Work on the front garden continues between rainstorms. I thought I'd provide an update, although I'm far from done with planting (and don't expect I'll be done until spring, if then).
The biggest change since
my first report is that flagstones and the first plants have been installed in the area to the left of the walkway to the front door. My husband is once again responsible for setting the stone in place. For a change, rather than letting my collector tendencies run wild, I selected plants to create continuity with the area on the other side of walkway.
All the plants are drought tolerant to some degree. Here's what's in place thus far:
- 3 Coprosma (1 'Evening Glow,' 1 'Inferno' and 1 'Scarlett O'Hara')
- 1/2 6-pack Erigeron karvinsianus (aka Santa Barbara daisy)
- 1 6-pack Gazania 'Kiss Frosty White Flame'
- 3 Lavandula stoechas 'Silver Anouk'
- 1 Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'
- 3 Lomandra longifolia 'Lime Tuff'
- 1 flat Thymus serphyllum (aka creeping thyme)
![]() |
| Top: Coprosma 'Scarlett O'Hara' (left) and 'Inferno' (right); Bottom: Coprosma 'Evening Glow' |
![]() |
| Gazania 'Kiss Frosty White Flame' |
![]() |
| Lomandra longifolia 'Lime Tuff' (which looks very similar to the L. 'Breeze' I used on the other side of the walkway) |
I plan to use more thyme,
Gazanias and other perennials, possibly
Euphorbia, to fill in some of the empty space.
The biggest change on the right side of the walkway was the addition of 2 cubic yards of bark mulch around the
Magnolia tree. I also added a few more plants in the area beyond the tree.
![]() |
| View of the area to the right of the walkway |
![]() |
| View of the back section (more stones were needed to give me space to move without tromping through planting areas) |
Key additions included:
- 1 Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope'
- 1 Agave gentryi 'Jaws' (featured in my December foliage follow-up post)
- 2 6-packs of Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip'
- 1 Asplenium 'Austral Gem' (fern)
- 3 Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior'(grown from cuttings)
- 3 Zephyranthes candida (aka rain lilies)
![]() |
| Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' (there are 2 others in an existing bed along the house) |
![]() |
| Another look at the handsome Agave 'Jaws' |
![]() |
| The ferns, Plectranthus and Ajuga in the foreground will be part of an expanded shade bed including the existing Arthropodium cirratum (Renga lilies), Pelargonium tomentosum (peppermint geranium), and Geranium 'Biokovo' among other plants |
But it still looks bare.
All material
© 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
