Aloe ferox (white flowers), Aloe 'Moonglow', Opuntia microdasysI spent about seven hours over two days finally giving Dasylirion longissimum a proper trim. A job I was dreading. It was tough but manageable. This slope is steeper than it looks.
Before:
After:
Mixed feelings about trimming it. It looks interesting but unnatural. However, the trim has opened up planting space. Several Aloes currently need a place in the ground: a rubroviolacea, three Buhrii, gariepensis.
After: had to cut off a whole lot of leaves one leaf at a time while contorted in various positions. Ow.
Back side, in progress. I'd paid one of the mow-blow guys to trim it up last year, but he didn't do a great job. His work did make it easier for me to access and finish the job, though.
The leaves are like extra long, uncooked spaghetti, floppy yet brittle.
While messing with the front slope I planted the newest Salvia apiana there. I'm betting rabbits leave it alone. They generally don't eat Salvias.
Also experimented with a rabbit guard for the front gate. Those long-eared rascals slip through spaces in the wrought iron. If it works, all the wire cylinders protecting various plants inside the walls could be removed.
Meanwhile, around the neighborhood: A neighbor's Aloe:
The big fallen Euc required bigger equipment to remove. The crew came back yesterday with a front end loader tractor and a full-sized dump truck.
The healthy(ish) Pinus pinea up on the top of the hill:
The Pinus pinea a few doors down from the healthy one that likely died because the homeowners remodeled their back yard and disturbed the pine's roots too much.
A neighbor's window, Euphorbia, and Rosemary:
All the Rosemary plants in the neighborhood are having a good year:
Back at home, flowers and foliage. 'Pink Gruß an Aachen' is almost done flowering. When it is, I will plant it in its new location. Echeveria harmsii 'Ruby Slippers' has developed its winter/spring colors:
Grevillea 'Superb':
First Freesia flower buds:
This shot of Agave 'Blue Flame' evokes Art-Deco for me
And Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' has flowers the blankety-blank rabbits have not yet discovered.
So, that's what is up here. The outdoor furniture cleaning/sealing project was on hold because the company sent the wrong stuff. Got the correct stuff today, so maybe I'll finally finish that project soon.
You've been busy! The Rosemary plants do look lush and beautiful...all your plants do. Freesias are fascinating plants with beautiful blooms.
ReplyDeleteThe big thing with Freesias is the fragrance--very sweet! The fancier ones sometimes don't have much fragrance, though. The drawback is their tendency to flop over.
DeleteYour Dasylirion looks great, even if you're only part-way done with your barbering effort. Mine has a minimal trunk thus far and the surrounding agaves are much too close but I'll see what I can do to clear a little space. The pink rose and 'Ruby Slippers' Echeveria look fantastic. Rabbits eat Arctotis flowers too? Yikes!
ReplyDeleteStill have to rake up all the trimmings, but the clipping finally finished. Yes, those blankety-blank rabbits, grrr. A bit of rain overnight! Wheeeeeeeeee!!
DeleteSounds like you got some good garden puttering weather back! Even though very altered in its appearance, I think the dasylirion will settle in much easier with other plants. I like its new trunk!
ReplyDeleteYes, better weather. Hope the Santa Anas don't come back.
DeleteSo very glad I don't have rabbits to deal with -the occasional gopher is enough critter visits for me ! Your lucky the mow blow dudes didn't just chop the Dasylirion foliage in half like they seem to handle all the Phormiums around my area ...do they really think the tips will grow back ?? I think your looks kind of interesting , and freeing up more planting space is always a positive outcome in my book !
ReplyDeleteKnock on wood have not had a gopher lately. Major increase in squirrels though. Always something.
DeleteI supervised the guy to get what I wanted. Still did not get quite what I wanted, but that's okay. My communication skills lacking. Some of those guys really know what to do--but they do what the homeowner tells them, and they only have so much time--must get on to the next job to make enough to survive. Most everyone around here insists on all leaves blown off everything, down to bare soil. They want to keep their dirt clean?!?!!??
Our neighbors across the street have a Dasylirion wheeleri. It's way too close to the walkway up to their front door so they asked their mow-and-blow guy to "trim" it. He removed about 1/2 of the leaves, leaving a monstrosity that looks so sad my heart breaks every time I see it. If you don't want it where it is, take it out, but don't butcher it like that!
DeleteI love seeing the manicured trunk of the Dasylirion. Hopefully now that the base is done (how tall is the exposed trunk?) it would easier to keep it up. Not until the close-ups did I realize it has two 'heads'. Well done job; even more so when the new plantings go in around it.
ReplyDeleteIf only Echeveria harmsii 'Ruby Slippers' kept its blush year round... wow. And yes, 'Blue Flame' shot is very Art-Deco-ee.
Chavli
I think just trunk part is at least 4', maybe closer to 5'. We're getting showers today (yay!) so I can't go on the slope right now to see. It flowered some years back, that's why the two "heads". The flower stem was on there several years, until it finally fell off. It was like balsa wood.
Delete'Ruby Slippers' keeps that amazing color for months and months here. Not all year, but a lot of it. I'll have to make a note of when it fades--mid or late summer to late fall, maybe--I'll have to pay more attention to it to be sure
I have not been seeing your posts for quite awhile. I don't know what happened. Will have to do some checking! I love to do the work myself but getting to the point where it gets pretty difficult!
ReplyDeleteThe email service blogger used to do went away, I think. The ones I looked at as substitutes--they seem to track or show ads or something else intrusive--not what I would want for blog visitors!
DeleteI do love to work in the garden. Will do whatever I can as long as I can. My sister had a customer who became very frail in her late 90's(!). She bought one of those things on wheels that auto mechanics use to roll themselves underneath cars, and she'd roll herself around the garden and work that way.
I don't trust most landscapers so I will also continue as long as possible. Good for the body ... and the mind!
DeleteGardening is better exercise than most people think (physically and mentally) 😊
DeleteI know you're ambivalent about the new look of you Dasylirion, but I think it looks great. Better than great, actually--fantastic! I think you'll get used to the new look very quickly. Plus, access to plants next to the Dasylirion is so much easier now.
ReplyDeleteI think the trunk needs a couple of eyes to stare at passers-by. That would be fun and probably tacky. I'm getting used to it. The extra planting space is much appreciated!
DeleteFWIW I love the look of your Dasylirion longissimum, showing off that trunk seems like a good thing. I've heard plenty of criticism about trimming the lower (brown) leaves off my trunking Yucca rostratas but I do it to expose planting space. Of course the actual doing is hell. Bending at awkward angles and getting stabbed with sharp leaves.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it looks okay? I'm going to take off a few more leaves so the trunk is more visible. A few still hang down a bit.
DeleteI guess because it is so dry here for so long, my old Y. rostrata leaves are flat to the trunk. Fully dehydrated. There's just a little Morticia Addams hemline of the very lowest leaf tips on the ground.
The Dasylirion leaves were very uncooperative about getting out of the way, like getting a long ponytail freed from a hoodie.
Good
ReplyDeleteThank you, johnny!
DeleteSince Dasylirion is a plant I don't know to compare - I like the look of the trunk. Lots of pattern and texture there.
ReplyDeleteRelative of Dracaena, Sansevieria(!), Agave. Mexico and SW USA. Tough desert plants!
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