More Chopping, Some Foliage, Sibling Rivalry

Got Leucadendron 'Chief' planted on the east slope.  
Below 'Chief' on the slope are a couple of Agave macroacantha 'Pablo's Choice'.  They get no irrigation other than winter rain, and while it has slowed their growth significantly, it has not affected their beauty. 

While I'm not a big fan of spines (the Puya is still waiting for extraction), the contrast of black spines, blue leaves, and a pleasing symmetry is very attractive.  

Sunrise makes the 'Oshio Bene' foliage almost appear to have taken on some autumn coloration.  Not really.  It's just the light.

Piles of chopped off summer growth accumulating around the garden.

The Iochroma 'Purple Queen' grew a lot this year:

Because the Santa Ana wind season is about to start, it got a hard pruning: 

No pruning needed for Agave 'Ivory Curls': 

Lots of plants yet to trim.

The pups are more entertaining these days than my gardening activities.  

Sibling rivalry:

Nap time:
More sibling rivalry:

Comments

  1. That Iochroma is almost scary. The one I planted years ago did nothing but perhaps I should try it again. B&N are adorable, with or without subtitles.

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  2. I'm shocked with the level of pruning on the Iochroma 'Purple Queen'. Is that an annal treatment? How hard do you prune your clematis? I've yet to cut mine, ever. The thought of removing all but a foot or so makes my heart weak and my hand shake.
    Agave 'Ivory Curls' is beautiful: it looks like water running down a slide.

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    1. Yes, I chop the Iochroma down that much every year. The branch strength is close to zero so if I don't chop it down, the Santa Ana winds do it for me. I'm more gentle. It leafs out again pretty quickly.

      All the clematis in this garden are type III, and the standard instruction for type III is to cut down to about 6" tall every year.

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  3. Love the Ivory Curls photo. Really emphasizes the leaf waves. Your pup sure knows how to relax. We have a cat who in the summer sleeps in what we call 'the otter pose', on his back with feet tucked up. With his belly exposed I think it helps cool him down.

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    1. Yes, the belly exposure seems to help keep them cooler. A previous dog would park himself in front of the box fan that way. Also makes them look more adorable. They do that on purpose.

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  4. Agave macroacantha 'Pablo's Choice'... thank you! Now I have a name to go with the ultra black spines that I adore. My couple of Agave macroacantha are just ho-hum. Not great for an agave I have to protect over the winter. I need to find Pablo!

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  5. Stumbled upon your amazing blog while googling CA natives to replace our water hungry lawn. Your garden looks incredible and provides some much appreciated inspo. Can I ask where you're located in SoCal / what kind of temperatures ranges you have? I moved to the inland Bay Area zone 9b this year and quickly learned our summer heat waves (110s) are going to be tricky

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    1. Hi Anon,

      I'm in Sunset zone 23, about 8 miles inland as the crow flies, not pure ocean influence like 24 but we don't get the extreme inland heat here. Non-heat wave summer temps are in the low to mid 80's. Heat waves--yeccch. Getting worse every year, it seems like. :(

      If you have not already, the Calflora.org website which seems to have added features lately, has a "what grows here" feature--you can enter a location and see what CA natives are known to have grown in that precise area--very helpful.

      Happy you have found something of interest in my blog. Best wishes and happy gardening!

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    2. Oh man mid 80s sounds like a dream. The Calflora.org "what grows here" feature is amazing, thanks so much for the tip!

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