Spring is drawing oh so slowly closer...

I usually start seeing signs of spring in the offing as early as February.  It's been colder than usual here this winter (if nothing close to as cold as other areas of the Northern Hemisphere) and I expected that the early spring blooms might be delayed but that doesn't seem to be the case.  Of course, all the rain we got in January has probably given most SoCal gardens a boost.

The ornamental pear tree (Pyrus calleryana) burst into bloom seemingly overnight as it does every year - and because it's been so cold, the funky scent that accompanies the flowers isn't even noticeable at present

One of our neighbors has a whole row of these trees, also in full bloom

I hadn't expected much from my Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection' this year but it's more floriferous than I'd imagined it'd be this year

I even spotted this Lachenalia in bloom in one of my succulent beds.  I think this is probably Lachenalia quadricolor, although that wasn't one of the bulb varieties I ordered years ago.

The street-side bed of another of my neighbors also burst into bloom recently, flaunting Polygala grandiflora (a larger version of the sweet pea shrubs I have in my own garden), masses of paperwhite Narcissus, and the pretty flowers of a small noID Magnolia tree.

But a garden blog can't all be pretty pictures.  I made progress this week in addressing last week's "should it stay or should it go?" list, with help from my spouse.  The project that required the most effort on my part involved removing the woody lavender plants in my cutting garden and replanting the area under the faux birdbath with divisions of Didelta 'Silver Strand'.

Digging out the lavender was more troublesome than expected in part due to gravel and other materials that were dumped into the bed as a result of last September's water pipe replacement project.  I supplemented the soil before returning the faux birdbath and planting 3 divisions of Didelta 'Silver Strand'.  I'm giving the divisions a 60-40 chance of taking.

Given its size, I knew I was going to have to cut back the mass of Didelta in my back garden bed in order to move it.  However, the plant proved to be such a tangle of "strands," it was impossible to transplant it even after reducing its size.  Noticing that many of the strands had sprouted roots, I decided to try pulling pieces of it apart.  I ended up cutting these back severely before transplanting the segments with the best root systems.

The rooted strands provide clues as to how this plant (shown above on the left) spread as vigorously as it did in my back garden.  I'm counting on that vigor to spur the growth of the divisions.  What's left in the back garden is another empty space (above, right).

I could have taken dozens of Didelta cuttings but I made do with 9 (plus one other rooted division, not shown).  Only 2 of the cuttings I planted directly in the ground several months ago survived but I treated them with benign neglect as I do other succulent cuttings and I suspect that these actually require more water to get established.  At the same time, I also took cuttings of Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' as I expect to pull the woody parent plant out after this year's bloom season.

My husband stepped in to address removal of the white bower vines (Pandorea jasminoides 'Alba') growing up both sides of the arbor at the front of the house.  I'd intended to cut the vines to the ground and get his help if necessary to dig the roots out but he jumped in and had the job nearly done before I even got rolling.  Apparently, he was even more perturbed by those sad vines than I was.

Before (left, north side only) and after (right, both sides) photos are shown above.  The arbor looks a lot better without the vines.  I'm not sure I'll plant new vines to cover the posts.  Star jasmines (Trachelospermum jasminoides) are already in place as groundcovers behind the 2 front benches and will probably soon fill the bare spaces left by the bower vines.

I took care of the pruning the dwarf Jacaranda 'Bonsai Blue' and removed the smaller of the two shrubs sold to me as Duranta repens 'Gold Mound'.

I decided to cut back 3 stems of the Jacaranda instead of just one.  They've sprouted new foliage in the past but, if they don't this time, that'll just settle the dwarf tree's fate once and for all.  The yellow-green color of the tree's current foliage doesn't signify illness - the full-sized trees here also turn that sickly color each year as they shed and replace their old foliage.

The smaller Duranta planted alongside the front driveway was spindly and looked out of place in the middle of a group of Iris douglasiana (left photo).  The area looks cleaner without it (right photo).  Three Iris bulbs were pulled up in the process of digging out the shrub but I replanted them.

When it came to removing the overly large Duranta, I didn't even try to handle the job.  I left that to my husband and, with power tools in hand, he made a relatively quick job of it.

Before and after shots are shown above.  Without the 7 foot Duranta, you can see the Calliandra haematocephala planted against the house.  The Grevillea 'Superb' should get more sun now too.  A few Agapanthus were dislodged in the process of digging out the Duranta's root system.  They came with the house and, as far as I can remember, they never bloomed in that spot so a sunnier location may be a better choice.

My next garden project is the boring job of digging out the Sesleria 'Greenlee Hybrid' but I'm taking a break to see a friend today.  I'll offer one further update in the interim.

We finally got in to see Pipig's regular vet this week.  She discounted 2 of the scarier theories posed by the urgent care veterinarians I consulted the week before last.  Pipig may be showing the early stages of kidney disease but that's common in elderly cats and treatable.  We're still waiting on some recent test results to determine if there's anything else to worry about.  Meanwhile, she's gained some weight, is eating regularly, and behaving far more normally.

Best wishes for an enjoyable weekend.

All material © 2012-2023by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party