Kicked

 Late yesterday afternoon I noticed Aloe 'Moonglow' was pushing flower stems; this morning I noticed someone had kicked 'Moonglow', snapping off the rosette.
 I doubt it was intentional.  Likely just careless teenagers. 
The above can be re-rooted;  what is left in the ground may or may not survive to produce an offset or two.   Oh, well.  I was so looking forward to those gorgeous golden flowers. 

Was given(!) an Eremophila glabra 'Mingenew Gold' by this month's speaker at the local garden club meeting.  I planted it up on the dry, dry, dry slope--it is so dry up there I removed the variegated Agave salmiana that was dying for lack of water and replaced it with the Eremophila.  The Agave got a soak, got its mealy infestation properly sprayed into oblivion, and got a new relatively more moist place to live. 

This particular species Eremophila is from an area of Western Australia that averages about 15" of rain per year, about like here.  Yellow flowers during the rainy season that, yes, of course, attracts hummingbirds. 
 Potted up the Alternathera (A. dentata 'Purple Knight'?) plant that had been rooting in a plastic bag for the past month.  A garden buddy gave me a cutting.  The foliage would be darker, but it did its rooting on the dining room table, where the light is not intense. 
 Moved the Lemonade Berry, Rhus integrifoila that I planted some time back.  R. integrifolia is native to this very area--you can spot them here and there, and there was one growing in our back gully that had to be removed when we added terracing.  
In its new place.  Will it survive?
 After purchase from a nearby native plant nursery and being immediately planted, it sat in the ground doing absolutely nothing for two years.  Not even a single leaf.  Not one millimeter of new growth.  This past (finally rainy) winter it suddenly grew 3'+ (1 meter) within about a month.  I decided to move it where, if it should survive, it will have much more space to grow.  The root system dug up proved pathetic.  Perhaps it was sitting in the pot at the nursery too long.   Excellent bird habitat shrub and dense screen eventually;  I hope it survives.
I was surprised to see one of the "Moby" bulbils, kindly given to me by  the creator of the fine Digging garden blog, has crested. 
 Still waiting for a Protea 'Mini King' flower to open.  It's taking a long time.
 Leucophyllum 'Thunder Cloud' decided to produce a scattered few flowers...
 ...while at the same time a neighbor's big-box purchased L. frutescens was covered with color.


 What a kick.  It's taking some time to get my gardening mojo back after weeks of indoor work.
While I enjoyed the neighbors prolific Leucophyllum flowers, hawks soared above.
 What a kick. 

Comments

  1. I'm sorry to hear about 'Moonglow' but I'm glad that otherwise things are kicking into gear in your garden. I'll be interested to hear how your Eremophila glabra does - my unnamed variety has done little to nothing after 2.5 years in the ground but I admit I've utterly ignored it.

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    1. All of a sudden I have five different Eremophilas--it is the Year Of Trying Eremophilas--and all are doing well. Is yours in full sun? They want that, (I think). The 'Mingenew Gold' is a groundcover version. Highly recommend 'Blue Bells', pretty little plant!

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  2. You sound remarkably calm about your kicked off Aloe that was about to bloom. I would have been pissed as all get out. I have a flower thief who all spring and summer kept ripping off blooms from my front bed. I don't mean ripping off as in stealing, but actually physically tearing and ripping stems. I'm redoing parts of the bed so certain plants are no longer within easy reach and putting in more prickles. I know so little about Agaves, is cresting something bulbils do? One of my Moby babies looks similar to yours, with two rosettes.

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    1. Grr, your anonymous damager is plain mean. Security camera? Or a sign that says "Security Camera in operation this area"?

      Cresting is something succulents do, bulbils yes but also regular seed-produced, and other plants do it as well but it's a little different: fasciation.

      I was--disappointed--but there is so little damage or disturbance by humans to my garden overall I am hoping it was a mere accident. None of the other people on the street garden and most don't know a Sequoia from a Sempervivum. Plants are simply irrelevant to them. (Sad!)

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  3. Too bad your aloe can't kick back. I'm impressed with the amount of work you're doing in your garden. Right now we're mostly just dodging raindrops.

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    1. Raindrops sound lovely. Since I spend most of the summer grousing about the heat, when the rest of the year arrives it's time to get to work.

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  4. Boo on the aloe! I hope the part in the ground survives for you... They can be so resilient! I have a yellow Eremophila that's been great in the desert... Once it got big enough to handle the winter that is. Ill be curious how it does for you! It's so awesome to be getting back into the garden and get projects kicked off!

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    1. I'm curious to see how the Eremophilas like here, too. It was so hot this summer especially in October (not even summer) that I think true desert plants will become more and more common even in coastal CA. Yes, it's nice to be back outside! :)

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  5. Hope you and your tentatively flowering Leucophyllum will be inspired rather than embittered by the neighbor's showoff. A stunner on any scale...

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    1. My Leucophyllums have prettier foliage, and since I think of them as more a foliage plant than a flowering plant, I'm happy with them as well as with the neighbor's!

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  6. I love Leucophyllum foliage! For that silver color, I'd forgive it its poor blooming .
    Sorry to hear about 'Moonglow'. I remember how painful it was for me to see all the flower buds on my campanula and fall asters chomped by the bunnies. Well...
    Have a great week!

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    1. Damage...it's part of gardening. Have a great week yourself! :)

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  7. Generous of you to assume no malice...and better for your mental & physical health. I did a lot of complaining about the weather this year but many things bloomed that hadn't before and the fall color was glorious. I've learned my lesson and will henceforth seek the silver linings (or so I say now).

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    1. Yes, better for mental health. The challenges to that these days with such awful news out there means I'm trying to search out those silver linings, too.

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  8. Like Alison I too am surprised/impressed by your attitude towards the Aloe 'Moonglow'caper. Such a bummer! So will the cresting effect the growth of the Moby pup? And yay for rooted Alternathera cuttings!

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    1. See above reply to Ricki on preserving mental health.

      Cresting should mean the Moby is smaller and...strange. The other one is normal, so I hope for some size on that one.

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  9. Glad you have a positive outlook! Careless teens? Doubtful. That neighbor's Leucophyllum is amazing.

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    1. Really, most people pay no attention to plants at all. It's baffling to us, I know.

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  10. Oh no. How annoying. But Moonglow is tough. I'm sure it'll reroot just fine. And I admire your positive attitude. It's inspiring.

    I planted a 1-gal size Eremophila 'Blue Bells' a few weeks ago and it's been blooming nonstop. I take that as a good sign.

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    1. Which reminds me to put the rosette into a pot of soil. It's callused and ready to grow some roots. :-)

      I think 'Blue Bells' is going to be a good one!

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  11. frustrating to lose it just as it was about to flower. GRRR!
    But eventually, placed safely out of reach, the top will try again.

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    1. Yeah, why couldn't the kick have happened after the bloom? The rosette is now callused and placed in a pot to re-root. It will be replanted in a safer spot this time!

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