One on the principal casualties of our recent water pipe replacement was the bromeliad-succulent bed that borders our northwest property line. Originally created in November 2017 and refreshed two years later, I was forced to dig up all the plants and remove all the rock and flagstones surrounding the bed prior to the arrival of the plumbers tasked with replacing the pipe a couple of feet beneath it. As the plumbing service fit us in when another of its projects was delayed, I had very little time to take care of that activity so I wasn't as careful as I might have been.
I took my time putting things back together.
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The plumbing crew offered to replace the flagstones for us, which was helpful as many of them are very heavy. They didn't use several of the smaller stones so the path is somewhat narrower than it previously was but that's okay. I carted in and arranged the rocks that border the bromeliad-succulent bed myself.
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As I tossed some plants in the rush to prepare the area for the plumbing work, I ordered a few replacements by mail. They're smaller than they may appear in this photo - all but one were in 2-inch pots.
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I also bought a flat of Ruschia lineolata 'Nana' (aka dwarf carpet of stars) to fill in around the flagstones. The dwarf mondo grass I originally used for that purpose never filled in well.
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Most of the succulents I had along the fence at the entry to the area were lost in the process of the plumbing project. I filled in with my go-to Aeonium arboreum and Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' cuttings.
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I broke the bed up into 4 segments divided by more rock. I don't have names for all the plants here; however, this section includes a noID Cotyledon orbiculata, Mangave 'Pineapple Express' and various Echeverias. I put back the seashells I had around the edges previously but I may replace them later with more Ruschia.
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All the plants in this segment of the bed are bromeliads. The majority of them are offsets of Neoregelia 'Guinea x Pepper', my most prolific bromeliad The one in the back on the left is Vriesea ospinae var gruberi and the one in the back on the right is Aechmea orlandiana 'Rainbow'.
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This section is a unsatisfactory hodge-podge of plants at the moment, all too small to have an impact. I threw in an Agave vilmoriana 'Stained Glass' bulbil and an Agave attenuata pup but I may replace both with a larger agave. There are offsets of Aechmea 'Mend' (the pink-edged bromeliad) and what I think is Quesnelia 'Tim Plowman' plus 3 Echeveria agavoides and a tiny Aloe haworthia pentagona but I can't identify the other plants off-hand.
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The last section includes several Haworthia retusa, Aeonium 'Lily Pad', Crassula orbicularis var rosularis as well as some of my tiny new succulents, notably 3 Echeveria 'Melaco' and an Echeveria 'Chroma'
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My husband threatened to call bulk-pickup to take the chiminea but he gave in and hauled it to the back of the bed. (I told him I plan to use it to display Tillandsias and stuck one into the grate in good faith.) I moved 2 pots back into position too after trimming the broken stems of the surrounding hedge shrubs.
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Our irrigation problems continued this week. In the first instance, we discovered that the plumbers had cut through a plastic irrigation pipe when installing the new copper pipe. After that was fixed and we ran the section of the system that hadn't been functioning, we discovered problems with a valve that wasn't shutting off. That repair wasn't the end of it, though. My husband located three other malfunctioning valves and a few broken sprinkler heads. Once he fixes the last of these, we're hopeful that this will be the end of our irrigation woes for a time; however, the experience has had both of us considering whether a smaller plot with a less complex irrigation system may be preferable in the future. Meanwhile, I dream of a location that gets rain on a reliable basis.
Blogger was having hiccups last night loading photos as I tried to finish up this post so I'm quitting while I'm ahead with a final photo that has nothing whatsoever to do with the garden. Best wishes for a relaxing weekend.
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The 2 houseplants I had in this basket perished due to inattention. Pipig decided to take it over.
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All material © 2012-2022by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
