The front garden has never been a space I spoil with luxurious care. Most of the current plants went in the ground early in 2011, so they’ve had ample time to become established. Other things have been tucked in over the years and watered as needed—until they too got their roots settled in. Last summer was an unplanned test. I broke my ankle at the end of May, had surgery mid-June, and wasn’t walking again until early August—there wasn’t much watering. This summer continued that trend. Life happened; I was tending to other things. Sometime in August I realized we'd had absolutely no rain, and I hadn’t watered at all. Plus it was a hot summer, historic yet again.
All of this is to say, the front garden has operated largely on its own—and it has done marvelously. An important note; the front garden was designed to look mostly the same no matter the time of year. There are small seasonal changes, but no flowering perennials that need care. It's generally the same in July or January.
I did finally make the time to give everything a good long soak on Friday, September 9th. We were facing a hot and windy few days with very low humidity, it seemed like a good time. It was the first chance I'd had in a long while to really stop and look at the plants, each of them, and give thought to how they were doing. I took these pictures just a few days later, thinking that instead of my usual "annual tour" with highlight photos of the garden, I'd share my thoughts as they were when I spent several hours watering and evaluating. This is going to be a long, two-part post, but hopefully interesting.
Yucca filamentosa and Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard' in the hellstrip. Each year I cut out the dying bits that bloomed—to keep the clump tidy—other than that these plants require absolutely nothing from me.
Our Fatsia japonica was one of the very first things I planted back in 2005. We made a trip to the orange big box and there it was, looking exotic to my Eastern Washington gardening eyes and reminding me of the time I spent living in Seattle. I loved it for years, but this year—all summer long—I've been considering it's removal. Now that I've got Holman (my newly adopted Yucca rostrata) and he needs a sunny spot in the ground, well it might be time. Naturally that means even more changes here as a Yucca rostrata isn't going to provide the shade the fatsia does.
This agave (a pup from this one) was also newly planted this spring. Yes it could get ginormous, but I'll deal with that when it happens.
![]()
Speaking of ginormous, these Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue' continue to gain size. Planted from a one-gallon container and similarly sized decorative pot in 2013 they're now nearly 4ft wide and 2.5ft tall.
![]()
Yes that's our north side neighbor's driveway, our houses are very close in this 1940's neighborhood.
![]()
As much as everything has grown, there's still a path for the mailman to use—if he dares.
![]()
Did you notice the ugly spots? During our wet spring they were folded in around the cone, the center of plant and I feared there was going to be serious damage.
![]()
Thank goodness as the plant grew over the summer the new leaves unfolded with no problems.
![]()
As I type this the Mahonia gracilipis flowers have opened (just tiny little yellow things) and the hummingbirds are feeding. I even saw one use the agave as a rest stop (carefully).
![]()
It's kind of comical to me how thin this Yucca rostrata (she's known as Alberta) trunk looks now that I've got Holman hanging—here—he's a chunky boy!
![]()
Almost perfect, just a few old leaf scars.
![]()
Turning now to the hardy orange (Citrus trifoliata or Poncirus trifoliata) which is directly opposite the agaves across the "mailman pathway".
![]()
A bit of the Poncirus trifoliata, cordyline foliage popping back up where I cut it back this spring, Mahonia nervosa and Callistemon 'Woodlander's Hardy Red'.
![]()
The Mahonia nervosa foliage turns a lovely purple color in the cool months, I love it for that.
![]()
Looking up the north side of our house/property. It's a thin line as you can see, the neighbor's driveway borders closely.
![]()
Volunteer Euphorbia rigida and Verbascum olympicum, along with a planted Fothergilla gardenii 'Blue Mist'.
![]()
Verbascum olympicum
![]()
The Euphorbia rigida could not care less about the lack of water, the Imperata cylindrica (blood grass) however is not so happy.
![]()
Walking further up the neighbors driveway to check on the dry, oh so dry, patch of Adiantum venustum, which is looking really good.
![]()
I recently listened to an old episode of "Let's Argue about Plants" from Fine Gardening, the subject was ferns and they talked about how delicate this plant is. They didn't seem to know that it is one tough plant, able to withstand lots of abuse, including lack of water.
I am still confused by this brown patch though. I thought it initially came from hot exhaust from a power tool one of the neighbor's hired helpers used. That doesn't seem to be the case however, as the problem has persisted.
All material © 2009-2022 by Loree L Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.