Fall Project 2015 #2

Because of the holiday week, progress has been slow.  Also yesterday Something Very Bad (retina detached?) happened to my left eye, so progress may stop entirely for a while, but in the meantime, plants removed, and the design pondered.  I pondered while I dug out/moved/tossed.  For example, I started thinking something like this, photographed perfectly by Gerhard at Succulents And More, in front of the wall, with the 'Hercules' Aloe staying right where it is, and a lot of the Dymondia groundcover, especially right next to the street, to hold in soil and keep things tidy.  Perhaps the same pairing of 'Blue Flame' and 'Blue Glow' agaves around the mailbox post, and--a few Agave parryii truncata, and that's it. 
Can one have too many Agave parryii truncatas? 

However I have a whole lot (15+) of 'Joe Hoak' grandchildren now.  I must use them somewhere.  'Joe's yellow and pale green look okay with the Dymondia...

 ...but blends a bit into the wall color.  Not enough contrast?

The "normal" color of the same Agave looks better against the same color wall, but enough of those there.

Perhaps something shrubby right against the wall, such as a blue-ish Leucadendron, with the row 'o 'Joe' in front? 

 It seems right to have some shrubby-ness, because of the shrubby plants on the other side of the driveway.  Too much of a change, if one side was too minimal, right? 

Pondering from that angle, I wondered:
(instead of plants in front of the wall), what about a band of identical Agaves grid-planted to extend the strip of slate squares?  Too contemporary (and stark) for the house style? 
 
More ponder:  I like love the Leucophyllums on the front slope.  How do they look against the wall?  Sort of cool.  They have the great virtue of being slow-growing as well.  'Blue Flames' or 'Joe's in front of them? 

I got this big 'Molineux' rose moved to the spot (red mark) formerly occupied by 'Gold Medal' and 'Irish Hope', which is when and where the eye disaster occurred.

 Hopefully you forgive the disjointed nature of this post--want/need to keep my mind off this eye disaster thing until an appointment with an eye-disaster doctor.

Further pondering on The Project was interrupted by pondering whether to move this seedling Aloe from the Project Area or toss it, and then by seeing Aloe flower scapes emerging on the front slope. 

 As far as I can tell it is a cross of vertical growing A. cameronii...

 ...with pendent A. hardyi, which is one of the ones with flower scapes appearing.  The seed came from hardyi, which was blooming at the same time as cameronii, hence my guess.  Five separate scapes on hardyi, so I guess it's happy enough, despite some scorch from the summer heat.

 Aloe cryptoflora is relatively uncommon in cultivation.  This plant's first flower.  It's from summer-rainfall areas, so I was diligent about watering it this summer, though it turned red with stress (not diligent enough, probably). 

 Aloe vanbaleni:

 Aloe capitata peeking out!  Yay!  Such a charmer. 

 First flowers emerging on A. suprafoliata:

So, that's where The Project is at.  Wish me courage on the eye, if you would.  Luck I have, now and then, but courage is lacking.