I Love These. Is My Taste Tacky?

 I've admired this neighborhood group of clipped Syzygium for years.  Out on a neighborhood jaunt, I finally photographed them.

Think of the decorative possibilities...
Elmo'd!
Oh, that is sort of like...
 Oh, dear. 
The jaunt took a neighbor and I out to a nursery for a few plants.  A Leucophyllum 'Thunder Cloud' went home with the neighbor.  Two Lantana 'Lucky White' plus another Lavender 'Meerlo' came home with me, and went right into the ground, because rain was expected.

'Meerlo' and one of the Lantanas took the place of a 'Heatwave™ Blast' Sage Salvia (microphylla x greggii) that was very good but too large for the spot.  Both 'Meerlo' and the Lantana should hold up to the intense reflected heat in this area.  'Lucky White' (the flowers are white and yellow) is a dwarfish selection of Lantana that eventually forms a well-behaved mound about 2'x2' (60 cm).  They are placed at the bases of 'Julia Child' and 'Drop Dead Red' roses.  The soft yellows of the Lantana and 'Meerlo' hopefully look good with the brighter yellow of 'Julia Child' and the rich crimson of 'Drop Dead Red'.  There's another 'Blast' Salvia planted in the back gully, so that plant still has a home in the garden. 

The other Lantana went into the place vacated by a Rhodanthemum that found the spot too hot and dry.  
 Also on the jaunt, I took my neighbor to admire a mass planting of Aechmea blanchetiana located not far from the Syzygium group.  

 Underplanted with something like Tradescantia pallida 'Purple Heart'
 More orange in the Euphorbia Sticks-On-Fire along the driveway,

 Looks like they gave a couple of extras to the neighbors across the street. 
 My neighbor knocked on the door to tell them how beautiful their front yard was, but no one answered. 
 As I dropped my neighbor off at her house, she invited me to see her Aloes in bloom.  Two thraskiis...
 ...cameronii...
 and barberae.

 I also got to admire some of her beautiful Agaves.
'Snow Glow'
potatorum?
Oooh!
 Plants, wonderful plants.  Though a local hawk was unimpressed, it was a great jaunt.


Comments

  1. No, my dear blogger, you are not tacky! Tacky is when they are sprayed red.

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  2. Great photos of the hawk. They always look imperious, don't they?! I'm very impressed by the mass planting of Aechmea blanchetiana. I've got one lone plant and have frequently considered liberating it from its pot prison but always stop short, thinking it'd look silly all by its lonesome. If I win a scratch-off lottery, maybe I can afford to buy half a dozen more.

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    1. Hawk-eyed?

      Based on that garden, they must offset pretty good...you may have a whole lot in just a few years. Happy thought!

      It's raining! Wheeeeeeeeee!

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  3. I think intent is the key when observing sculpted plants. The mow blow dudes at the business park, or in home landscapes have no intent for the most part. And also no consideration for the health of the plant-in most cases they don't even know what the plant is , or what it's natural growth looks like. Scalping Rosemary never ends well. I like this too and I declare we are not tacky. That Aechmea display is a big wow!

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    1. Thanks for the vote of confidence! Yes, that Aechmea. It glows like melted gold.

      I've talked to some mow-blowers, and they say part of it is that if they don't trim trim trim blow blow blow the customer says "You never do anything." and fires them. Some of them, on the other hand, don't give a hoot. I sympathize with the former.

      There's another front yard in the neighborhood I really need to stop and photograph; they planted the whole hellstrip with prostrate rosemary, regularly shearing it down to just a few inches high. It looks--and you won't believe it until you see it--gorgeous. I marvel at it on a regular basis.

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    2. Prostrate rosemary is a genius hellstrip idea -- with the bonus of neighborhood aromatherapy during the regular shearings!

      Love your friend's Aloe cameronii, particularly the contrast with the powdery light green agave beyond. And that 'Snow Glow' is breathtaking. The curly red tip spines hover between gorgeous and ghoulish (the strong resemblance to drying blood). Either way, they take that photo tour right over the top.

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  4. I kind of like those green bowling pins - especially Elmo'd! Gave me a chuckle... It looks like you and your neighbor had a wonderful time. Such gorgeousness everywhere...

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    1. Oh, giant Syzygium bowling pins, with a giant box bowling ball...wouldn't that be a hoot?

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  5. I love the Syzygium. I don't think you are tacky at all. They look like handsome soldiers in their dress uniforms. I think they are eye relief from all the spiky plants. It appears that all the plants in your neighborhood are benefiting from the rain your area has been having.

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    1. They are a great architectural shape, aren't they? I've always thought clipped green hedges are a good substitute for a lawn--that even green effect.

      So very thankful for the rain!

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  6. Hey, the Brits love their box balls and no one ever calls them tacky for it. English gardens are chock full of that kind of tightly groomed foliage. Have you seen the photo of those red trees at the White House Photoshopped with Handmade's Tale bonnets?

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    1. Well, the Brits know how. I'm still trying to figure it out. It's the sculptural relief from the billowy shrubbery, no? Here we can use Agaves for that.

      Yes, have seen those Handmaids. Scarier than Elmo!

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  7. Those spiral hooks on the Agave - never see anything like that on our aloes.

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    1. Aren't they cool? Aloes are not nearly as spiny, though some of them are pretty sharp.

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  8. OK, I was thinking the Coneheads myself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coneheads_(film)#/media/File:Coneheads_Poster.jpg

    Right? But, seriously, they are not tacky. They sort of remind me of the cypress trees in Mediterranean gardens. Think Tuscany. And Tuscany ain't tacky.

    Thought of you this weekend because I saw agaves at the garden center here for the first time (I was only getting soil ammendments - don't get excited). And, like a foolish toddler, I had to make sure that they were truly sharp and proceeded to prick my finger. YIKES!

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    1. Yes, Coneheads! :)

      No indeed, Tuscany ain't tacky.

      So you see something sharp and nasty and you think of me? ;^)

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  9. I'm a fan of clipped evergreens, as long as someone else (someone capable) does the clipping. The use that appeals to me most is as a contrast to natural plant shapes and informal planting. There is a distinct Dalek vibe to that Syzygium grouping; the massed individuals are simultaneously faintly sinister and comic. But not creepy, like some other "trees" we could mention.

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    1. I have a clipped Myrtus, and enjoy clipping it, though I don't classify myself as capable since the Myrtus is a bit lopsided. The scent of the foliage is pure heaven, so clipping is a pleasure.

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