Reclaimed bamboo hill replanted

Three weeks ago, we had a massive clump of timber bamboo (Bambusa oldhamii) removed in the front yard. This post ended with the bamboo gone, both the culms above ground and the woody mass below.

The fence boards in the inset area were damaged from the accumulation of bamboo leaves and the stump grinder the tree service used to remove the woody base. Logically, the first thing I did was pop off the old fence boards, creating an opening that hadn’t existed since 2008.

Since I had easy access to the remaining bamboo inside the fence (Bambusa chungii ‘Barbellata’, a different species), I removed most of the accumulated leaf litter and other debris that had collected over the years. I also gave the Bambusa chungii a good trim, cutting out dead and deformed culms. Before long, I had a sizable pile in the street—just in time for the first yard waste pickup of the season (from mid-fall to late winter, the City of Davis picks up green waste deposited in the curb every two weeks).

I liked the newly gained openness afforded by the absence of the fence boards so much that I initially voted to leave the area open, just like this:

But my wife convinced me that we did need a visual transition from the public area outside the fence to our private space inside. She suggested horizontal pickets with larger gaps between them. I liked her design so she and her mother built it with minimal help from me. The result is beautiful:

The next step was to bring in soil and more rocks to add to the three pumice boulders I’d moved from inside the fence (they were supposed to keep the bamboo away from other plants):

Here are 1 cubic yard of screened topsoil and 1 cubic yard of very coarse sand as well as 700 pounds of rocks (hidden in the pile of sand):

I’d asked the delivery driver to deposit everything in the area where it was supposed to go, but he must have misunderstood me because he dumped it all in the street. After a few hours of hauling, I’d moved the soil, sand, and rocks into the right place.

The first plant I put in the ground was an Aloe excelsa that had rotted two years ago and convalesced in the backyard. It’s the anchor plant for the entire area and had to be in place before anything else could happen.

After my wife had helped me place the rocks, I proceeded to plant the area:

I did start with a list of plants I wanted to use, but I found myself pulling out quite a few others from my various holding areas—finally my plant collecting hoarding paid off!

Boophane disticha, one of several South African bulbs I planted

I also happened to have one golden barrel (Echinocactus grusonii) and three blue barrels (Ferocactus glaucescens) that needed a home...

....and here they are

From a design perspective, a cluster of three would be more effective, but heck, I had four

I also added some shrubby plants for texture and contrast, including (top to bottom) Abutilon palmeri, Lavandula angustifolia ‘Super Blue’, and Euphorbia misera (the latter a San Diego County native)

The bulk of the new plants are agaves and related succulents

Agave nuusaviorum (top), Mangave ‘Foxy Lady’ (left), Agave stricta ‘Nana (right and bottom)

Agave nuusaviorum, a close relative of Agave potatorum. I got it as a small seedling from agave master Greg Starr in Tucson, AZ.

I realize that the hill is probably overplanted and that I will need to move plants as they become bigger. But that’s been my gardening style for years so no surprise there.

Mangave ‘Foxy Lady’ and Agave stricta ‘Nana’

The area still needs some finishing touches—I need to install drip lines and emitters and add top dressing—but the plants are in and can start getting established. With nothing but warm and dry weather in the forecast, the conditions look good for the next two weeks.

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List of plants used in this project:

Genus/species	Category
Abutilon palmeri	Shrub
Agave nuusaviorum	Succulent
Agave parrasana × parryi var. truncata	Succulent
Agave parviflora	Succulent
Agave pintilla	Succulent
Agave potatorum 'Spawn' × isthmensis	Succulent
Agave sebastiana	Succulent
Agave shawii	Succulent
Agave shawii × isthmensis	Succulent
Agave shawii × potatorum	Succulent
Agave stricta 'Nana' (2×)	Succulent
Agave zebra	Succulent
Aloe excelsa	Succulent
Aloe fievietti (2×)	Succulent
Boophane disticha	Bulb
Chrysactinia mexicana (4×)	Perennial
Coryphantha macromeris	Cactus
Cyrtanthus obliquus	Bulb
Dalea gregii (2×)	Perennial
Echinocactus grusonii	Cactus
Euphorbia misera	Shrub
Euphorbia myrsinites	Perennial
Ferocactus glaucescens (3×)	Cactus
Ferraria crispa	Bulb
Haemanthus coccineus	Bulb
Hakea flabellifolia	Shrub
Lavandula angustifolia 'Super Blue'	Perennial
Lavandula × intermedia 'Phenomenal'	Perennial
Leucophyllum zygophyllum	Shrub
Mangave 'Foxy Lady'	Succulent
Mangave 'Purple People Eater'	Succulent
Mangave 'Bloodspot' × Agave oteroi	Succulent
Nerine sarniensis	Bulb
Ornithogalum fimbrimarginatum	Bulb
Yucca harrimaniae/nana (3×)	Succulent

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