OUT AND ABOUT IN THE OCTOBER GARDEN

Trying to work outside in this horrendous humidity is downright miserable. Where is our October weather? Those clear, dry days we expect after a brutal summer. They are just not happening this year and it means a delay in our fall gardening jobs.  This morning I took a walk around the garden with camera, while waiting for some garden visitors to arrive.

The entry garden doesn't see much in the way of change through the seasons although it won't be long before many of these plants will be moved to their winter homes.

In the front courtyard the pink crystal grass, Melinus nerviglumis is starting to flower. Those seed heads will ensure a new crop of grasses for next year.

You wouldn't know there was sunken garden here. Viewed over the wall from the English garden.

In the English garden Rosa 'Felicia' with her beguiling fragrance. Just a glimpse of her through the Sun and Moon archway.

The Philippine violet on the corner of the patio is just starting to bloom.

As is the shrimp plant. A new addition to this same corner.

The planter of bunny ears cactus, Opuntia microdasys, is back on the wall.

Peas are up.

Mexican mint marigold, Tagetes lucida, is just starting to bloom.

Lots of grasses in the herb garden and one big one over by the potting shed. This one is lemon grass, Cymbopogon.

The stock tank pond surrounded by gaillardia, cosmos and narrow leaf zinnias.

A splash of pink from the Japanese anemone. Are their petals supposed to be distorted?

The fall bloomers have definitely enjoyed our recent rains. And there is more to come this weekend.

SCISSORS, PRUNERS, SHEARS AND SAWS

Having just returned from 2 months away there is much work to do in the garden. Harsh freezing weather has wreaked havoc among the agaves which have melted into rotten masses. This will not be a pretty post but will serve to show that not everything goes well in the garden and you just can't let these kinds of happenings get you down.

Although there are a few agaves that are hardy down to 10º I have many that will shrivel when the temperatures get below 25º My neighbor tells me one night it sank to 16º Hence the carnage.

I have had this Aloe 'David Verity' for over 7 years. It won't be flowering this year.

And these Agave colorata, are supposed to be hardy to 18º Maybe they are not totally lost. I'll give them a chance.

It was simply a matter of taking a saw to the leaves and cutting through them and putting them in the garbage. And lots of leaves were showing this kind of damage. They were sawn off. I still have tens of Agave weberii  to deal with but they will have to wait. I have more pressing things to tackle.

Then it was the turn of the grasses. It is no surprise that the lemon grass, Cymbopogon, didn't make it, not even under the protection of all those dead leaves. Fortunately I took some shoots in the fall and they are safely in the greenhouse. This was how it looked in September.

And today before I removed the whole clump.

Look how tidy the area is now.

I can walk down the path. I will replant in the same spot as soon as any risk of frost is gone. There is no irrigation there so I find it amazing how well it does.
With summer-like temperatures this week I knew the next job was to cut back the grasses before they start growing. The ruby crystal grass, Melinis nerviglumis, gets the hedgehog cut. Starting the top center with a good pair of scissors and working around to create a round shape.

If there is less dead tissue I let it be. If the center is really dead and the plant a couple years old then I pull it out. The roots are extremely fibrous, as you can see below, so sometimes it is impossible to pull the whole plant out. Then I pull a small section at a time leaving behind the roots. There are always plenty of seedlings to take its place.

Next I will tackle the inland sea oats, Chasmathium latifolium,  although I think they have probably already dropped their seed heads. The good news in that corner of the garden is that the Mahonia, Mahonia aquifolium, is about to flower. This is the first year as the plant was moved two years ago from a too sunny spot where most of its leaves fried. So much happier here.

It like a breath of spring to see flowers. By the end of the week I think there will be more.
At the end this day I feel as though I have accomplished quite a lot. My wrists and hands are weary and sore. That comes of not always wearing gloves. And there is dinner to make!

A GARDEN WITHOUT GRASSES JUST ISN'T A GARDEN

There is no lawn to mow in our gravelly garden but there are grasses. Not the sweeping vistas of grasses that are sometimes used in garden design but individual clumps scattered throughout.

One of my favorites is the ruby crystal grass, Melinus nerviglumis, with its pink puffs of seed heads It mixes well with the Mexican feather grass, Stipa tenuissima. Melinus maintains its green color throughout the season, flowering several times, whereas feathergrass takes on buff tones after producing its seeds. Despite their propensity to reseed in great numbers they are a valuable asset in the landscape.

In the past I have had little success with the burgundy fountain grass in the ground. This year I decided to grow the plant in a pot where it receives regular water. Success at last.

I can never understand why lemon grass, Cymbopogon, is so expensive to buy in the store. Although not hardy through the winter here it quickly grows from a four inch pot into an enormous plant. It did survive the mild winter last year and I found a much better spot for it to grow. Alongside the potting shed where it is welcome to the sandy gravel below. I think it makes a carefree stand.

Among the more diminutive grasses Festuca glauca, is a favorite and easily grown from seed.

I am on the lookout for more grasses for my garden. I don't mind if they reseed but they must be pretty carefree of their surroundings. Having said that no Miscanthus please. I have one in the sunken garden which I cannot get rid of. We have pulled up the paving to get to the roots but still it comes back. Let me know if you have ideas.