I met up with blogger friend Hoover Boo of Piece of Eden at Sherman Gardens in Corona Del Mar yesterday. Workers there were in the midst of setting up a nighttime light show scheduled to launch in early December so it wasn't quite the garden we expected but we had a good time catching up and talking about plants anyway. I'll post some photos of Sherman Gardens later this week but, as HB arrived bearing plants, let me share what she passed along to me in exchange for the single Barleria obtusa (bush violet) seedling I managed to find in my garden to pass along to her.
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| This is an overhead shot of the bounty I brought home |
Here are some closeups:
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| On the left are Aloe cameronii 'Red' commingling with Agave bracteosa 'Monterrey Frost'. On the right is Agave titanota 'White Ice'. Some of these will be handy additions to the soon-to-be renovated succulent bed in front of our garage. |
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| On the left is Begonia 'Irene Nuss', which may find a home in or near my lath (shade) house. On the right is a substantial seedling of Heteromeles arbutifolia (aka toyon). The huge toyon that came with my garden suddenly dropped dead several years ago and I've missed it. I'm tempted to plant it in the spot formerly occupied by the original toyon but the bottom of the slope along the property line might be a good choice too. |
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| The huge bulb on the left is Hippeastrum papilio (aka butterfly amaryllis). I planted out 3 of these bulbs years ago and they disappeared. I've already identified a sunnier location for this one. The bulbs on the right are Sprekelia formosisima. I planted 5 of these bulbs in 2022 but only got one bloom this year. HB suggested patience. I'll be planting these in the same general area as the others. |
Barring a sudden change in the weather, I plan to get my new plants in the ground or in pots this week. There's not much else going on in my garden at the moment, although I do have two small updates.
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| Hippeastrum 'Apricot Parfait' is already blooming! It looks like it's going to produce a second flower stalk too. |
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| Late last week our 'Fuyu' persimmon tree (Diospyros kaki) had just the faintest touch of color in its leaves. All of a sudden it's making a statement. This tree and my Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' provide more fall color than anything else in my garden. |
There's a slight chance of rain Wednesday night into Thursday. I'm not holding my breath.
All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
