Stepping back in time: Transforming the south side garden

My earliest photos, taken in February 2013, focused on the tall Eucalyptus tree that stood just feet away from the house.  The tree was a source of contention nearly from the date we moved in.  I discovered a growth at its base and called in an arborist to evaluate it.  That person found no reason to take immediate action but suggested that I continue to monitor it.  The tree's removal was ultimately prompted not by my initial concern but in response to a neighbor's complaint that the tree interfered with her view of the harbor.  Apparently, she'd been campaigning to take down the tree for years based on a local community "view conservation" ordinance.  Her persistence, combined with our concern with having a potentially unstable tree so close to the house, led us to agree to take the it down.

I initially focused on planting the area formerly occupied by the Eucalyptus but within months I significantly expanded my effort to transform the entire area on the south side of the house.

My husband built a short concrete block wall (visible on the left) to level the bed.  I supplemented the soil and planted Festuca glaucus, Helichrysum petiolare, Loropetalum chinense, Pericallis, and Argyranthemum, among other things.

In August 2013, we started removing the lawn between the small side patio and the narrow south border containing the preexisting shrubs

I actually created a detailed plan for the area, showing a flagstone path surrounded by creeping thyme, shrubs, grasses and flowering perennials.  Some of the plants identified in the plan were never installed.

This photo, taken in late November 2013, shows new flagstone paths and plants viewed from the front garden looking east toward the harbor.  I'd removed the original Wisteria on the right side of the arbor and replaced it with a Clematis terniflora.  To this day, I'm still trying to get rid of the Wisteria planted on the other (left) side of the arbor.

View of the newly planted beds from the side patio looking south.  The multi-trunked Arbutus 'Marina' shown in the background was eventually removed when half the tree died.

This is another photo of the newly planted area, also taken at the end of November 2013.  I see just one Agave, a 'Blue Glow' (bottom, far left).

There were very few succulent plants in the mix installed in 2013.  That slowly changed between 2014 and 2016.

In March 2014, we removed another large stretch of grass, extending the small bed surrounding the backyard fountain all the way to the garden's south side, connecting it to the bed adjacent to the south patio

This photo was taken at the end of March 2014.  I love how lush and green everything looked at this stage, before drought was a serious issue.  I'd planted a Japanese maple (center foreground) but the wind that blows through this area ultimately proved to be a problem, resulting in its removal later that year.

Photo taken in early November 2014 looking east

This photo, taken in late February 2015, shows the south side garden viewed from a dirt path behind the backyard border, looking west.  You can see the yellow flowers of Bulbine frutescens on the right in the area connecting the extended fountain bed to the south side patio bed.  The shrubs in front of the Bulbine are Rosmarinus 'Gold Dust'.

This photo taken in late May 2015 shows the addition of more succulents on each side of the flagstone path.  State-wide water restrictions were put in place in 2015 in recognition of severe drought conditions.

I didn't take many photos of the area in 2016 but this photo dated October 1st reflects the addition of more succulents, including an Agave 'Blue Flame', more 'Blue Glow' Agaves, Agave 'Mr Ripple', a variety of small Aloes, and a Dasylirion longissima to the bed on the left.  Two Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman' (not readily visible) were also added.

By 2017, the southernmost bed had more clearly become established as a succulent garden.

This photo, taken in June 2017, shows three Agave medio-picta 'Alba' pups I received from Gail of Piece of Eden in 2016, as well as three Hesperaloe parviflora 'Brakelights' I'd added as small plants in late 2014

I included this photo, taken in early January 2018, as it shows the lath (shade) house my husband built for me in the distance.  The lath house sits in another area of the garden, several feet below the level of the south side garden but it's now part of the landscape in this area too.

This photo, taken April 1, 2018, had me asking myself why I haven't continued to plant large swaths of the red-flowered Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset' along the walkway from the south-side patio bed around the curve into the back garden

This November 2018 photo provides a closer look at some of the succulents on the south side, surrounded by the softer foliage of other drought tolerant plants, including Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Leucadendron salignum 'Summer Red', Hymenolepsis parviflora, Metrosideros 'Springfire', and Pennisetum 'Skyrocket'.  All those plants remain in place to this day.

This photo, taken in May 2019, shows how large the three "dwarf"Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' shrubs adjacent to the side yard patio had become since they were planted in 2013

This August 2019 photo shows the mimosa tree in the distance in the back yard, when it still looked somewhat presentable.  (It was removed in October 2020 after shot-hole borers contributed to its rapid decline.)

In 2020, the bed closest to the patio got a renovation of sorts.

In January, I cut the overgrown Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' back hard and planted a mix of small succulents, mostly Aeoniums, along the patio's edge

Photo taken in late March 2020 of the view from behind the south side border looking toward the house.  A few months later, I removed a dense tangle of Bulbine frutescens, pulled out four of the five Rosmarinus 'Gold Dust' shrubs I'd planted in 2014 in the area that connected the south patio bed to the extended fountain bed (shown center right), and moved a Leucospermum 'Sunrise'  into the gap.  It was a gratifying pandemic project.

These two photos show the former "Eucalyptus bed" in April 2020.  In addition to a some succulents, the area includes Agapanthus 'Stevie's Wonder', Arthropodium cirratum, three varieties of Cistus, Coprosma 'Plum Hussey', Grevillea 'Moonlight', and Pennisetum 'Fireworks'.

June 2020 view of the south side garden with the focus on the plants making up the back border.  Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman' was in full bloom at the time.

This view, also photographed in late June 2020, provides a clear view of the tree-sized Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) in the background.  It died rather suddenly, possibly from the same pathogen than causes sudden oak death.  (The Toyon is a susceptible species.)  As shown in the foreground, the Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' had no problem rebounding from the severe pruning it received back in January.

That brings me to the garden's current state.

This photo, taken in early April this year, looks more exposed after the dead Toyon was removed.  I planted a daisy tree (Olearia albida) near the spot previously occupied by the Toyon but it's still tiny and struggling to get established despite regular watering.  I may need to try another tree.

This photo was taken at the end of June.  That scrawny tree in the background on the right bugs the heck out of me.  It sits on the property of a neighbor on a nearby spur road.

This photo looking east, also taken at the end of June, reflects the prominence of the Agaves (and indicates that I should probably be pruning the Agonis shrubs on the right on an annual basis)

More than perhaps any other area of my garden, I think the south side area most clearly reflects my gradual response to our hotter summers, punctuated at intervals by blistering heatwaves, and the pervasive drought conditions.  While I still appreciate the lush look the area had back in 2014, it's clear to me that many of those original plants couldn't have survived the intense sun exposure here, especially on a low water regimen.

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