Iris Archives - Oceanside Garden

Gardener’s Log – June 2022

It has been a busy month in the garden, and I am certainly happy with the progress that has been made this year, despite the weather. It is funny because every day when I look at how much progress I make and I am disappointed. But when I look back over a month or two, I am amazed at how much I accomplished. To think that the work area out front, the Winter garden and the Mediterranean garden are all completely new this year (cleared from native undergrowth) and lots of progress in the Fairy garden, plus the Fuchsia wall. Some of the Fuchsia have just started to bloom, but I will wait until next month to feature what I have done there.

Garden Progress

Workspace

The front working area is now finished. All benches have been constructed, the coldframes are finished and the paths laid. While I know there will be tweaks over time, I am very happy with the way everything has turned out and it is far easier to work on the plants now, rather than having to bend over all the time. There has definitely been less damage done by deer, as they trample over the plants hey don’t like to get to the ones they do.

Mediterranean Garden

The pedestal for the sun dial in the Mediterranean garden has been built. We took a trip to the rock shop and I chose a large crushed rock which has very sandy colors as the mulch for this area. We just bought one back so that I could see how it looks and I am happy with it. The stones are about 1″ to 1 1/2″ and contain no fines, so hopefully it will act as a good mulch. I also think the colors pick up the ‘rust’ in the basalt used for the walls and to retain the slope, and yet still provide a contrast. Many more bags are required, next time we are in town.

Other areas

We also picked up some cut slabs of grey rock. This was also for a defined need and an experiment. The defined need was for the bridge in the Fairy garden. It has meant that I needed to get the bridge sides in and the waterfall liner put in before much of the waterfall has been constructed. That may be something I regret later.

I also tried replacing the slate slab on the top of the pedestal with a cut slab and it certainly did not look right. The rough slate is back, but that cut slab will not go to waste. These are the prime candidate for the paving material through the contemporary garden. With the front finished, demolition of that area will probably happen later this year. While I have plans, I also have some trepidation about how to deal with the terrain in that area.

What’s in Bloom

With so much in bloom this month, it is tough to know which ones to highlight, so I tend to favor plants that are new to me. This is the first year we had the native Iris douglasiana bloom and it certainly put on a good show for quite a few weeks.

Cistus have loved the weather this year and they are now full of blossoms. This is a new one to us and is a solid pink/magenta – Cistus x pulverulentus ‘Sunset’. It has more silvery, fuzzy leaves and the colors together make a very nice contrast.

Cistus x pulverulentus 'Sunset' — Cistus x pulverulentus ‘Sunset’

An existing plant that is doing very nicely this year is Fabiana imbricata. The long, swooping branches are filled with tiny blue trumpet flowers. It is an absolute picture.

Fabiana, imbricata 'Violacea' — Fabiana, imbricata ‘Violacea’

But the most favored bloom has to be the Banksia ericifolia ‘Compact Form. This is the first Banksia to bloom in the garden, and one of the few that survived the cold this winter. Half of the floral cylinder has been blasted by the cold, but the bottom half has fully opened. Glorious!

Weather Summary

At last, a weather month that behaved almost as it should. It was a little wetter and colder than last year, but not by a significant amount. This year, the high was 90, the low 45 and the average 56.6. Last year it was 101.8, 46 and 58. This year’s rainfall was 6.88″ compared to 1.93″. I will take that any year. The garden is certainly getting to the dry stage where water runs off the sand rather than penetrated into it.

Calendar

Gardener’s Log – May 2022

After an awful April, we had high expectations for May. April had record rainfall. May had even more! April was cold. May was only slightly warmer and considerably colder than previous years. While we did have a few dry days, there have not been many. Then for the last weekend of the month, we had the worst Winter storm of the year. All that means that progress has been slow, but not stopped entirely. Now we have June gloom to look forward to.

But not everything is bad. Some plants have been slowed down, but none-the-less are blooming well. Some plants have put on a much better show than they have in the past. This could be because they are a year older, or they had such a warm year last year, or the abundant rainfall this year. Not sure. For example, the Venus Dogwoods, that anchor the streambed garden, have had a couple of dozen flowers in previous years. This year, there are well over a hundred. They are about 2 to 3 weeks behind what we would typically expect. Rhododendrons have liked it.

Birds are an important part of the garden and at this time of year or resident birds are augmented with the migratory ones. I love it when the gold finches, western tanagers and other colorful birds come through. The other day they almost looked like flowers in the bush. Attracting birds requires several things. Along with food (both natural and supplemented with sunflower kernels), we provide water, and natural areas where they can get cover. For those that stay here, nesting boxes and materials.

Garden Progress

How many times have you finished up, after a long day of working in the garden, to be disappointed with the progress you made, even though you have the aches and pains to tell you that you expended serious energy? Of course, sometimes that energy was not perhaps used in the wisest of ways, but we all learn and sometimes have to relearn many times until we realize there must be a better way. But then, when we look back over a period of time, we are amazed at how much we accomplished.

That has certainly been the case with the garden this year, especially now that I can put in a few hours per day before I need the Ibuprofen.

Engine Room

The front continues to have its makeover. This is what many people would call the “engine room” of the garden and it is where all the growing and propagation happens, as well as quarantining plants as the come in, or just the time taken to decide where they are going to live. This transformation only started this year. Before that it was just a sea of gravel, a large, overgrown Escallonia hedge and plants sitting on the ground, making them difficult to care for, and often attempting to root into the gravel.

After installing the path being along the bench area on one side of the house, I decided it would be nice to extend it over to the other side. The frames for the cold frames are in. To help with thermal balancing, they are sunk about 8″ below grade. The path was then extended all the way to the emergency supply dump and eventually will go around the back of that to the compost bins. One bench remains to be built.

Mediterranean Garden

Some progress has also been made on the Mediterranean garden. The central feature is a sundial that has been placed on a pillar. It has been made to look like the greenhouse and then has a piece of slate on top that both softens the structure and also provides a color connection to the paths and rock walls. I hope to be able to get a few more things planted in there as soon as the weather allows.

I will need to cut down some of the Sambuca and Ironwood because they are both casting too much shade into the area at the moment.

What’s in Bloom

May has seen some outstanding Iris and Rhododendron blooms this year. Perhaps the most spectacular display has been from the Venus Dogwood trees. This year the number of flowers has increased dramatically.

Rhododendron 'Coral Mist' — Rhododendron ‘Coral Mist’

Weather Summary

This May has been the coldest and wettest May we have ever had here – by far. I looked back over all the years we have been here, and we have gone from just having an inch of rain to a maximum of 5″. This month, we recorded 13.22″. As for temperature, the average appears to be around 55F and this year we could only manage 50.3F. The highs were also low and infrequent. This year, we only managed to break the 60F mark three times. Last year, even with 10 days where the weather station was not functional, we doubled that number. The year before, 20 days were above 60F.

Calendar

Gardener’s Log – February 2022

February has been both cruel and kind. Let’s start with the kind.

The dry, relatively warm weather has enabled significant progress on three areas of the garden that are under development. The bench/seating area in the fairy garden now has a bench and work is progressing on the slate flooring in there. Black pebbles will fill in the major gaps under and behind the seating, and then Herniaria glabra will be planted in the gaps. A half flat of these has been growing from cuttings in the greenhouse over winter.

The second area is the extension to the upper woodland and surrounding area. I had to start work on this so that there was a temporary place for some of the pots, but more about that in a minute. Along with the clearing, the location for the new path that will go through that part of the garden came into focus. Thanks to a delivery of rock, I was able to start building the retaining walls for this.

Winter Garden

When I started thinking about what plants I had available for that area, I decided that a secondary theme for it should also be a winter garden. I had seen a couple of episodes of Gardener’s World that featured these and decided that it was something I could easily do in that area. The first addition was an Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’, more commonly known as the Coral Bark Maple. Along with plants already in the collection, I will probably also try and acquire one of the more interesting colored twig dogwoods to go in there. Daphne, Hellebore, Winter flowering heaths will join them.

Below the walkway, and along the main pathway will be a Mediterranean garden. This will take on a somewhat pastel color tone and double as a bee/butterfly garden. Along with Lavender, a number of other perennials have been ordered to create a significant splash of muted color. I am planning the build some bug hotels at the bottom of this and in Nature Island – an area of the garden that I am leaving to fully native plantings – just like it was when I started the garden.

Contemporary Garden

The final area under development is in the front of the house and comprises what will become the contemporary garden and the new and improved area for plants in pots. The old Escallonia hedge is now fully removed, stumps out, and the structure for the fence is built. Pickets will be painted and installed as weather permits. The first of the new benches has also been constructed and is now housing plants from the Protea family. A smaller and lower section will be added to the end of it later. I also managed to acquire a stainless-steel bench that will be a small work area in the pots area.

Cruel Cold

Now on to the cruel. After our lowest recorded temperatures last month, that whacked a few plants, we dipped another 8 degrees colder than that for a couple of nights. We got down to 22F – that is a full 10 degrees below the lowest we have recorded before this year. It broke records in other areas along the coast set back in 1960, so perhaps this is a once in 100 year event, but with global warming, I am getting to think that it just means that both our highs and lows will become more extreme.

With those temperatures, many things have died. It is still not possible to know the full extent of the damage yet, but some major plants appeared to be gone. Like the Echium “Pride of Madeira” was about to come into bloom after growing it from a tiny plant for 3 years. Several Grevilleas, including King’s Fire and Superb look as if there is nothing left. Many other plants look as if the leaves have suffered but will have to see if the crowns survived. I had thought we were a safe 9b or even a 10a with some protection, but after this year 9a is the best we can reliably hope for. That will change some of my plant selections in the future.

February Bloomers

A number of things have been blooming this month. The Hellebores continue with ‘Double Peach Blush’ entering the fray.

Helleborus 'Double Peach Blush' — Helleborus ‘Double Peach Blush’

A number of the Correa are blooming, including Ray’s Tangerine.

Correa 'Ray's Tangerine' — Correa ‘Ray’s Tangerine’

A new little charmer is Viola odorata ‘Comte de Brazza’

In the Iris collection, Iris histrioides ‘Sheila Ann Germany’ takes over. Isn’t she an absolute charmer. I hope to add more dwarf Iris for next year.

In the more unusual flower category is Isopogon formosus. Thankfully, it seems to have survived the cold snap.

And Leucadendron salignum ‘Winter Red’

February Weather

As already stated, February has been a month of extremes. The highs of 72.7 was wonderful, but the lows of 22.5 was not. We also had by far the strongest winds we have ever recorded at 54.6 mph with a gust of 111.8mph. Shortly after this, the anemometer stopped working, so we do not have wind speed for the second half of the month.

Last year, the high was 54.5 and the low was 32.7. Interestingly, the average temperature was almost exactly the same, meaning that this year was lots of extremes on both ends. Rainfall last year was 11.48″ and this year we only managed half of that, coming in at 5.73″ and 3″ of that has been in the last two days.

An interesting evening

After I took the measurements for the month, things got interesting. Not only did we have a lot more rain, at one point, I noticed we were up to more than 4″ for the day, but then the lights started to flicker along with bright flashes in the surrounding hills. Each time the power came back – until it didn’t and was replaced by several fires shouting up into the sky. Thankfully, the rain and our great volunteer fire department took care of everything. Thanks folks.

Calendar

Gardener’s Log – January 2022

What a glorious month and perhaps somewhat deserved after a total bust that was fall. It has enabled a very productive gardening month and allowed me to catch up on many of the tasks not completed last year – like doing all of the weeding. It feels good to be on top of them, although I am sure there will be many more spouting as soon as I look away.

Junuary

The month of June is often called January because it can be one of the worst months of the year on the coast. In April and May, spring gets going and the sun gets higher in the sky. Temperatures warm and the rains decrease and then along comes June and the onshore winds kick in. It becomes cold, cloudy, windy and just like we expect January to be.

But this year we have had the opposite. You could be forgiven for forgetting that it is January because it is behaving like a real June. We have been dry for over two weeks. While nighttime temperatures have been cold, the days have hardly had a cloud in the sky. Temperatures between 50 and 60, no wind – absolutely glorious. I don’t think I have even managed to garden as much in a January.

Microclimates

We often here the term microclimate, but rarely do we see it exhibited as much as we have this month. I probably wouldn’t have known if not for the temperatures sensors we have around the house and garden. Our main weather station is on the decking of the main floor of the house. This is a good 20 feet above ground level. We also have a sensor on the Portal, which is probably about 50′ away and 30′ down in elevation.

I always suspected that the Portal would be a degree or two cooler because cold air flows downhill and there is nowhere really for it to go once it gets there. For the past week the air has been very still. While the tops of the tree are moving, the air is completely stagnant down in the lower part of the garden. That has resulted in a continuous temperature differential of between 5 and 10 degrees, both day and night, between those two points. That is basically a whole USDA zone difference.

Escallonia removal

Escallonia is one of those plants that is a deer magnet. We had a whole hedge of it in front of the house. Half of it was removed to make way for the greenhouse. Now it is time to deal with the other side. It is not uncommon to catch the deer munching on the hedge. While I don’t mind, the problem is they trample over my can yard to get to it. Many plants have been crushed, pots broken or tipped over. It is good to be rid of it.

The plan is that this area will become a contemporary garden filled with grasses and display pedestals on which plants of note will be placed. These will be rotational. Plants may find they place here because they are architectural, bizarre, or just looking especially good at that moment.

Next month, the roots will be coming out – hopefully. That means all of the pots that were out front had to be moved. That means I had to clean some other ground and set up a temporary area for some of the pots. It is not ideal that they are in front of the heat pumps, but it should only be for a short time.

What’s in Bloom

Some things have certainly been hurried along this month. The first Iris of the year have been blooming, but then they often do start the bloom season. Iris reticulata ‘Katherine’s Gold’ is usually the first followed by ‘Harmony’.

The Hellebore ‘Winter’s Song’ has been blooming all month and certainly brightens up the pathway leading to the Tea House. Up in the pots, a few plants have been putting on a show. First up is Isopogon formosus. The common name for this plant is drumsticks and you can see why from this photo.

Several of the Correa have a few blooms on them right now, but ‘Dawn in Santa Cruz’ is in full bloom. The pink and yellow trumps certainly like to celebrate the new year.

Correa 'Dawn in Santa Cruz' — Correa ‘Dawn in Santa Cruz’

One plant that is not meant to be in bloom at this time of year is the Crowea ‘Poorinda Ecstacy’. It doesn’t have many blooms, but they are still very welcomed.

Weather Summary

Sometimes, averages tell you nothing. When comparing this January against last year using the average figures, you would think that last year was the better of the two. The high temperature last year was 65.3 and only 63 for this year (not that anything over 60 isn’t wonderful in January.) The low last year – 34.2 against 30.6 for this year – the first real frost we have ever had here. It was colder down the bottom of the garden. Rainfall was less this year, clocking in at 14.16 inches versus 19.55″ last year.

Winds were a little higher this year compared to last, the same with the gusts. The big difference comes with how the rain was distributed and you see that long dry spell, starting from the 20th almost to the end of the month. Last year, it dribbled a little bit almost every day, so the skies would have been grey and that also explains the higher average temperatures because we had cloud cover at night.