Front yard in early November 2013

It’s been a while since I documented the front yard as a whole. I think the last time was in July after we’d returned from our trip to Maui. Many of the perennials are still blooming; no surprise, I suppose, considering how nice our weather has been all along. If only we got some rain, things would be well nigh perfect in the weather department.

Let’s start in the driveway looking towards the house. The first thing you see is the ‘Alphonse Karr’ bamboo (Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’). I spent hours trimming it last weekend, and it’s looking good again. Bamboos don’t need much maintenance, but a little bit of attention now and then is an investment that pays off big esthetically.

Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’

  

Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’

It’s been a while since I posted photos of this corner of our property, so here are some more:

Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’

Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’, with Bambusa chungii ‘Barbellata’ on the left

The pots you see in the next photo were covered with bamboo leaves—lots of them! I bet these succulents can breathe more easily now!

L to R: Beaucarnea stricta, Agave americana ‘Mediopicta Aurea’, Aloe reitzii, Puya coerulea

Turning your head 90 degrees, you’ll see this:

Lots good stuff here!

From the front door you have this view:

Looking from the front door towards the street

Looking from the front door towards the street

I’m still so happy how well this succulent mound has turned out. The Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’ is a good 5 ft. tall now. Supposedly it blooms at a young age (for an agave) and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a flower spike next year. After blooming it will die, and even though there are plenty of offsets at the base, I will take out the whole clump and replace it with something else—just to mix things up a bit. But for now I’m enjoying its sculptural beauty.

Front: Agave lophantha ‘Quadricolor’, Yucca recurvifolia ‘Margaritaville’
Back: Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’

Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’

 

LEFT: Looking towards the front door
RIGHT: Looking from the front door towards the porch

The Mangave ‘Bloodspot’ you see in the next two photos is another succulent I can’t get enough of. While not terribly rare, it’s still hard to find in nurseries. A lot of people ask me about this hybrid between a Manfreda maculosa and an Agave macroacantha, but I don’t know of a local nursery that carries it.

BACK: Yucca rostrata (2x)
FRONT: Mangave ‘Bloodspot’

Mangave ‘Bloodspot’

Here are some more photos of this area as seen from the lawn:

Bamboos and succulent bed near the front door

Closer view

Closer still

Moving over towards the front porch, you’ll see one of my favorite bamboos, Asian lemon (Bambusa eutuldoides ‘Viridividatta’). I looks great next to the ever-larger sago palm (Cycas revoluta).

  

Corner of the front porch with sago palm (Cycas revoluta) and Asian lemon bamboo (Bambusa eutuldoides ‘Viridividatta’)

I also like this combination of Agave ‘Blue Flame’ and Agave ‘Cornelius’. Beautiful contrast in color and texture.

Agave ‘Blue Flame’ and Agave ‘Cornelius’

Agave ‘Blue Flame’ and Agave ‘Cornelius’ and assorted cacti

More agaves live on the front porch. They don’t get much direct sunlight here but they seem quite happy with their lot in life.

Agaves on the front porch (Agave mitis, Agave attenuata ‘Boutin Blue’, Agave bovicornuta, Agave ‘Blue Flame’)

Looking from the front porch towards the street:

Assorted smaller succulents and oddities

View of front porch

My collection of barrel cacti, supplemented by a few potted agaves:

Assorted cacti (and three potted agaves)

And finally the oft-forgotten and somewhat neglected “tropical corner” off the front porch:

Tropical foliage in the corner next to the front porch

 

Next let’s walk across the driveway to the succulent bed I just redid:

Newly restored succulent bed along the driveway

It’s also home to one of the two ‘Desert Museum’ palo verdes I planted

Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’

Euphorbia resinifera (the bottom portion of the stems turned brown because the clump was covered with several inches of leaves from the now defunct cherry plum tree)

 

Now let’s take a look at what’s going on outside the front yard fence.

  

LEFT: Lavender and Agave parrasana ‘Meat Claw’, still a juvenile
RIGHT: Bambusa oldhamii and Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’

Bambusa oldhamii

Leucadendron ‘Safari Sunset’ and Echium wildpretii

Echium wildpretii up close; this is one of two that will bloom next spring

Here is the other one

Assorted perennials outside the front yard fence

Unidentified autumn sage cultivar (Salvia greggii) against Elliott’s love grass (Eragrostis elliottii)

Another Echium wildpretii; this one won’t bloom until the spring of 2015

Small Agave parryi var. huachucensis, planted at the base of our remaining Bradford pear. Behind it are an Aloe striatula (left) and an Aloe arborescens ‘Variegata’.

Globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus), coming back from the base

View of front yard

Second ‘Desert Museum’ palo verde

Pots on top of the fence, still standing after two days of horrendous winds

Mexican sage (Salvia mexicana ‘Limelight’) still looking beautiful

 

Posts like this one are a good visual record of the evolution of our garden. Occasionally I do find myself going back a few years to see what the garden looked like then. It’s easy to forget how much things change—often for the better, but not always. When you’re happy with how things are, enjoy the fruit of your hard work. And when you find something you don’t like, do something about it. At least that’s my new resolve.

Next up for me: Renovate that forlorn tropical corner off the front porch.