On the last Friday of the month, Loree of
danger garden celebrates her current favorite plants and encourages other gardeners to follow suit. April is usually a high point in my garden but the lack of rain this season (after unrealistically inflated hopes of ample rain associated with
El Niño), early heatwaves, days of freakishly ferocious wind, and a
neighbor's threat to contact the city about the height of my trees have had me viewing my garden through jaundiced eyes. I had to force myself to blink to see the beauty in my garden. Fortunately, the exercise of looking at plants individually helped me shake off my doldrums and see what's good about my garden right now. I offer just a few examples.
Globularia x indubia (aka globe Daisy), which I personally refer to as my hairy blue eyeball plant, is in full bloom. I added it to my dry garden in October 2012 and it is finally bulking up in size. A second plant, added last July, survived last year's hot summer and this season's limited rain but it's still small.
![]() |
| I originally bought this plant for its foliage and wasn't sure what to make of the flowers when they first appeared but they've grown on me |
In the front garden, two
Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', planted a month apart in the fall of 2014, are reaching maturity. I was afraid they might get too big for their spots but so far I think they're fitting in nicely. The shrubs are supposed to produce white blooms but have yet to do so.
![]() |
| This specimen, planted in December 2014, is the larger of the two shrubs |
![]() |
| This one, on the opposite side of the path leading to the front door, was planted in November 2014 after we'd cleared the area of lawn |
![]() |
| The two shrubs can be seen in juxtaposition in this view |
![]() |
| Close-up of the Leptospermum's foliage, which I often add to vases |
In the backyard, it's impossible to ignore
Achillea 'Moonshine'. Despite cutting numerous stems for vases, the flowers continue to dominate the backyard border. The first of these perennials were planted in 2012 but I added a few more in 2015 after removing the remainder of our lawn.
![]() |
| The foliage is grayer than it appears in this photo |
Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' has a more low-key presence in the backyard border but it never ceases to amaze visitors. Three of these shrubs, planted in part-day shade below a tall peppermint willow (
Agonis flexuosa) in the fall of 2012, have created a sea of fluffy green foliage despite dry soil and competition from tree roots.
![]() |
| I've planted more of these shrubs elsewhere in the garden but none have done as well (to date) as these three |
To conclude, I'd like to shine a spotlight on
Leucadendron 'Pisa'. This silver-foliaged beauty has surprised me this year. Planted in 2014, it produced a mass of "blooms" in March. Since then, it's developed lovely silver-tinged cones.
![]() |
| Photograph taken in March |
![]() |
| The enlarged cones photographed this week |
If you've got some plants deserving of special mention this month,
jump onto Loree's bandwagon at danger garden.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
