I spent two days at the end of May in Long Beach (garden USDA zone 10), readying the house for some friends’ upcoming stay. (The second day, May 30, topped 95F — what a homecoming!) The profligate weediness in the garden continues, with couch grass encroaching everywhere, and that’s after diligent weeding all winter. Neighbors ruefully report this new weedy state of affairs in their own gardens too, and we all lament wtf? Whatever the cause, the only hope is to stay on top of the weeds until the cycle hopefully breaks and the supply of weed seeds is exhausted.
The performance of self-sowing plants has also been incredibly robust — I’ve never seen so many Orlaya grandiflora in bloom here before. All the poppies were pulled and only a few orlaya left to bloom and reseed.
To those of you with hand-made gardens, you probably also know the where/when/how/why of every plant in your garden, why choices were made and how it comes to look as it does at this moment in time. It is a process unlike anything else, engaging parts of the brain and heart like no other endeavor I’ve pursued. So shuttling quickly between two hand-made gardens at the near-height of their seasonal expression is disconcerting to say the least. (Aloe lukeana’s elongating bloom spikes will flower in my absence!) Both gardens excite me in very different ways, and both are hard to leave.
Incredibly, a small collection of potted species pelargoniums survived months of neglect, so I decided to increase their odds of survival by planting them in the garden among succulents, whose water needs are most similar. P. multiradiatum and P. glaucifolium have both flourished and expanded into big clumps, with good leaves and tiny flowers that don’t steal any thunder from the succulents but just add some leafy richness (and smother weeds).
After a two-day train trip back to Oregon, Mitch took the following photos of the zone 8b garden:
P.S. Please don’t read further if you’d rather avoid politics. It just seems bizarre not to mention the latest outrages of these dangerous times. Take care! More soon, AGO
(Shout out to Oregon’s Attorney General for leading the lawsuit challenging emergency tariff powers, which was upheld by the U.S. Court of International Trade, though currently stayed on appeal. Back home, the Port of Los Angeles is at half capacity. My grandfather died on those docks, my father, uncles, cousins and Marty all worked their entire careers at the port. A million Los Angeles County jobs derive from port-related activity. It is the economic engine of both Los Angeles and Long Beach, and it is sputtering under the tariffs. And the federal assaults on Los Angeles don’t stop, with the latest being the excessive and illegal show of force over immigration protests — but California is apparently the wrong color, on so many levels, so an easy, vengeful target…)
I thoroughly enjoy your posts about both gardens. They’re so different, but also similar because, well, they were created by you.
I used to have Orlaya grandiflora but it hasn’t come back in a few years. I need to start again because I i love seeing it appear in different places.
What Gerhard said, and said better, than I could.
I’ve only considered how wonderful it must be to have 2 different gardens, not how you’re missing chunks of time in them. *I love that train picture!!!
Both gardens are singing, you are truly a master at texture. That Acacia, dang.
And your last paragraph, yes. Wasn’t there an increase at the Port in 2024? It’s all unbearable.
It must be a bit surreal moving from one garden on the dry side to another that is so wet. It does allow you to grow a plethora of very cool plants though. Both gardens are looking fantastic. Your Long Beach garden seems to be doing well without the gardener in residence. Good planning!
I echo Gerhard’s comment about your dual gardens. Lucky us that we get to watch them both change and grow along with you. The train shot drove home for me how fun it must be for you to have little girls in your life, after raising two boys. Your last paragraph, thank you for including it. I struggle with how much to say on my blog. Not because I care if I offend, but because we need peaceful areas for our brains to recharge. I appreciate your up-close, lived experience with the Port. I missed you during my time in Manzanita!
You’ve done a great job juggling the maintenance of both gardens, Denise. In contrast to your experience, this is the first year I haven’t seen Orlaya make an appearance. Admittedly, I didn’t purposely sow any Orlaya seeds this year but that hasn’t stopped it in prior years. Meanwhile, Daucus carota has had no problem whatsoever popping up here, there and everywhere.
I concur with your concerns with respect to our current issues with the federal administration’s actions. The port seems nearly silent at present and the situation in downtown LA and other areas involved in legitimate protests is distressing to say the least.
@Gerhard, I had one orlaya reseed in the Oregon garden. Incredible how things are reseeding in Long Beach!
@Hoov, I can just see what your Oregon garden would look like, filled with peonies, Japanese maples, and your koi would be fine up here too!
@Tracy, I love that train picture too! No parents object if I include photos with only the back of the heads showing, and I completely respect that. Isn’t that acacia something? Because it’s one of the few hardy ones up here, it seems even more special, but it’s really just one of the dozens that can be grown in zone 10.
@Elaine, I think having the two gardens, though both small, has really deepened my understanding of plant culture, climate, where and why plants are happiest. It’s been very engrossing.
@Loree, you’re exactly right about having granddaughters, such fun watching them grow. I try to preserve the respite garden blogs provide too, but sometimes the rage is uncontainable, and it hurts so much to see LA disrespected. So bummed I missed you in Manzanita, hope the talk went well. There’s a few really knowledgeable people with lots of general interest garden people. Hope the turnout was a good mix.
@Kris, thanks for the compliments, but when I think of the amount of garden you manage my head spins. I’d love to try that daucus but your experience with it is a concern…