July 2021 Wide Shots

 

 Above, the eastern side of the garden

The pond got a new UV light and the springtime green water is clearing:

Some wide shots to provide an impression of summer here, before summer deteriorates into heat damaged, weary plants.

North of, and below the pond area.   Downstairs in the gully, Agave attenuata 'Ray of Light' is in summer beauty.  Winter hail damage still dots the oldest leaves:

The terraces are looking lush:

Melaleuca (Callistemon) viminalis 'Slim' has a second round of flowers:

Leonotus, Podocarpus, Pittosporum grow in the bottom of the garden

Lagerstroemia 'Cherry Mocha' is the dark foliage just to the right of center, against the fence.  'Ray of Light', seen in the earlier photo, is the Agave on the far right:

 'Cherry Mocha', which I received as a gift when it was about 1" (2 cm) tall, has its first significant floral display this year:

 

Now about six feet tall (2 m), in 2019 it was only six inches (15 cm) inches tall.

Huge, compared to how big it was when it arrived:

 I checked past posts to see how tall it was in March of 2020.  It was only nine inches (23 cm) tall last spring:

Huh.  Wow.  

Ah, there's the flower.  A muted pink-red.

Back to the wide perspective.  Is the front slope  starting to look overgrown?  

In proportion to the trees, are the Agaves and most of the Aloes too small?  Or is it the oak tree at far left that is so big?  Plant proportions change over time--they are a moving target. 

Not the most flattering angle for the Yucca 'Bright Star' trio. 

The Grevillea got limbed up somewhat after this photo was taken, but the Metrosideros still needs a trim.  Theoretically, the Grevillea is a short-lived plant--a decade or so.  Time will tell.  The Dasylirion will eventually be quite tall, the needle-leaved Yuccas even taller:

Still in front, the other side of the driveway...

The latest idea is to gradually make this area's foliage  more blue/silver and less green--'Blue Glow' and 'White Ice' Agaves instead of 'Joe Hoak's:

The view from up on the west side slope:

A true lily (Lilium) flower appeared this morning near one of those tall columns above..  A big box cheapo, it has managed to survive and flower for several years in our not-lily-friendly climate.

Next, the area by the front gate is changing significantly because of the recent rapid growth of the oak tree.  Once in full all day sun, it's now in morning shade:

And a bit scruffy looking.  I plan to work on it when summer is over: 

 'Bella Sera' day lily:

Looking towards the above area, which is behind the far short wall.  Nice color on the 'Dynamite' Lagerstroemia and Leucadendron foliage at the moment make up for the lack of roses in flower:

The emerging 'Dynamite' flowers are nice, too:

The uphill side area...just soooo happy it's mulched and weeded.  The Agaves and Yucca, larger now, fill the space sufficiently:

Next, Proteana...doing pretty well.  Mostly all Australian and South African plants--Grevilleas, Eucalyptus 'Moon Lagoon', Callistemon from Australia.  Leucospermum, Protea, Aloes, Leucadendron, Coleonema from South Africa. Bougainvillea from South America, Aeoniums and Globularia from the Canary Islands.  They all seem fairly happy in this dry, hot area:

Protea 'Sylvia' is growing into the path.  I'll move the path.  

Downhill from Proteana is the Syzygium screening hedge, putting us just uphill from where we started.  

The hedge of Syzygiums got topped last fall--after strong Santa Ana winds stripped off a lot of each tree's foliage, making them look painfully sad.  They got 99% of the rainwater collected this past winter. That and the topping benefited them greatly.  They bulked up. 

So that's how things look here, at this moment.