One step forward... and another step forward

If nothing else, winter is a good time to take a more considered look at your garden. Most shrubs and perennials aren't in bloom, so it's easier to evaluate them for what they bring to the table in terms of structure. As an example, look at the two yellow rectangles in the photo below:

These are two firecracker plants (Russelia equisetiformis). They do bloom most of the year. But they also sprawl a lot and the stems flop every which way:

Firecracker plant (Russellia equisetiformis)

And in the winter, when they're not in bloom, they look like dark blobs, especially when the foliage gets nipped a bit by frost:

I don't remember being as bothered by it in previous years as I am this year, but as the garden changes, so does the gardener. And this gardener has gotten much less ruthless over time. (Side note: Does "less ruthless" equal "more ruthful?")

Using my trusted Root Slayer Nomad, I dug out blob #1 in a matter of minutes. And just as quickly it was replaced with a new aloe, a hybrid called 'Apache' sold at large garden centers.

Aloe 'Apache' next to Lomandra longifolia 'Breeze'

Now for Russellia equisetiformis #2:

A few minutes of root slayering, and it was out, too. I managed to get a good portion of the root ball so I replanted it elsewhere in the front yard, inside and up against the fence where it has solid support.

Last month, I'd removed a clump of Aloe elgonica to the left of Russellia #2. It, too, had become a bit blobby:

Aloe elgonica just before I removed it in early January 2021

I kept a few offsets of Aloe elgonica and replanted the rest in the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society Demonstration Garden, as chronicled in this post. Below is what the area looked like after I'd dug out the Aloe elgonica; you can still see Russellia equisetiformis #2 on the right:

And this is what this corner of the long sidewalk bed looks like right now:

I hauled in extra soil and ¼ inch lava rock to create a bit of a mound (hard to see in these photos) and then planted four aloes: Aloe capitata 'Yellow Hoodie' (the purplish plant on the left); A. schoelleri (the big dude in the back); an as-yet-to-be-identified tree aloe hybrid to the right of A. schoelleri; and A. glauca var. spinosior (front center). There's room for more, but I want to add extra rocks first.

Clockwise: Aloe capitata 'Yellow Hoodie'; A. schoelleri; tree aloe hybrid; A. glauca var. spinosior

I have another mini project going in the same planting bed, a bit further left. There I removed a dead lavender last fall as well as two groundcover grevilleas (Grevillea lanigera 'Mount Tamboritha' and Grevillea 'Poorinda Royal Mantle') that hadn't gotten enough water. I replanted in fits and starts throughout the winter, the last addition being an Aloe vaombe gifted by a friend:

Just for the record (and to refresh my own memory down the line), the other plants in this spot are:

• Arctostaphylos 'Ian Bush' (planted November 2018)
• Limoniastrum monopetalum (planted 5-7 years ago)
• Maireana sedifolia (planted November 2020)
• Acacia aphylla (planted May 2020)
• Grevillea rosmarinifolia 'Crimson Villea' (planted November 2017)
• Lampranthus aureus (planted October 2020)
• Arctostaphylos densiflora 'James West' (planted fall 2020)
• Teucrium ackermannii (moved here fall 2020)
• ×Mangave 'Mission to Mars' (moved here November 2020)
• Centaurea ragusina (planted July 2020)
• Aloe 'Rooikappie' (several offsets, moved here from another spot November 2020)
• Aloe fosteri (planted October 2020)

All the way on the right are Aloe marlothii and Aloe 'Hellskloof Bells', both long-term residents.

Aloe vaombe

What's needed more than anything now is time and lots of sunshine for all the new additions to settle in and spread their metaphorical wings. I have high hopes...

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