Return to Kay's Southern California garden

When I visited Piece of Eden a few weeks ago, garden blogger Hoover Boo took me to see her friend Kay who lives a few streets away--a repeat of what we'd done in December 2017. Kay and her husband bought their ¾ acre hillside property in the 1970s. Things have changed tremendously since then, but this hidden corner of Orange County is still peaceful and quiet, probably because most properties are large (½ acres or more).

Kay loves plants, and it shows.  As I walked through her garden, I recognized some plants from my previous visit, but others were new. Kay's garden, like all gardens tended with enthusiasm and passion, is ever-changing. 

As you'll see, the Goldilocks climate of Orange County where it virtually never freezes allows Kay to grow plants outside that would croak in a Davis winter, even in the milder ones we've enjoyed in recent years courtesy of climate change.

Mexican bird of paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) in all its glory

Look at how happy this plumeria is (two plants, actually)

Mass planting of Sansevieria fasciata in a sheltered spot outside. This would never fly in Davis!

Who says benches are just for people!

Magazine-worthy!

Tillandsia bergeri on a rock in a sea of aeoniums

Aechmea in flower

Cardboard palm (Zamia furfuracea), a cycad from eastern Mexico

Cardboard palm (Zamia furfuracea)

Mexican bird of paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), sago palm (Cycas revoluta), and crown of thorns (Euphorbia millii)

Crown of thorns (Euphorbia millii)

Sago palm (Cycas revoluta)

I wouldn't change a single thing if this were my garden!

Aloe barberae

Kay asked me to guess what this tree-like plant might be. Needless to say I had no clue. It's cotton! The genus is Gossypium, but I have no idea what species this is.

One Aloe marlothii and many Agave attenuata

Aloe aculeata

Aloe dorotheae

Agave attenuata

This photo illustrates perfectly what eventually happens to everybody who owns an Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'. I've never had an agave that offsets more enthusiastically!

Aloe thraskii

My favorite vignette on this trip

Agave 'Mr Ripple' flower stalk

Agave 'Mr Ripple' flower stalk

Mexican bird of paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)

Bougainvillea sp. I think it should be called 'Magenta Eruption'.

Aechmea blanchetiana

Neoregelia sp.

A self-contained habitat in the center of a Neoregelia

Dancing bones cactus (Hatiora salicornioides)

Euphorbia pseudocactus

Foxtail agave (Agave attenuata) and golden rat's tail cactus (Cleistocactus winteri)

Kay gave me a pair of pruners and a paper bag and told me to take cuttings of whatever I wanted. I didn't want to be greedy, but how could I say no? I ended up with cuttings of dancing bones cactus (Hatiora salicornioides), Euphorbia pseudocactus, and Tillandsia secunda. Plants given to me by other gardeners are the best kind of gift because every time I look at the plant, I think of them!

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