Fall means it is time to plant all the plants bought over the summer.
Finally found a decent Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass' at a decent price.
On to the west slope with you!
'Snow Glow', onto the west slope!
Russelia esquiformus, onto the west slope!
The Giant White Squill, Drimia maritima, off the west slope, and onto the front slope. The watering can in the photo shows the scale. The bulb is the size and weight of a bowling ball. Like many Southern California gardeners, it is just coming out of summer dormancy
I was able to split the original bulb into two. There were actually three bulbs. Drimia bulbs multiply by slowly dividing themselves over time. It was seven or eight years to see one bulb divide into two, but only two or three years for two bulbs to divide into three. One was small, no larger than a medium onion, so I left it attached to one of the halves. The roots are as thick as fingers.
New home. The other is nearby. Now that many plants on the front slope have reached a mature size, knowing there is room, I can fill in a few empty spots
Carry, lug, shovel, plant, dig, plant, water. Boris found the whole process very boring.
Throw the tennis ball.
You're not going to throw the tennis ball?
Better take a nap, then.
Zzzzzzzz...
I thought my binge was a whole lot of fun.
Autumn is when a pile of empties doesn't cause a hangover
Come on, throw that tennis ball :) some gorgeous new plants there especially the ones that went on the west slope!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'll go throw the tennis ball. You just made Boris happy.
DeleteGreat line: "Like many Southern California gardeners, it's just coming out of summer dormancy." I like A. vilmoriniana in any form, but this one is particularly nice. Now 13% humidity and windy. I prefer it over the heat. Cheers to survival of all the new plantlings!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I've so missed gardening for hours without feeling faint from the heat. That summer was a trial. Hooray for not-summer, the best season of them all.
DeleteYou go, gardener! Boris us usually correct but this time he's mistaken; this was very exciting.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to tell Boris you said that.
DeleteSuch beautiful plants, Boris doesn't realize how lucky he is to live among them.
ReplyDeleteNo accounting for taste...
DeleteYeah for fall! I've been planting things every weekend. I make room for new plants every year, even on our small 8,000 sq.ft.
ReplyDeleteSitting in the house being grouchy about the heat was not fun. Planting is fun.
DeleteYou make your 8,000 sf look good, GB.
Exciting! (Boris needs to expand his interests.) Where did you find the 'Snow Glow"?
ReplyDeleteBoris is obsessive, but who am I to judge?
DeleteAt Upland in Orange.
What? Boris doesn't like to dig? Must be vanity...not wanting to soil that beautiful white coat.
ReplyDeleteHe loves to dig, and is therefore not allowed to venture anywhere there is actual soil.
DeleteI'm assuming I didn't notice when urginea was changed to drimea. Okay, so noted. Glad you found a Stained Glass to your liking. I have a couple capitata crosses but not the pure species. It's lovely. You do get good dark leaf color out there in the OC!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I finally learned to spell urginea and they change it. And now,
Delete"Aloidendron for the tree aloes Aloe barberae, A. dichotomum, A. eminens, A. pillansii, A. ramosissimum and A. tongaense, and Aloiampelos for the scramblers and climbers A. ciliaris, A. commixta, A. decumbens, A. gracilis, A. juddii, A. striatula and A. tenuior. In addition they take up the early generic name Kumara of Medikus for the single isolated species familiar as Aloe plicatilis. Here I am indebted to eagle-eyed Roy Mottram for pointing out that "Grace et al. have made an error in adopting Kumara disticha Medik. when plicatilis is the obvious priority name at the rank of species." "
My from-capitata seedlings are growing rapidly, I am so hopeful they prove to be pure!
Your dog is too cute. I look forward to seeing the slope fill up!
ReplyDeleteSo is your sweet pup!
DeleteI am so hoping I can make that slope beautiful.
These Drimia bulbs are very interesting but I adore your fluffy white Boris, so throw the tennisball and quick.
ReplyDeleteGoing out there right now to start throwing! What Boris demands, Boris gets.
DeleteAll of these plants are unknown to me, except for your bouganvilla, although in this part of Spain winters are too cold for it to survive. I can't get over the size of the drimia bulb - never seen anything like it!
ReplyDeleteNot only a curiosity, the size of that bulb, but a very cool plant with a twisty rosette of foliage in fall/winter/spring and a 6 foot flower in August. Also easy, easy, easy here.
Delete