The garden’s third September of its fourth year. The biggest change September brings is this mid level fizzy layer provided mostly by deschampsia, sesleria and Scabiosa ochroleuca that envelopes the plantings in a gauzy champagne scrim. The scabiosa is an energetic reseeder but is easily edited. It finds openings to grow I never could, billows out like low-lying tulle fog, then retreats to a small basal clump in spring.
Lots of yellow confetti continues to be thrown in September by the annual Madia elegans, which closes in sun, and Verbascum roripifolium. The madia leaned into the vacuum left by removal of a large clump of Silver Spike Grass. After briefly considering adding something new in the grass’ place, a small piece of it was resettled — can’t think of anything better! Another clump of this grass may also need dividing in spring, but I couldn’t bear to disturb the status quo by untangling the sanguisorba and others entwined with the grass. I’d like to have some jobs done before leaving end of October but not at the expense of enjoying the fall garden.
Heading east off the patio, a small planting of ‘Hawkshead’ hardy fuchsia, mountain mint, Bergenia ciliata, miscanthus and Calamagrostis brachytricha surprised me by becoming a living embodiment of the cooler weather to come. Lots of rain predicted for September too.
I’m excited about the potential of a shrubby fatshedera found at Secret Garden Growers in spring. ‘Yvonne’s Petticoats’ is described as a 4×4′ shrub. It shot up to 3 feet fast, a worrisome vigor since it was planted too close to the south fence with no room to expand. It was moved last week to give it a better chance to show what it can do. (The bigeneric cross of ivy and fatsia are normally lanky, vine-like creatures. I have one winding around a triangle palm in the SoCal garden.)
And I do need to correct the record that I couldn’t tell much difference among the several persicarias I’m growing this summer. ‘Blackfield’ is a bit later to flower than ‘Summer Dance,’ but the blooms are noticeably darker and tighter, and the entire plant is more finely drawn, the leaves smaller, more tapered.
Gardeners are like judicious goats, constantly nibbling at things — or maybe I should speak only for myself. I’m getting a jump on spring by cutting back a few things, dividing the biggest clump of Silver Spike Grass, pulling euphorbias, verbascum, cerinthe and others from the gravel area for a clean slate until spring brings loads more. Spiders and slugs rule September! More soon, AGO
Four years? Wow, I can hardly believe it!
When I see your photos, I know that I could be happy gardening in your climate.
Aloe boylei, that’s not a common species by any means!
Lots of wispiness with all these plants. I do love the wildness of the late summer garden. Gone are the precise plantings with everyone in their place and it’s just sheer joy watching everything coalesce together to make this wonderful tangle. Your garden is the epitome of late summer happiness.
There’s a LOT going on in your September Garden! Discounting my pampered dahlias and zinnias, my garden is at low ebb relative to yours in terms of flowers. I love that mystery Salvia and your new Fatshedera.
@Gerhard, four years is a big chunk of time, I can’t believe it either! And I got that aloe at a plant fair from Botanic Wonders, a Vista, CA nursery.
@Elaine, you’re so right, watching plants make unexpected associations is the best.
@Kris, a cool summer makes all the difference for flowering plants.
I just love studying your garden photos, not just for the subject at hand, but to see what creative touches you’ve got going on off to the sides. Leaving end of October? Does that mean we have some Long Beach garden posts to look forward to?
When I began reading this, I wondered to myself when you leave to your other garden. October it is! I keep going back to that first photo, it’s so full and yet so harmonious. If I were a neighbor, I would not miss a day to walk over and see what was happening. Cimicifuga ‘Hillside Black Beauty’ is gorgeous, love that dark foliage. Aloe boylei is a charmer.
Mountain Mint is a new one for me: I love that glacial shade of frosty green and flat, open look. Persicaria ‘Blackfield’ has a most saturated color, a standout indeed.
My Cimicifuga ‘black negligee’ is blooming now too. Always looking forward to its darkest of foliage and heavily scented blooms.
Just bought Cephalaria gigantea for our “prairie” garden and wondering if it will be just as prolific as your Scabiosa ochroleuca. Interesting that you’ve still got Madia elegans in bloom as ours have long crisped into withery skeletons lurking around the back garden. I wish it wasn’t so tall and lanky. I recall some shorter ones down in CA near Scott River area. Don’t know if it was the soil or a different genetic source. I do like that mountain mint – very different.