1. Agave victoriae-reginae
I've lost track of how long I've had this particular Agave victoriae-reginae, over ten years at least. Up until late last spring it spent those ten years growing in the same container—yes, I do abuse my plants. After living pent-up in a pot for so long I decided to plant it out in the garden and let it stretch it's legs roots. Will it live through the winter? It depends on what our winter is like. Strictly looking at temperature Agave victoriae-reginae should be hardy here, but add in our winter-wet and who knows. This is not an agave you see growing in the ground here, so it's definitely an experiment.
I shared this little cutie when I bought it (from Illahe Rare Plants), but back then it was just one little rosette, now look at it! I love how it and the bright green moss are doing a color-echo.
3. Pittosporum tobira 'Dr. Yokoi'
I bought this interesting fellow from Cistus Nursery during the HPSO Study Weekend event last June and never shared it.
The current color of the new growth is actually somewhere between these two images, and impossible to accurately capture. Here's the nursery description: "New and exciting pittosporum, shared with us by Ted Stephens at Nurseries Caroliniana, with spring growth emerging nearly white and, over the season, gradually fading to pale green. A low-growing form of this evergreen mock orange, to 3-5 ft tall and wide, with the same sweet, white flower in spring - hints of orange blossoms. Dappled to light shade in a warm, sheltered spot. Regular summer water where dry. Frost hardy in USDA zone 8."
4. Seeds
These freaky fuzzy little things look like eyeballs on a stem to me. They're seeds of Loropetalum chinense 'Sizzling Pink', and there are more on the small shrub. This is the first time I've seen seeds on a Loropetalum in my garden.
This is my largest Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Prostrata' (Prostrate Japanese Plum-Yew), or maybe it's actually two plants because it's got both male and female things happening...
There are small cones developing...
But also fruit! This is what it looked like when I first saw, it a few months back.
When I went looking for it to include in this post I found it had ripened and fallen to the ground.
I learned the fruit is edible (after I squeezed it between my fingers) but the seed is (of course) to be avoided. I stuck it in the ground.
5. Two Schefflera delavayi and a Tetrapanax papyrifer in a stock tank = cramscaping
Have I ever called out the contents of the large round stock tank in the SW corner of the back garden? I don't think so. For some reason I thought it was reasonable to plant two Schefflera delavayi in there. Secret Garden Growers says each one should get 6' - 8' tall and 4' - 6' wide, or more. Here you can see the sort of bent trunk of the oldest on the left and the younger plant on the right.
From the opposite side you can see the Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' that fills the tank as a nice easy going groundcover.
The tallest S. delavayi has always grown leaves with a smooth edge.
Whereas the shorter one sometimes puts out these fancy leaves. This is why I bought it...
The oldest is blooming.
Pollinators love these flowers.
There used to be multiple Tetrapanax papyrifer trunks in the tank but after a drainage issue caused things to briefly get a little soggy, all but one died. It's super tall...
6. Inside the garage
Several years back Andrew built these shelves in the garage for me to use as container storage. They're very handy! If you've ever wondered what the materials used to build the shade pavilion greenhouse look like when not in use, that's them on the right-hand side of the photo. The only things not shown there are the metal bolts, washers, nuts, and such, which are in the white bucket on the top shelf, and in the rafters of the garage there are 2x4's and a pair of folding uprights that make the shelves.
7. Polypodium fallax (not)
Using Instagram to help me remember the names of a couple ferns I shared this one and called it Polypodium fallax, cause that's what I bought it as.
A helpful comment (from somone who knows much more than I do about these things) added to the confusion: "Polypodium fallax is perhaps a poor name to use for that fern since it properly refers to a now defunct name for a lacy little delight much unlike the interloper who has usurped that identity, seems like using Polypodium 'Fallax' is the best compromise though many seem to think it is rightfully Polypodium/Serpocaulon attenuatum 'Fallax'." Makes perfect sense, right?
I'm sharing it here simply because it's grown to be a beautiful fern.
8. Pyrrosia lingua 'Ogon Nishiki'
This fern became mine back in September of '23 when a man named Robert downsized and generously gave me (and my plant peeps) several plants. It briefly appeared in a video I did of the haul, but other than that it's not really make a blog appearance.
When Robert offered it up he said something about dividing it, but I loved it's over-grown look so much I resisted doing so, until now, 2 years later. It was obviously loosing vigor and more leaves (fronds) were dying than new ones appearing.
I couldn't get it out of it's square container so one of my favorite garden tools (the yellow handled small sledge hammer) was called into action.
The soil was so fibrous I cut it with a knife and it held together like a cake.
After carving it into smaller pieces I ended up with 6 qty 1-gallon containers and 2 qty 4.5" pots.
More Pyrrosia plantings are in my future!
9. The hidden pathway
I don't think I've ever shared photos of the hidden pathway between the bamboo stock tanks and the fence at the back of the garden—until now! I started taking the photos standing, well, there...
This is the view from the spot shown above.
When an ice storm happens the big-leaf bamboo (Sasa palmata f. nebulosa, you can see it in the tank closest to the orange arrow above) can't stay upright and it flops, permanently. I end up cutting most of it back, leaving the tank nearly empty until it regrows, and exposing the view behind it. I got tired of looking at nothing and started planting back there.
I've also been growing (or trying to grow), Hedera colchica 'Sulphur Heart' up the fence. It's finally taking off!
Other plants hidden back there include Mahonia oiwakensis ssp lomariifolia v tenuifolia...
Mahonia x media 'Marvel'
And several Aspidistra elatior, you can also see the pathway gets rather narrow behind the center tank, before widening behind the third. The fence in the distance marks the north end of our property.
10. One of my Disocactus anguliger finally bloomed!
I spotted this bud back on Oct 26th while I was watering and kept an eye on it.
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