I was pleased when two of my
Hesperaloe parviflora produced bloom spikes this year. They weren't nearly as floriferous as those I saw in Austin, Texas last year but I felt my small collection of plants was headed in the right direction.
![]() |
| I took this photo of the Hesperaloe blooms in late June |
![]() |
| The flowers still looked fine when I took photos for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day in mid-July |
Then this week I noticed that the smaller bloom spike didn't look right.
![]() |
| I took this photo yesterday. Notice the bloom spike on the left. |
![]() |
| From a distance, the flower spike on this plant seemed to have turned gray |
![]() |
| But it was actually covered in tiny green sap-sucking beasties |
Within little more than a week, when I wasn't looking, the aphids covered the entire flower spike. It seems that the warmer weather brought them out. I dealt with smaller infestations on the
Gaura in my front garden in early spring but it was nothing like this. I cut the entire spike and deposited it in the trash, then doused the
Hesperaloes with insecticidal soap. At present, the flower spikes on the adjacent plant don't appear to have any bugs at all.
After I'd cleaned up the aphid problem (at least for the moment), I noticed a nearby bed was in need of grooming. It too had looked great in June.
![]() |
| Succulents comfortably mingled with purple-flowered Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) here |
As the
Limonium started to fade I cut out the flower stems that no longer looked good. One thing led to another and, after pulling some of rattier
Limoniums, I cut back an overly exuberant trailing
Osteospermum, rampant stems of asparagus fern (an inherited weed here), and some sickly pale stems of
Senecio vitalis, revealing other plants I'd entirely forgotten about.
![]() |
| My clean-up is by no means complete but my knee can only handle so much time working on even a moderate slope like this one |
![]() |
| I planted this Aloe striata x maculata early last year, along with Aeonium cuttings, then lost track of it entirely when it was engulfed by the Limonium. There's another variegated succulent just beyond it I haven't even identified yet. |
More clean-up - and perhaps a new planting vision - is needed to whip this area into shape, but that's a project for a cooler day. The heat seems to have caught up with us at last.
Tell the Truth Tuesday is hosted on a periodic basis by Alison at
Bonnie Lassie to keep things real by showing the less-than-Instagram-perfect features of our gardens. Is your garden harboring any nasty bugs or hiding any lost treasures? Do tell.
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
