Yellow is my favorite color but I've gone way overboard in its use in my backyard garden. While I have several swaths of yellow color, the one that seems most jarring to my eye is that created by a mass of
Gazania 'New Day Yellow'. Despite the pathetically low rainfall we've had this season, limitations on irrigation, and bursts of unusually hot temperatures in what is supposed to be our cool season, these plants are very happy in my garden. The clumps are large and continuously covered in bright gold flowers.
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| The gold-toned Gazanias, like taxi-cabs, draw one's eye but stand out in too stark a contrast to some of the surrounding plants |
I decided I needed to tone things down a bit in this area so I went shopping for
Gazanias in a softer color last weekend. It's already getting late to plant anything new here - the month of February was the hottest (and among the driest) on record and we're in the midst of another heatwave now. If I'm going to plant anything more, I thought I'd best get it done this month.
My shopping trip took me to
Roger's Gardens in Corona Del Mar. The garden center is full of lovely plants but it was hot so I only took a few photos.
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| Photos taken from the mid-section of the garden center |
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| Left to right: Monkey puzzle trees (Araucaria araucana), which I can't remember ever seeing for sale locally; a lovely orange Leucospermum; and a beautiful Yucca 'Bright Star', which don't seem to be available in 1-gallon sizes anymore |
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| A few of the many succulent displays - I fell for those succulent-planted purses but they were really pricey so they stayed on the shelf |
I found the
Gazanias and
Gaillardias I was looking for fairly quickly, which doesn't mean I didn't scour the place for other plants I didn't need.
They had Itoh peonies but I've sworn I won't buy another until the one I have blooms again.
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| Left to right: 'Bartzella' (I think), 'Keiko', and 'Takara' |
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| Here's my 'Keiko' Itoh peony - the foliage looks healthy but there's not a bud in sight |
What I found extraordinary about the peonies for sale at Roger's was this tag:
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| I don't get how Itoh peonies can be considered "water-wise" so I was surprised to see this tag affixed to the pots. I checked the grower's own webpage and saw only instructions to "water regularly - weekly, or more in extreme heat." |
No peonies landed on my cart but I did pick up a plant I had a hard time leaving behind.
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| My cart, featuring a new-to-me Leucadendron laxum in front. The plant sat on my cart for 20 or more minutes while I deliberated (and took photos). |
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| More views of the Leucadendron |
I finally decided
Leucadendron laxum looked a lot like a bigger version of the
Leucadendron 'Jubilee Crown' I bought several weeks ago on a trip to
Seaside Gardens in Carpenteria so I reluctantly put
L. laxum back.
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| The small Leucadendron 'Jubilee Crown' planted in my garden has feathery new growth similar to that of the L. laxum but it has yet to produce any flowers or cones |
It turns out that the two plants aren't classified as part of the same species but, for now, I'll wait to see how
'Jubilee Crown' does - and whether
L. laxum becomes available in a 1-gallon size pot.
I pulled up some of my gold
Gazinias and planted five of the white and yellow
Gazanias I selected in their place. I'll probably add a few more if I find some in my local garden center. I'm in the process of dividing the gold plants I pulled out and searching for spots in other corners of the garden to plant them.
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| The white and yellow Gazanias will take awhile to catch up with the gold ones in size |
I've collected a LOT of plants over the past two months but I've been lazy about putting posts together to show them off. I'll try to correct that omission soon.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
