) from the vantage point of the last photograph takes us down to the lower level of the front garden.

This photograph was taken looking down from a mulch-covered path toward the lath house and the street beyond

This is the area I replanted in November using succulent cuttings and small plants.  Generally speaking, it's doing better than the succulent bed in front of the garage, possibly because it gets shade for about half the day,

View of the area looking east toward the harbor

This is a partial view of the inside of the lath house.  As temperatures are likely to climb over the next few months, I put up sun shades late last week to provide additional protection.

We end this tour with the street-side succulent bed on the west side of the lath house.

I cleaned up this bed in early February, filling in with succulent cuttings and pups.  I'm fairly happy with its progress, although there are still holes that could use filling.

I'm hoping summer temperatures won't be too brutal this year.  Fingers are crossed that my next wide shots post in October won't show major damage from the combined effects of heat and drought.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party