Wide Shots - October 2022

In the midst of our plumbing and irrigation system woes, I lost track of my quarterly wide shots post.  When I remembered it, everything was still topsy-turvy so I let it slide until some degree of order had been restored.  I made my rounds of the garden this week in between projects and took photos so here we go, starting as usual in the back garden. 

View from the back door, looking roughly southeast toward the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles (which you could see if Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' wasn't in the way)

View from the back patio looking north.  The Aeoniums in the foreground are emerging from dormancy following the touch of rain we've had since the start of the 2023 "water year" on October 1st.  We've had one-quarter of an inch of precipitation, which actually isn't bad for October; however, predictions for the winter rainy season aren't positive as we experience our third La Niña year in a row.

View from the north end of the back garden looking south.  I recently cut the Melianthus major that sits below the strawberry tree (Arbutus 'Marina) down to the ground.  The succulent bed in the foreground is finally fleshing out some as the raccoons move on to tearing apart other areas in their relentless pursuit of grubs.

View from the back patio looking further south.  The bush violets (Barleria obtusa) are the chief source of floral color at the moment.

View from the south end of the back garden looking north.  You may note that I'm still on the fence about removing the dwarf Jacaranda 'Bonsai Blue' tree (left).

Pivoting a quarter turn to the left (west) brings us to the south side garden.

South side garden looking west.  While prompting weeds that are difficult to pull between the succulents, the rain cleaned away the dust on the agaves, making them shine.

There's still no sign of a bloom stalk from my largest Agave 'Blue Glow' despite the flattening of its leaves and the pups sprouting from the side of the plant (not that I'm in any hurry to see it flower!)

View from the small south side patio looking south.  I still miss the native Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) that blocked the view of the neighbor's house in the distance but, as it died of the pathogen that causes sudden oak death, it's not advisable to plant another there.  The small Olearia albida I planted 2 years ago to replace it died this summer despite receiving extra water.

View from the west end of the area looking east.  The mass of Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' on the left is in serious need of pruning.

After a glance downward to the lower level of the front garden, we'll continue on the main level of the front garden.

This is a view of the lower level of the front garden surrounding the lath (shade) house, taken from the garden's main level

View from the south end of the front garden looking north.  Those Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' are even more massive than they appear here even though I cut them back regularly to clear the flagstone path.

View of the area beneath the Magnolia grandiflora taken from near our front door.  I had dahlias in the 2 barrels in the foreground but pulled them this week because the raccoons kept digging there (and because the dahlia foliage was covered in mildew).

View from the driveway looking toward the front door.  The Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' shrubs on either side of the path need pruning.  Last year I waited too long to prune them and lost most of their summer flowers as a result.

Right (south) side of the bed facing the street.  The bush violet here is just beginning to bloom.  I recently cut back the Leucadendron 'Goldstrike' on the right that towered feet above the Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' and I'm hoping I didn't harm it in the process.

View of the succulent bed that runs along the narrow path leading to the lath house.  It's bordered on the right by the Xylosma congestum hedge adjacent to the street.

Back in the driveway looking at the bed on the north side of the front door.  My husband finished the enclosure he built to screen the air conditioning unit (although my eye still goes to it).

View from the north side of the house looking southwest

View from our trash can path looking east toward the house.  The beds on the west side of the garage are my biggest headache.  The area is shaded by the ornamental pear tree (left) and the hedge (right).  Roots from both making planting difficult as well.

This is the succulent bed on the other side of the trash can path.  I've put in some larger succulents but it still looks spotty to me.  I'm considering covering the bare soil with either gravel or the groundcover succulent Ruschia lineolata 'Nana'.

This bromeliad-succulent bed sits behind the other succulent bed along our northern property line.  (That's my neighbor's driveway in the background.)  When we had our main water pipeline replaced in late September, I had to dig the area up and then replant it.

Moving beyond the driveway to the north side of the house brings us first to the cutting garden and from there to the dry garden and the back slope.

I've been pulling plants out here and there for more than a month.  I pulled most of the rest you see here after I took this photo.  With just a few exceptions, the rest will go this weekend and I'll start prepping the raised planters for replanting.  I'm planning to lay wire mesh where I can in an effort to keep the raccoons at bay.

The gravel path through the north side garden leads to the concrete block stairway down into the back slope.  The 'Hachiya' persimmons were given away to neighbors and the tree is quickly losing its leaves without showing any fall color.

I've given very little attention to the back slope since the start of the summer season.  As the weather gets cooler and I'm feeling more assured that the fire ants will be less of an issue, I'll tackle the cleanup the area badly needs but there are a lot of other projects ahead of that one.

The only area left to show is the street-side succulent bed.

The bed could use a little work but it generally looks okay (at least from a distance)

That's it for my (belated) fourth quarter report on the status of my garden.  Best wishes for a glorious fall to those of you in the Northern Hemisphere and a lovely spring for you in the Southern Hemisphere.

All material © 2012-2022by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party