My front garden, tour 2020

It's time for my annual garden tour. Every year I take photos at the end of summer and post them here on the blog. This tradition is hugely valuable for me, as I get an annual record of what the garden looked like at a moment in time. Hopefully it's interesting for you too...
This year's photos (99% of them) were taken on August 16th and September 20th. Above I'm standing in the street looking straight at the house, below is the view from the end of our driveway. 
Now moving to the north a bit, along the public sidewalk. I couldn't decide which photos I liked the lighting of the best, so I included a few similar ones.
Glowing Yucca rostrata...
And super sexy muscular branching on the Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths'.
That's Arctostaphylos 'Monica' to the right of the front door. I'm working on opening up the structure so you can see through it (since it is in front of the door), much like 'Austin' is.
The next four images show a slightly shifting perspective on the middle of the front garden...


I am really happy with how this area is shaping up, it's exactly what I hoped for.
As is the tall tetrapanax on the far end.
It's lovely to look up through on a blue-sky afternoon.
Although those big green leaves didn't like the weird dark and smoky days in early September and started to turn yellow almost instantly.
I know I've included a photo of my Summer 2020 visitor before, but since I'll refer back to this post I thought it might be good to remind myself this is the year the bunny came to visit.
This image—of the area up against the front of the house—might look familiar to some of you, as it was used to promote I talk I gave for the Northwest Horticultural Society. It was just a random photo I took one morning in August as I was watering, but the light was perfect.
Here's the same area but later, in September. Notice the lower leaves of the Euphorbia rigida have turned yellow, kind of like the tetrapanax leaves did. I heard lots of stories of plants reacting to the smoke (and ash) filled skies. I do hope there is some organization that's compiling plant reactions to the thick smoke that covered our region for days. I know Oregon State University was asking people to submit reports.
Looking at the same vignette, but from the other side.
And here's the autumn version.
The area on the other side of the front steps is not so cohesive. I've replanted it a few times but I'm still not happy with it.
Although I'm completely in love with this—supposedly dwarf and draping—Loropetalum I managed to squeeze into the pot holding an Acca sellowiana (aka pineapple guava).
And this Agave baccarat...
Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Rainbow' does well in its dappled shade location under a large Fatsia japonica.
Switching to the other side of the sidewalk up to the house...
Agave 'Mateo' surrounded by a rosemary.
Agave parrasana 'Meat Claw'—fingers crossed for its survival. This is the second plant Sean Hogan (Cistus) has given me. He told me to put the first one in the ground but I didn't. But it wasn't happy in a container and so this time I listened and it's in the ground.
This combination of plants is what lines most of the sidewalk. I like it.
Okay then, here we are at the gate to the back garden—and that's tomorrow's post!