Photos of the Garden

Back garden with Monardella and Festuca California on left and Agapanthus on right

My friend L. will be visiting her mother on the east coast soon, and I knew she'd enjoy seeing what the garden looks like. "Have a look at the blog and print a few pictures," I said. "I'll send you some links."

Front garden with saucer bird bath, coyote brush (Twin Peaks II) on left and Arctostaphylos pajaroensis with berries on right

Then looking for links, I realized the error of my ways. Only about half the posts are about the garden - the rest are about hiking, garden shows, and other fascinating topics - and of those, many have close-ups.

Front garden with wooly blue curls and succulents in front, Eriogonum fasciculatum behind chair and table
After all, let's face it, few people click on the photos to see them in all their glory, and on a cell phone a even a close-up is probably too much visual information.

Back garden with lavenders, hummingbird sage, and Asclepias speciosa (butterfly weed), with Stipa gigantea on left
And yet, it's so enjoyable to take a wide view sometimes! So, this morning, with a slight cloud cover giving better light, I went hunting for a few of those wide view pictures.

Back garden with Salvia clevlandii and Stipa gigantea, a ceanothus provides the green backdrop
It's now the time of year where the showiest blooms are done (with the exception of the Agapanthus), but the variation of different shades of green and gray, the grasses, and the succulents are delightful nonetheless.

Native leopard lily in redwood habitat
The leopard liliy still lights up the shade after taking a bloom break last year.

Arctostaphylos 'St. Helena' and monkey flowers
The newly planted manzanita that replaces the Japanese maple that died is doing well and appreciates the gravel mulch. The monkey flowers are very happy. They seem to much prefer not getting afternoon sun.

Native buckwheat and non-native succulents
Finally, the Eriogonum grande rubescens is especially stunning this year and harmonizes with the succulents.

So, here's the tour. Wish you were here to smell the sages and hear the birds and the fountain.

Comments

Christine said…
Sigh. It looks so heavenly! Thanks for the fresh breath of sagey air to get my morning started! I'm jealous of your Manzanita berries!!!
Country Mouse said…
Lovely photos! It's an odd coincidence but my daughter in England asked me to do something similar - she said it's been a long time since she's seen the place and could I just walk around and take garden views as I go so she could see the changes. So I have that in mind for my next post!
Lovely! It is a good year for the rosy buckwheat, even mine looks good, and it's growing in dreadful soil, in blazing sun. How do you like Arctostaphylos pajaroensis? It looks good from here, has it been easy to grow for you? It's on my list to consider for here as it's locally endemic. So far I've only planted the Arctostaphylos 'Dr. Hurd' so far, but would love to add a few other varieties.
James said…
Your garden looks great! I particularly love the salvia/stipa combo with its complementary textures. So much of what I've got is headed for the brown summer doldrums but your plants still seem to be living it up.