Thursday, November 19, 2020

My front garden, tour 2020

It's time for my annual garden tour. Every year I take photos at the end of summer and post them here on the blog. This tradition is hugely valuable for me, as I get an annual record of what the garden looked like at a moment in time. Hopefully it's interesting for you too...

This year's photos (99% of them) were taken on August 16th and September 20th. Above I'm standing in the street looking straight at the house, below is the view from the end of our driveway. 
Now moving to the north a bit, along the public sidewalk. I couldn't decide which photos I liked the lighting of the best, so I included a few similar ones.

Glowing Yucca rostrata...

And super sexy muscular branching on the Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths'.

That's Arctostaphylos 'Monica' to the right of the front door. I'm working on opening up the structure so you can see through it (since it is in front of the door), much like 'Austin' is.

The next four images show a slightly shifting perspective on the middle of the front garden...



I am really happy with how this area is shaping up, it's exactly what I hoped for.

As is the tall tetrapanax on the far end.

It's lovely to look up through on a blue-sky afternoon.

Although those big green leaves didn't like the weird dark and smoky days in early September and started to turn yellow almost instantly.

I know I've included a photo of my Summer 2020 visitor before, but since I'll refer back to this post I thought it might be good to remind myself this is the year the bunny came to visit.

This image—of the area up against the front of the house—might look familiar to some of you, as it was used to promote I talk I gave for the Northwest Horticultural Society. It was just a random photo I took one morning in August as I was watering, but the light was perfect.

Here's the same area but later, in September. Notice the lower leaves of the Euphorbia rigida have turned yellow, kind of like the tetrapanax leaves did. I heard lots of stories of plants reacting to the smoke (and ash) filled skies. I do hope there is some organization that's compiling plant reactions to the thick smoke that covered our region for days. I know Oregon State University was asking people to submit reports.

Looking at the same vignette, but from the other side.

And here's the autumn version.

The area on the other side of the front steps is not so cohesive. I've replanted it a few times but I'm still not happy with it.

Although I'm completely in love with this—supposedly dwarf and draping—Loropetalum I managed to squeeze into the pot holding an Acca sellowiana (aka pineapple guava).

And this Agave baccarat...

Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Rainbow' does well in its dappled shade location under a large Fatsia japonica.

Switching to the other side of the sidewalk up to the house...

Agave 'Mateo' surrounded by a rosemary.

Agave parrasana 'Meat Claw'—fingers crossed for its survival. This is the second plant Sean Hogan (Cistus) has given me. He told me to put the first one in the ground but I didn't. But it wasn't happy in a container and so this time I listened and it's in the ground.

This combination of plants is what lines most of the sidewalk. I like it.

Okay then, here we are at the gate to the back garden—and that's tomorrow's post!

Weather Diary, Nov 18: Hi 52, Low 45/ Precip .81 

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

24 comments:

  1. Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths' gets me every time: it takes my breath away.
    When I get my breath back, I admire the late autumn vignette to the right of the steps, when the Amsonia turns to gold. I love the look of Loropetalum draping over the edge of the planter, and hope the Leucothoe 'Rainbow' I picked up earlier this year will look as fine as yours.
    Question: in photo 26 (second to last), what's the lush, lobed, green-leafed ground cover (left of center)?

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    1. That's Grevillea x gaudichaudii, photo taken during one of the brief times this summer that it wasn't in bloom.

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  2. It amazes me how much you cram into your front garden. The first photo makes the space seem so much larger than it is. Love the dark bark of the Arctosyaphylos. In the 7th photo there is a bluish wispy plant just to the right of the agave. What is it?

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    1. It really is a small front garden. The house sits to the front of the lot, which I love, since it means more back garden space. I think you're asking about the Corokia cotoneaster?

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  3. 'Bacarat'is so good. Everything looks grown in and relaxed, a DG plant community. Except for the much bigger leaves, your tetrapanx looks like mine. Just this morning I was thinking it might have to come out, because it's obviously suffering. We'll see how it looks in spring. One casualty of the ash from the fires was my big coastal woolybush/adenanthos sericeus -- loved that shrub! The leaves I could hose off seem okay, but those leaves that don't wash clean really trapped the ash and suffered. The woolybush is the only fatality so far...

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    1. You should see my tetrapanax now! It's all yellow and the leaves are a bit droopy. It hasn't been hit by frost yet, but definitely nipped. So sad that you lost your Adenanthos sericeus, I love that plant.

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  4. Poor plants suffering from smoke inhalation, it shows just how serious the pollution was. I hope they recover...
    Love your Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths' - it is a beauty.

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    1. I wish I could remember what plant (crop) it was that completely died back during the fires/smoke. Something that growers down in the valley were dealing with en masse.

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  5. Everything looks terrific. Bill I were just admiring the front garden the other day. Sexy & muscular is a perfect description of your A. 'Austin' -- love that guy.

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    1. I'm surprised you could see anything over the quantity of leaves out there. I finally got a few cleaned up yesterday thanks to our mostly dry day.

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  6. I love these annual revisits of your garden! Lots of familiar sights, but ever evolving.

    A few random thoughts:

    Your 'Austin Griffiths' gets the prize for sexiest manzanita ever!

    Remember how I used to say your Agave 'Baccarat' looks different from mine? Now they're converging, i.e. mine looks virtually the same as yours.

    Loropetalum and Acca sellowiana: I still can't believe they're growing in the same pot. Only you could pull that off!

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    1. So is it your 'Baccarat' that changed? Because I don't think mine has.

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  7. I always enjoy your garden tours, Loree. You did a great job making the most of light angles in many of your shots. Much as I love my red-trunked Arbutus 'Marina', they don't hold a candle to your Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths' in the sexy tree category.

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    1. I just wish I could make the stupid hellstrip tree go away so Austin could have that whole space to himself...

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  8. Yes - thanks for the interesting tour, and .81 inches precip sounds perfect! I noticed some open areas for a few more plants...

    The 'Austin Griffiths' Manzanita tree with the yuccas and cacti is my favorite combo, if I had to pick.

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    1. Gawd that was a wet day! We don't get that much rain all that frequently thank god.

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  9. Love that 'Austin'! As well as all the rest.

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  10. Your garden is amazing thank you for sharing

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  11. Just fab, and as you say a great tool to refer to in the future. I always loved your front garden the best (don't tell the back garden) because it's so - oh, I don't know...flowy? A little wild? Yours is a garden to imitate which I have done, I admit freely.

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    1. What a flatterer you are! But I'll take it. When people visit they always seem to be more drawn to the back garden, yet two of the most popular features online are Austin and the vignette by the front door. Interesting...

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  12. Our ironwood has that muscular sort of look but certainly isn’t that color. Where did you get the agave gate?

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    1. We made it. My husband drew the design and had a local (Portland) company laser cut it from of a sheet of aluminum. Then we had it anodized and hung it using the same frame we had used for our old (ugly) chain link gate. More here: http://www.thedangergarden.com/2015/10/agavegate.html

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