My latest projects

My biggest project this week was tearing up my cutting garden to make way for cool-season plants.  Because our winters are exceptionally mild and frost-free, there are a lot of plants we can enjoy through the fall and winter months.  With one exception, I removed all the remaining dahlias and zinnias.  I saved several of the dahlia tubers I'd like to replant next year.   All but a few are already tucked away in the garage to wait out their dormant period covered in perlite.

This is what the area looks like now.  I added fresh topsoil, planting mix and a little fertilizer to each of the raised planters.  The beds are relatively bare but, as the seeds I've sown germinate and as I add plugs to get a jump start on the season, the beds should look a lot greener within 6 weeks or so.

In mid-October after one of my rants about raccoons, commentator Sally recommended using hardware cloth to deter them from digging.  I had to work around some things (like the metal supports the sweet peas climb) but I'm giving it a try.  I used the leftover material my husband bought earlier to make cages to keep the rabbits at bay.  I pinned the metal screening in place with lawn staples.

In addition to 3 foxgloves, I've sown Nigella papillosa and Orlaya grandiflora seeds in bed #1 (left).  I've sown 3 varieties of larkspur (Consolida ajacis) in bed #2 (middle).  I've sown 7 (!) varieties of sweet peas in bed #3 (right).  Once my Anemone coronaria bulbs come in, I'll be adding them to bed #3.  I also plan to plant snapdragons in a couple of the barrels once the varieties I want are available and add more Digitalis plugs here and there.

I pulled one Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles' but this one in a barrel is still going strong and has numerous buds.  I'm allowing it to stay until it either plummets into decline or my snapdragon plugs become available.

The cutting garden cleanup wasn't great fun but I'm glad to have cleared the area and happier still that I've finally sown the seeds I've had sitting in a drawer for over two months. 

Most of my other projects involved succulents in one way or another.

I showed these replanted areas adjacent to the garage a couple of weeks ago.  Since then, the raccoons have dug them up repeatedly.  This week I added defenses against digging.  So far, so good.

I planted up one of the Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass' bulbils in this pot sitting in the cutting garden,  It'll probably take years to bulk up but I thought I'd give it a good start.

I added several more plants to this succulent bed on the north end of the back garden.  The additions include: Mangave 'Aztec King' (1), Kalanchoe marmorata 'Partridge' (2), Echeveria agavoides (3), and noID Sansevieria (2).

I pruned back the Cistus plants spilling into the flagstone path on the south side of the garden last week, removing the dead undergrowth.  That revealed Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' succulents I'd forgotten were there.  I cut the elongated stems and replanted selected rosettes.  Hopefully, the Cistus survive their pruning.

I picked up another flat of Ruschia lineolata 'Nana', adding some between the flagstones on the south side where the creeping thyme has died out.  Unfortunately, I ran out before filling all the empty spaces but I'll wait to see how what I've added here does before buying more.

I've grown Gazanias in these areas along the front walkway for years but, as our drought has worsened, they haven't done as well so I'm trying cuttings of Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde'and more Ruschia here

I finally got around to wiring a handful of stray Tillandsias to the front grate of this chiminea, tucked in a corner of the front garden next to the bromeliad-succulent bed.  The chiminea came with the house but it's not in good shape and we've never lit a fire in it.

I'm not the only one working on my garden.  As I walked through the neighborhood late Wednesday afternoon, I looked up and stopped in my tracks when I saw this:

The front slope of this home has been carpeted with a wrinkled rug of faux lawn since we moved in years ago.  I've always thought the home deserved better but, as more locals resort to covering their gardens in plastic in response to our perpetual drought, I didn't think this would change.  Half the area is still carpeted in fake grass but the rest is now planted with Agave attenuata and other succulents.  There appear to be 2 Magnolia trees and juniper or something similar edging the wall as well.

I'll end this post on a sunny note with a photo of the Senna bicapsularis I'd been worried wasn't going to bloom this year.

I foolishly planted this large shrub between a fence and the concrete stairway leading down our slope in 2011.  I cut it back by half early this year and feared it might not survive.  It has, although it's still much too tall for the spot it's in; however, it's a host plant for the cloudless sulphur butterflies so I'm going to hang onto it as long as I can.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

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