Early in May I
shared photos of a planting I did in a large container next to the front steps, a container that used to hold a Feijoa sellowiana (pineapple guava, it was a winter fatality). The centerpiece of the new planting is a Yucca rostrata that I hope will start to trunk soon—it has grown nicely over the last four months—but what I'm really happy about it how everything else is doing.
The Draba hispanica has bulked up nicely.
I love the small hairs along the leaf margins.
The Armeria maritima 'Rubra' (sea-thrift) has grown a lot too. I hope it colors up again when the weather cools. I'm not as fond of the green blades.
The cactus cuttings I popped in have rooted and the sempervivum have put out a lot of babies.
Speaking of babies, the tetrapanax at the far corner of the front garden near the street continue to send out runners. I've let this one (lower right hand corner) grow, but probably should be pulling it before it gets much larger.
More babies (it's turning into a theme), Mid-June I bought a gallon-pot full of small Agave 'Blue-Glow' and separated them out, tucking them in pots in the front garden.
They've grown a lot!
One even went in the ground. Since 'Blue Glow' isn't reliably winter hardy here who knows what the future holds for them. They've provided a lot of summertime enjoyment whatever happens.
No, this isn't my garden (I do love that trash can planter though)...
These next few photos are from an open garden I recently went to. I'll share more photos of this garden on Friday, but today I want to focus on the Corokia cotoneaster, that sort of dead-looking cloud/shrub.
The owner of this garden, Christine Weaver, has done such a great job of pruning it!
I forget exactly how old she said it was, but it's not young, with those substantial branches.
I came home inspired to get out and clean up some of the lower growth on my corokia. I'd let it become a mass of branching with no structure. Of course dappled sunlight isn't the best for photographing a see-thru shrub but here it is...
Plus there are agave pups under there, pups that would love a little more light and air movement.
After...
Another before...
And after...
What was I thinking hiding those agaves? I may do more pruning in a couple weeks, but I wanted to live with it a bit before I make anymore cuts.
One more entry, a late breaking addition that's not from the front garden, but rather the back. My Epiphyllum oxypetalum bloomed over the weekend! If you've never heard of this jungle cactus it also goes by the name queen of the night, and its blooms only last for a single night. Luckily there's another bud forming on my plant, so I'll hopefully get a second flower sometime soon.
All material © 2009-2024 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
Your puttering yielded nice results, Loree! You've encouraged me to do something with the various agave pups I have here and there. Coincidentally, I removed 2 pups of an Agave 'Mateo' growing in a pot yesterday - they were revealed when I removed a grossly overgrown and mostly dead Oscularia deltoides. However, as we're headed into a severe heatwave expected to last at least 4 days (even on the coast!), I'm temporarily sidelined.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, my Agave 'Mateo' have not pupped at all. Heatwave here too. Headed over 100 and the skies have turned smoky.
DeleteA good call to do a bit of selective pruning on your Corokia , not to mention wisely deciding to live with it for awhile before deciding whether to take off more. It's always good to actually be able to see ones Agaves !
ReplyDeleteI'm already scheming on doing a bit more snipping. I just need to find the time!
DeleteVery nice branching structure on your corokia. Looks great! It is interesting how much filtered shade an agave can take. I am sure the agaves are much happier with more sun!
ReplyDeleteAh you are kind, it would have been a much better specimen if I had paid more attention to it a few years ago, rather that just letting it do it's thing all wild like.
DeleteThe bloom on the Epiphyllum oxypetalum is breathtaking. The whole plant is. Very jealous. Does it have a scent?
ReplyDeleteEvidently it should have a rather bold and lovely scent, we weren't able to detect anything. Maybe it gets stronger as the night goes on?
DeleteI finally purchased two Agaves(!) from ethicaldesert.com: A. ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue' and A. parryi var. truncata Ruth Bancroft Form. The plants are little but they look good. They will live in pots this first winter.
ReplyDeleteI used to maintain a Corokia cotoneaster for a client up in Edmonds. I had it looking a lot like the one in the first picture, but wow, did that thing rapidly fill back in when I turned my back! As much as I like this species I decided that the ongoing pruning would be too hard on my back so I never added one to my garden.
Yay! And very smart to keep them in containers till they bulk up a bit. Thanks for the warning about the corokia, the gardener with the beautiful specimen said the same.
DeleteYou can really see the difference on the "after" of your pruning. The agaves are singing your praises. I love your pot with the draba. Did you make those cool cement pots with the moss growing on them? I had done some a few years back, unfortunately my mix wasn't perfect and they eventually cracked. I should try again.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you said that, I was worried the photos didn't show the difference! I did not make those pots, but I bought them from a friend who did. They're slowly sort of chipping away, but as long as I don't move them I'm hoping they'll last for a few more years.
DeleteLove that Draba hispanica!
ReplyDeleteI hope all your Blue Glow babies make it, you are due for a milder winter.
Chavli
Mild winter! Gawd that would be amazing.
DeleteWow, that Epiphyllum is incredible! And you have a lovely collection of potted succulents. I have three pots of succulents that I keep indoors year-round now (rabbits, squirrels, weather, other reasons). They're doing OK, but I need to up my game. ;-)
ReplyDeleteCareful, your three might grow to thirty in no time! (ask me how I know)
DeleteCorokia pruning. That's something I really need to do. Thank you for the nudge.
ReplyDeleteYour epiphyllum is just stunning!
Blue Glow: You have so many, you can afford to take a gamble with the one in the ground.
Have fun pruning! From what I hear you could make a mistake (go to far?) and the plant will quickly recover.
DeleteThat puttering was time well spent. I really like your results. And thanks for the inspiration on what can be done with Corokia. I like both the form that Christine Weaver achieved as well as the more upright, dense forms at the Port Defiance Zoo. It's a fantastic plant.
ReplyDelete