This is the continuation of yesterday’s post. Most of the photos below are along the sidewalk bed in front of the house.
A reader asked for a wider view of our house. Here are two panoramas that give you a better idea of how our house is situated in relation to our neighbors:
As you can see, we’re on the corner, which is why the L-shaped sidewalk bed is so long. Our house does stand out because no other neighbor has landscaping quite as involved.
Continuing with our walkabout at the northwestern end of the sidewalk bed (right below the bamboo on the left in the photo above):
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| A year ago, this section had one golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii). Now there are six, with another one in a pot off to the left. Like rocks, you simply can’t have too many golden barrels. |
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| The Baja fairy duster hybrid inside the fence (Calliandra ‘Sierra Starr’) has been blooming all year. I can’t express how much I love it. In front of it, outside the fence, from left to right: ‘Ian Bush’ manzanita (Arctostaphylos ‘Ian Bush’ from Las Pilitas), pearl bluebush (Maireana sedifolia), and ‘Scarlet Sprite’ grevillea (Grevillea rosmarinifolia ‘Scarlet Sprite’). |
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| Agave sebastiana ‘Silver Lining’ and an ever-blooming coppery iceplant (Malephora crocea) |
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| Leucadendron ‘Ebony’, Aloe ‘Yemeni Gold’ (an A. sabaea hybrid found at Aloes in Wonderland), and a Nick Deinhart mangave (Agave titanota × Mangave ‘Bloodspot’) |
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| The newish aloe garden that came to be after we moved the fence two feet closer to the house (see this post) |
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| Same |
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| Another Mangave ‘Pineapple Punch’ getting ready to flower (the other one is inside the fence; see part 1) |
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| The southeastern end of the sidewalk bed. Our neighbor’s driveway is to the right of the mailboxes. |
Fall planting time isn’t far away. I got a head start with a few recent purchases:
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| It’s hard to see, but this Salvia reptans ‘Blue Willow’ (a selection of the West Texas sage) is going to be very pretty. Aloe ‘Birds and Bees’ on the right. |
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| Salvia ‘Blue Note’ from the UC Davis Arboretum plant sale next to Agave shawii × isthmensis (a Jeremy Spath hybrid) |
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| Recently purchased Agave colorata (top left) next to an Agave parryi var. truncata, with a dogweed (Thymophylla pentachaeta) at the bottom right |
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| I haven’t had the best of luck with sempervivums, but when I saw this one in the UC Davis Arboretum plant sale inventory, I decided to try again (Sempervivum ciliosum ‘Borisii’) |
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| Agave ‘True Beauty’ (A. ‘Boutin Blue’ × titanota, a Jeremy Spath hybrid now in tissue culture). It’ll get to 3×3 ft. at least so I’m leaving some room. |
A few more random snaps:
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| This Aloe helenae rotted in the center last winter. I was able to stop the rot with hydrogen peroxide. Now there are 20+ heads instead of one! I’ve decided to keep them all for a while longer to see what happens. But eventually, I’ll have to remove all but one or two (or maybe three). |
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| Boophone disticha, a South African bulb, in a 5-gallon nursery can set inside an Air-Pot (or rather a generic knock-off) |
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| Air-Pots are plastic pots with a perforated sidewall designed to improve the root system through air pruning, preventing root circling and promoting a more dense, fibrous root structure. I use them as decorative overpots. I think they have quite a contemporary look. |
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| Even though these red thingies look like flowers, they’re actually the fruits (ping pong ball cactus, Epithelantha micromeris) |
I can't believe tomorrow is October 1st already! Before we know it, winter will be upon us, and I'll be complaining about the cold and fretting over my tender plants.
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Absolutely beautiful! May I ask: how tall is your Echinopsis ‘Tondelayo’? I have a tiny offset and I’m hoping it might flower in the next year.
ReplyDelete-Michael