Friday, January 31, 2020

The second half of my visit to Kris's garden

Okay are you ready? I've got more photos from my visit to the garden that inspires the blog Late to the Garden Party. I'll start with a reshare of the huge magnolia near the front door. Why?

Because underneath it are all of these fabulous bromeliads...

Naturally they stay here year round, because that's the way folks can roll in SoCal...

In yesterday's post we started in Kris's back garden and traveled around to the plantings near the front driveway, that's where we pick up with Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'...

A stunner...

Centaurea 'Silver Feather' and Pennisetum 'Rubrum'

In my mind one of the signature plants of this garden is the Bauhinia x blakeana (aka Hong Kong orchid). I was thrilled my visit coinsided with it's blooming.

Another succulent bed...

I should also note that I was stunned by the size of Kris's garden. I knew it was big, but it was even bigger than I thought. And so many parts of the garden are completely separate from others, distinct rooms in every sense of the phrase.

The gravel pathway below isn't just attractive it's also useful, a way for Kris and her husband to get the refuse containers to the curb. Kumara plicatilis, formerly Aloe plicatilis or fan aloe, in the center of this bed.

I was blessed with the soft sunlight of a morning in December. The succulents were glowing. That's a Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta' in the center and several tall Agave attenuata on the right.

Just behind the succulents above (if I'm remembering correctly) is a bromeliad garden, Kris wrote about it here. I think the bromeliads in this photo are (clockwise starting with the pink bloomer): Aechmea fasciata, Quesnelia marmorata 'Tim Plowman', Vriesea ospinae var gruberi.

Aechmea lueddemanniana 'Mend'


Perhaps a Vriesea fosteriana? Vriesea 'Sherlette Shiigi'

This stunner is a Dermatobotrys saundersii, Kris picked up at a Huntington Garden plant sale in 2017.

There are more succulents grouped nearby.

Kris recently wrote about her expanding mangave collection (here), this one is Mangave 'Kaleidoscope'.

Not a mangave, but rather an agave. The teeth look like Agave gentryi 'Jaws' but the color is throwing me off.

Another shot of some of her gorgeous Agave attenuata collection.

Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty'

The rose climbing the fireplace has been a favorite of mine from Kris's bloomday posts, but of course now that I'm looking for it's name I can't find it. Perhaps Kris will chime in and let us know.

Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'

I was negligent in getting a good overall shot of the cutting garden area, I was so focused on the citrus trees...

...and the ginormous blazing Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire'

More mangaves! Clockwise starting with the spotted guy at the bottom center: 'Blood Spot', 'Lavender Lady' and 'Silver Fox'...

And more agaves. I must be losing my agave super powers because I'm drawing a blank on the guy on the right (Agave lophantha?) Agave funkiana 'Blue Haze', I believe the ones on the left sometimes go by the name Agave 'Confederate Rose'.

And then there's this beauty! Hmmm, I really should know this one...(Kris says it's A. parryi var patonii)...

Ah! Agave ovatifolia and I think, on the right, is Agave vilmoriniana (Octopus Agave).

Didn't Kris pair the colors of the succulents in the planter nicely with the terracotta? The whole thing glows.

Speaking of glowing, wow—this aloe is lit up!

Now we are descending along the backside of Kris's garden, down the slope. I had to keep reminding myself to look down at the steps, not the view.

More Agave attenuata, with some of those steps I mentioned visible in the background.

I was rather transfixed with the gorgeous lemon tree at the bottom of the slope.

Now we're back up at the top, and admiring one of several Arbutus 'Marina' in the garden.

Phylica pubescens, I'm so jealous and wish I could grow this one.

As my tour of the garden was coming to a close Kris offered me a couple of agave pups, of course I said yes. One of them came from this Agave colorata.

One of several striking Yucca desmetiana ‘Blue Boy’.

Yep, I had to include one more view shot...

Agave impressa, I believe.

And we'll end with this fun combo of Agave 'Blue Glow' and Chrondropetalum elephantinum, as you can see the sun was becoming much more harsh at this point. Time to go have lunch!

A huge thank you to Kris for letting me visit her gorgeous garden just a couple of days after Christmas, and when she was still in recovery from the huge remodel that took months and caused some damage to her her garden—although you'd be hard pressed to find it. Everywhere I looked I saw nothing but beauty.

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Weather Diary, Jan 30: Hi 53, Low 41/ Precip .19

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Thursday, January 30, 2020

I'll admit, I was late to this garden party...

What took me so long? I've "known" Kris for, well, 7 years now (online counts, right?). I've been following her blog, Late to the Garden Party since January 2013. I've wanted to visit her garden in person for years, and finally had my chance when Andrew and I were in the Los Angeles area over Christmas.

It was a strange feeling of déjà vu when I pulled up in front of her house and walked up to the front door. After all I'd seen it all before, in pictures. When we walked out onto the patio and I saw the Albizia julibrissin I understood why she's trying so hard to save this troubled tree, it is the perfect foil to the incredible view.

That view...

Somehow I finally managed to tear my eyes away and focus on the fabulous plants, after all that's why I was there. This is one of many combinations that made my heart beat faster. Yucca gloriosa 'Walbristar' (aka 'Bright Star' Yucca) with what I think is a santolina? Coleonema 'Sunset Gold' (thanks Kris).

*SWOON*

I hope Kris is the only one slightly disoriented by the flow of photos as we move through her garden. I did my best to keep them in order, but fear somethings are a little jumbled. If you'd like to follow along with some wide-shot perspectives check out this recent post Kris did: Wide Shots - January 2020. We're headed around the corner now...

This cryptanthus stopped me in my tracks. Kris said it came labeled simply as "Earthstar' but she thinks it maybe Cryptanthus bivattatus.

Gorgeous, right?

Kris has a (well deserved) reputation for being a flower lover, I knew she had succulents in the mix—after all this is Southern California—but I was truly unprepared for the quantity and quality in her garden.

Speaking of quality, I should mention the quality of these photos is not what I would like them to be. It was the day before my visit to this garden that my camera up and died. Thank god for my iPhone, but oh how I wish I would have had my camera with me.

Agave 'Blue Flame' with A. americana 'Mediopicta Alba' in the background.

Again, I *SWOON*...

Metrosideros collina 'Springfire'

Agave 'Blue Flame', A. americana 'Mediopicta Alba', joined by A. 'Blue Glow'...

Agave 'Blue Glow', glowing...

Agave ovatifolia...

And I love that little yucca Kris planted in the stump.

Agave potatorum 'Kissho Kan', I think.

We've moved far enough along the side of the house now that I can look to my right and see the big magnolia by the front door.

But we don't head that direction, instead we continue straight down towards the lath house Kris's husband built for her two years ago...(time flies!).

There was a stunning collection of plants enjoying the semi-shady conditions inside...

Most of which I didn't get the names of (meaning Kris said them, and I promptly forgot them).

I do know this one! Hippeastrum (Amaryllis) 'Zombie'

This pot is a work of art.

Back outside it's time to admire the many aeoniums along the slight embankment in this section of the garden.

Agave desmettiana

I've never particularly cared for aeonium flowers, so this "just about to burst" stage was perfect for my visit.

Don't worry, I'm almost done. I just needed to communicate the sheer amount of these beautiful plants...

A bit of senecio mixed in.

Okay, now were "rounding the bend" (which really may not of have been a bend...and is only one in my memory) and the succulent mix becomes a little different.

Can't identify this one, but it's a beauty. (*update* Agave mitis 'Multicolor' which is actually thought to be Agave boldingiana)

Agave geminiflora, I think?

The Echium candicans 'Star of Madiera' was unbelievable, the size rather impressive.

I'm not sure which leucadendron this is, and I certainly can't imagine the wealth of blooms it must produce.

Aeonium 'Kiwi, perhaps?

Ah this one I know, Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', I used to have one of these (in a container) and loved it's blooms.

I'll end today's post with this seriously toothy agave and say "come back tomorrow" for more gorgeousness.

Weather Diary, Jan 29: Hi 49, Low 46/ Precip .45

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.