While work was temporarily on hold

As I mentioned in my last post, my end-of-summer cleanup came to a temporary halt when I filled all three of my green bins.  (I even topped off two of a neighbor's bins.)  While awaiting the city's waste pickup, I reviewed what's been done so far and compiled a working list of what remains to be done.

I'm not sure it looks like much but here's a round-up of the efforts made over the past week.

The photo of the north end of the back garden on the left was taken in July and the photo on the right was taken this week.  Can you see the difference?

The changes to the area on the north end of the back garden are more apparent to my own eyes in this view but I couldn't find a good "before" shot taken from the same angle.  I cut the Melianthus major down to the ground.  I also pruned Sonchus palmensis (aka dandelion tree) to a foot in height but I'm not certain it'll survive the treatment.

The changes to the middle of this border in the back garden included pruning 2 Artemisia californica by two-thirds, thinning several Nassella tenuissima (Mexican feather grass), and pruning Salvia canariensis and Salvia 'Pozo Blue'

Once again, I didn't have a recent "before" photo of that part of the back border but this photo, taken in early July, may give you an idea of what it looked like 2 months ago

I tried to yank the Duranta repens on the right out before I thought to take a "before" photo so the Duranta isn't in the upright position poking through a mass of Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' as was originally the case

As yanking out the Duranta didn't work, I cut it down and then dug out the base.  These are the "after" shots from 2 angles.  The Duranta's removal gives Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie' an opportunity to shine, although few people other than me walk the dirt path behind the border here.  I also cleaned up the noID Kniphofia.

Two days ago I noticed that one of the 3 Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' shrubs on the south side of my garden appeared to be dying,  I think I have a problem with thrips.  It's not readily evident from the shrubs visible in the photo on the left but the third shrub behind them, shown in the photo on the right, was badly damaged.  I cut away the branches that were most severely affected, removed all the leaf litter, and sprayed all 3 shrubs with Neem oil.  Further treatment is needed.

This photo shows the street-side bed after the dead Auranticarpa rhombifolia was cut down.  My husband did the hard work and I was responsible for the cleanup.  He's now in the process of removing the stump (yay!).  It's a lot more challenging than it was in the case of the first 5 of these shrubs we removed when they dropped dead.

The gardeners blow leaves down the front slope covering the succulents below.  Cleaning them out of all the nooks and crannies without taking a tumble in the process is a challenge.  In the process of clearing the leaves, I've also removed several sad-looking Limonium perezii.  I've only just started.

Watering, fertilizing, and deadheading the dahlias is a near daily activity.  I'm closely watching the dahlias that have yet to bloom.  I had a second clump of what was supposed to be Dahlia 'French Can Can' and I held out a glimmer of hope this one might be the read deal but it's blooming now and the flowers are yellow like the other imposter.  In addition, one of the two 'Fairway Spur' Dahlias, both saved from last year's crop, has been producing a steady stream of mutant flowers.

An online source suggests that the deformities in the dahlia flowers may be due to either tarnished plant bugs or thrips.  The latter theory seems more likely as the tarnished plant bugs flourish in leaf litter during the plant's dormant period and my tubers were stored bare root in perlite.  Treatments with insecticidal soap are recommended in both cases, however.

The tasks still on the list to be tackled include:

• Finishing removal of the Auranticarpa stump
• Further trimming and treatment of the damaged foliage of all 3 Agonis flexuosa 'Nana'
  
• Pruning dead twiggy growth underneath 4 more Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itts'
• Cutting back the Centranthus and other spent plants on the back slope
• Removing the remaining leaf litter on the front slope
• Screening and distributing the finished compost in my bin
• Replanting the bare spots on the front slope and in the street-side bed
  

I'll end this post with some of the other photos I took while strolling South Coast Botanic Garden earlier this week.

Gigantic peach-flowered Brugmansia

Equally gigantic yellow-flowered Brugmansia

Combretum farinosum, aka orange flame vine

Justicia carnea

Lagerstroemia sp. (white-flowered crepe myrtle)

Closeup of the plants at the base of the Palm Circle's trees

The rose garden (shown in a wide shot on the left) has added tropical plants in one area that has had persistent issues with drainage (as shown on the right).  The most prominent of these tropicals are Canna lilies and taro plants.

The Salvias were in top form throughout SCBG.  I think this one is Salvia 'Black & Blue'.

Salvia guaranitica is my best guess

Salvia leucantha

Salvia mexicana 'Limelight'

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.  Happy autumnal equinox to those of you in the Northern Hemisphere and, for anyone in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy your first day of spring!

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