Yard Planting Begun!

So, if you've been following along you might know that we bought and moved into this house 1 year and 3 months ago.  It took us 6 months to remove the 4ft Boxwood hedge that went around the corner. Then I had the grass dug out this past August. Then it was too hot to plant. I've been spot spraying Round-Up on the Bermuda grass sprigs that sprout(it's called DEVIL grass for a reason).  And since the horse manure mulch guy will not come this far, I have to pick up the truckloads myself! I've picked up and spread 4 truckloads so far.  I decided it was finally time that I could begin planting!

So today I planted my Black Peppermint Willow Tree- Agonis flexuosa 'After Dark'.  I bought it in a 5 gallon can about 3 years ago and potted it up to a 15 gal can(because the 15 gals are $$!).  It is supposed to get only about 15 ft.  I love the burgandy black foliage! And it smells deliciously like peppermint, hence the common name.  

Also I've got 200 something roses, about 10 Salvia, 3 Camellia sasanqua, 3 Euphorbia cotinifolia(burgandy leaves), 3 Brugmansia(Angel's Trumpet), Chrysanthemums, Pelargoniums(Geraniums), variegated Agapanthus, Tulbaghia violacea variegated(Society Garlic) and T. fragrans(sweet smelling) 4 Osmanthus fragrans(Sweet Olive), 3 Dodonea viscoca purpurea(Purple Hopseed Bush), 16 lbs of Daffodil bulbs and many other shrubs and perennials to plant.  So, that garden is coming! Yay!

Cyclamen

Cyclamen is the most fabulous choice for cool season color in SoCal! They are a flowering bulb native to Europe and the Mediterranean that prefers shade or part sun.   Growing only about 8 inches, they are supposed to come up in the autumn and stay up through spring dying back in the summer.  But I have had have some plants keep their foliage and flowers through the Summer(in pots).  They bloom in ranges of pinks, red and white and purplish.   How wonderful if they would come in orange or yellow(which is so deficient in shade gardens).  

If you look at the flower closely, it is the only flower I know that actually turns itself inside out when it opens!  Pretty cool, huh? 

 And those mottled heart shaped leaves come in such beautiful patterns.  I have seen some with so much gray in them they look variegated! Since it's a bulb, it likes well-drained soil and will rot if not given such! 

 Folks here love to plant the white Cyclamen with red Pointsettias for holiday accents and sad to say so many rip them out after Christmas.  Because they are a bulb, they are a little more spendy than average annuals in 4" pots.  The going price is $3.99 -$4.99.  For shade, Cyclamen for autumn and winter and Impatiens for spring and summer.  But that's a whole different blog post! 

Tree Book

I love bark on trees, colorful bark, bumpy bark, bark that sloughs off, curly bark, peeling bark....    I just wanted to share a wonderful book that I bought today.  It's called "BARK, An Intimate Look at the World's Trees".  It has amazing close-up color photos and is large; 10 by 13".  

I bought it today at a great bookstore called Hennessey & Ingalls in Santa Monica. They have books on art, architecture, gardening, photography, design and more.   Rick and I make the pilgrimage maybe once a year.    But I think I paid too much for it($45).    Barnes & Noble and  Amazon  have it for about $30.   If you love trees and their beautiful bark, you should check it out.

Orange for Halloween

I love orange and am constantly perplexed why so many people don't enjoy this wonderful color! In our harsh sunny climate orange is bright and showy. Here is an orange Kalanchoe. They also come in red, pink and white. Kalanchoe is pronounced CAL-an-KO-E and is a succulent plant that blooms for us in cool weather. It grows about 12" tall and takes part shade to sun. The more fun, the redder the foliage. Yay for orange! Happy Halloween!

Yellow Shrimp

I know that I say this a lot. But I love this plant! Pachystachys lutea or Yellow Shrimp plant is tropical and native to Peru. In SoCal it grows to about 3 feet. I am on my 3rd try as it's frost tender. It blooms most of the year here. Those yellow parts are bracts with the white part being the actual flower, like Pointsettias and Bougainvilleas. I haven't tried propagation from cuttings yet but read that it's fairly east to root. Grow in part shade and protect from frost. Yellow is a rare color for shade, not seen in Azaleas, Camellias nor Hydrangeas. Yay for yellow!

Super Easy Daisy

Euryops daisy is one of the easiest plants to grow. I don't really know a common name for them. Everyone just calls them Euryops, pronounced  YER-E-ops.  The latin name is Euryops pectinatus, from the Greek "eurys" = large and "ops" = eye referring to the showy flowers.  Pectinatus = from the Latin meaning pectinate (i.e. with narrow divisions like a comb referring to the divided leaves).  Thank you internet!  So, I guess it means big eye with comb like leaves :-)  And of course they hail from South Africa where our climate is similar and from where all the cool plants originate.

I have seen them on an east side with only morning sun and in the south and west where they get full afternoon sun.  They bloom wherever but really prefer full sun! There is this green leaved version plus a gray leaved version.  I prefer the green over the gray(and I usually love leaves that are other than green)  because often they revert to green anyway.  The plant grows pretty fast; about 3 feet in one year and up to about 5 feet.  They bloom when you wouldn't think a daisy shouldn't; Autumn through Spring here in SoCal. 

What is great about Euryops is that if it gets too big, just whack it back!  It takes to cutting down to bare stems.  Try that on a Marguerite and you'll be sorry, it'll be dead(I know from experience).   Sometimes the young plants can get rangy.  Just  cut each stem and 2 stems will come out making the plant bushier.

Enjoy the sunny daisy flowers of Euryops!  

Sun Fuchsia

They call this a Sun Fuchsia but it's name is Fuchsia Gartenmeister. I love that coral orange color. It takes sun to part shade. It has small long tubular flowers. Like other Fuchsias it is prone to that Fuchsia mite that contorts the new growth and aphids too. But if you can keep them away this is a fabulous plant that is showy and only grows to about 3-4 ft.