In addition to the projects and happenings that get their own posts (like this update on the new succulent beds in the backyard and the 8 projects I worked on in June), there are a lot of other things going on that I want to share. That’s what my periodic “This and that” posts are for. This edition includes many little vignettes captured in June.
Yucca rostrata in flower
The biggest event in the bloom department was the
Yucca rostrata in the sidewalk bed flowering for the first time. As you can see, it was anything but inconspicuous. The large head of creamy white flowers was quite a sight, especially contrasted against the chaste tree (
Vitex agnus-castus), which happened to be in flower at the same time.
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| Yucca rostrata flowering for the first time |
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| Stunning against the bluish purple flowers of the chaste tree |
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| The sidewalk was littered with fallen petals |
Chaste tree
Speaking of chaste tree: The monster you see today started out as a 4" pot, which I planted so long ago I forgot when. The label claimed it was a small patio tree to 12 ft. Well, our chaste tree clearly didn’t read that because it’s almost as tall as our two-story house. When it’s in in full bloom, it comes alive with the buzz of bees – literally thousands of them.
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| Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) |
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| The chaste tree is as wide as it is tall. Here’s a flowering branch in the backyard. |
Flowering event #2 is not actually an
event per se – it’s a sustained thrill that’s been a source of excitement for weeks and weeks and weeks. California poppies (
Eschscholzia californica) come and go fairly quickly. But their Mexican relative, the Mexican tulip poppy (
Hunnemannia fumariifolia), puts on a show that seems to last forever, starting in spring and continuing into the heat of summer. Unlike the California poppy, the Mexican tulip poppy is a perennial. All you need to do is cut it back after flowering (or whenever you feel like it), and it’ll come back with pristine new foliage and flowers.
The two Mexican tulip poppies in our front yard are volunteers. I’ve let them do their thing, but I’m getting ready to whack back the larger clump (on the left in the photo below). But before I do that, I want to collect as many seeds as possible so I can share the wealth with friends. As with California poppies, the seed pods literally pop open when they’re ripe (that’s why they’re called poppies). I try to pull them off before they do that so I can harvest the seeds.
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| Two Mexican tulip poppies (Hunnemannia fumariifolia) |
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| Mexican tulip poppy (Hunnemannia fumariifolia), with Agave ‘Blue Glow’ in the middle and various cacti on the right |
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| Mexican tulip poppy close-up. The flowers are a clear yellow. Just looking at them lowers my blood pressure. |
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| Mexican tulip poppy (Hunnemannia fumariifolia) and Mangave ‘Praying Hands’ (my largest specimen) |
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| Mexican tulip poppy and one of my favorite cycads (Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi) |
Evening glamour shots
Because the front yard faces west, we get to enjoy beautiful backlighting from late afternoon on. Cacti, especially, glow in the early-evening rim light. At just the right time, the effect is sublime.
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| Golden ball cactus (Parodia leninghausii) |
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| Agave victoriae-reginae, Echinopsis ‘Dream Catcher’, Agave nickelsiae, and Agave pelona |
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| Nothing can top Agave titanota ‘Lion’s Mane’ for sheer beauty |
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| That’s why you get to see it two times |
And finally...
Fern wall
Last week I had breakfast with a friend at
Cafe Bernardo on R Street in Sacramento. Their patio has a beautiful fern wall. Keeping these shade- and water-loving plants looking good in our hot climate is no mean feat. That’s why we don’t see living walls very often.
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| Fern wall at Cafe Bernardo, 1431 R Street, Sacramento |
© Gerhard Bock, 2025. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.
You had a busy summer thus far! So many projects checked off and dozens of cactus seedlings in the green house: so satisfying.
ReplyDeleteIf I have seen Yucca rostrata in flower before I can't remember it: seeing yours feels like a first for me. It not only gorgeous but considerate too, leaning so that most petals drop in a neat pile away from the Agave bellow.
I love your Mangave ‘Foxy Lady’. It has multiple pups and possible another future 'chore' in the never ending to-do list.
Chavli
Yucca rostrata flowering is quite a sight. It will split into two heads now, from what I've read.
DeleteGardening chores are never-ending, but we wouldn't want it any other way, right?
Your garden is really keeping a solid groove this year! One gorgeous moment after another. I love Yucca rostrata blooms, so dang fluffy, like it's holding up a pom pom. Mine hasn't bloomed yet, so looking forward to that. The Mexican tulip poppies are lovely, but nothing beats backlit cacti! The lion's mane looks like steel. Fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThank you! All things considered, temperatures have been fairly mild. Once we get into the high 90s and low 100s consistently, things will look different.
DeleteFeels so good to tick projects off your list. The chaste tree and yucca blooms are beautiful. A serendipitous event that they are blooming together. The mangave grouping look great. Might have to copy you on that one. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThe good things about having these mangaves in pots, I can switch them around if I want to.
DeleteThat fern wall is fabulous, as are your backlit Mangaves. I tried the Mexican tulip poppies once and they quickly crashed but the success you and Hoover Boo have had with them make me inclined to try them again. Rather than installing them as plants, maybe I'll try them from seeds. I'm in awe of your chaste tree - I planted one (from Annie's in a 4-inch pot) in 2017 and it's still not much more than one foot tall :(
ReplyDeleteYou planted a chaste tree in 2017 and it's only a foot tall? Something's not right with it. It should be 15 ft. by now! Was it a dwarf cultivar maybe?
DeleteYour garden is so wonderful. To have it would be a dream for me. I really enjoy seeing it. And the backlighting is heavenly too!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!!
DeleteAh, that Mangave ‘Foxy Lady’ and ‘Pineapple Punch’ picture is dreamy! As for the fern wall... WOW! I need a fern wall...
ReplyDeleteA fern wall would be so dreamy! If only it weren't such a maintenance nightmare in our climate.
DeleteWonderful glamour shots! The tulip poppy is so good seeding among succulents and has great blue-green leaves too. And there's just something extra that titanota gives, and that 'Lion's Mane' has it in spades. I wonder if the fern wall is using woolly pockets or...? The WP are very difficult to keep going in LA and not sure if they're still in use.
ReplyDeleteYes, the fern wall used woolly pockets or something very much like it, with drip tubing above them. The restaurant has a plant service maintaining the fern wall.
DeleteI've tried Hunnemannia a few times - just can't get it to stick around. I have a feeling that if I could just get one to survive for a few seasons, that the seedbank would soon overflow and I would be set for life with more Hunnemannia than I could count. Great evening glamorshots. Agreed that the Lion's Mane is unbeatable.
ReplyDelete