How Does My Garden Grow?

 Just back from my trip to SLO for Dave's Heavenly Birthday Celebration and found the yard ablaze with color and variety...This is the second spring for the new landscaping in front and nearly 50 years of caring for the backyard. Can that be true???

I'm starting with the backyard...this is a pretty fuschia my friend Marie gave me about 4 years ago. It is under the heavenly bamboo and so pretty much gets only shade..seems to be happy.

This Clivia is about 50 years old. It blooms at Easter and only at Easter.

Dave and I planted it together. It grows under the awning next to the house. 

Shade area.

Another 50 year old species...bottle brush. The bees go crazy for this plant as well as do the hummingbirds. Oh, and the squirrels get in and make a mess picking off the blossoms...grrr. But I love the view across the yard from under the tree.

Calabrachoa and Johnny Jump-up enjoying each others company...pretty much sunny growing area. I got into purples and lavenders for some reason so I keep repeating this color scheme.

In the same planter box the Johnnies wrap around the succulents (Aeonium?) ...I like the contrast of the purple with chartreuse. I did that in the front yard too.

Below...Another shady area under the awning...my particular favorite is the Japanese Sedge Grass "Eversheen' at the bottom of the photo...a bi-colored grassy plant. It completely dies back in the winter. I just pull off the dead leaves and then it fleshes out quite quickly. It will get 2-3 x this size by the end of summer. Dave planted the umbrella plant years and years ago. I asked, "Can a house plant grow outside?" He said, "Honey, all house plants used to grow outside." Hmmm.

Now, the rhododendron...not sure why we planted this right next to the RED bottle brush because they clash. But this plant is again, 40-50 years old. It is under the pine tree in shade but I think the pine roots are encroaching on its ability to spread its own roots and so it suffers. Still it puts out an annual spring display of prettiness.

Finally, another grouping of Aeonium...I show these because they were suffering from not enough water. I learned succulents need water too! They have tripled in size with loving water. I may need to decapitate or separate them before long due to massive growth.

Now, to the front....Happy Heavenly Birthday card to Dave..under the olive.

Sorry about the glare, but doesn't he look happy?

Here we are April 6, 2026..just 2 years old is my front garden. 

I mean Dave's garden because he was the inspiration.

Close up of Penstamon Betty Boop

Stunning color! The rain pretty much has beaten them down so I will need to trim them down...boo hoo. I don't want to!

Ornamental Oregano Kent Beauty...this died back completely and now the new growth is really coming out. The flowers will not start for a month or two and last until fall.

Scabiosa...this variety called blue but looks purple. It is next to the Penstamon. Problems with mildew in early spring. I prayed with fungicide and it went away.

I love seeing this view walking up the street...the kaleidascope abelia lights up the whole yard.

That's it for now.