Sunday, September 16, 2012

Bright and Spiky for Foliage Follow-up

Today is Foliage Follow-up when Pam at Digging hosts blogger posts on foliage in our gardens the day after Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.

Fall is the best time to get new plants in the ground and an opportunity to move plants that aren't working.  That's just what we did yesterday by replacing an existing Dasylerion wheeleri with this new Yucca filamentosa 'Bright Edge'.  The change certainly brightened up the mailbox strip.


D. Wheeleri, with its sphereical form of spiky foliage. is a favorite of mine but this one didn't work here.  It blended in too much, didn't grow well, and never looked quite right so it's been relocated to the back yard.

Here's the 'before' with the D. Wheeleri in the left foreground.


Now the "after' with the new Yucca filamentosa 'Bright Edge' in place.


Yucca filamentosa 'Bright Edge' is similar to the existing Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard'  with thinner leaves and the reverse variegation showing more green which which works well with existing plants like the Golden Barrel cactus (Echinocactus grunsonii) without being too much the same.

The Color Guard yuccas planted last spring have grown more than expected this summer and brighten both sides of the driveway and across the front adding spots of color when the salvias are not blooming.  The new Y. filamentosa is in the back right across the driveway.


The 'Color Guard' yuccas continue on the other side of the driveway where they are joined with a silvery agave, soft leaf yucca, another golden barrel cactus, and Texas native purple prickly pear cactus (Opuntia macrocentra Santa-rita 'Tubac').  Of course all these selections were designed to coordinate with the yellow street sign.  Do you think the city would notice if I repainted the pole to a creamy yellow?


Here's a better look the purple hue of the prickly pear which has become more intense as a cool front passed through this week.


These changes gave me the chance to try out my new wide-angle lens.  Previously it been a challenge to get an overall view of the yard since I had to break it into three photos each time.  With the new lens I can get more in the picture.

Here's the front hellstrip showing how the new yucca on the left fits in.  I could step back farther into the neighbor's yard, but the details get smaller. You can always click on a photo to enlarge it.
 

For more blog posts highlighting foliage in their gardens, check out the links in the comments section of Pam's blog Digging.

17 comments:

  1. Great change, and I'm glad to read that you kept the Dasylirion and planted it in another place. Love the purple prickly pear!

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    1. Most plants get a second chance around here, that goes double for the spiky ones.

      That purple is cool how it changes with the weather.

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  2. Wow!!!! I looooove everything there. It speaks to my spiky loving heart! I really like the new yucca! Cheers! And happy September plantings!

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    1. Spiky plants would certainly be a challenge in Canada. I'm impressed by the collection you have manage to nurture there. The Y. filamentosa is rated hardy to Z5.

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  3. The switch to that Yucca filamentosa 'bright edge' is very good. I've seen that Dasylirion wheeleri further E in TX can look really nice, though I think they are beyond-wow in NM! (but what's worse, they may look their best in southern California!)

    The Bismarckia is so hot, I am speechless every time I see it.

    That streetside view with the row of yuccas is my favorite area there, now.

    I think your cactus is actually Opuntia santa-rita 'Tubac', which is only native in far, far SW NM and SE Arizona. It should do very well there. Opuntia macrocentra is not quite so robust and has a number of very long black spines on tops of pads.

    I enjoy all the new angles to me of your landscape. Time to get some scenes of my own, though it's mega sunny and contrasty here right now. November is gone, and September is back...80's.

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  4. Thanks David, I'm always amazed by the response to the Bismarckia. Thank you for the ID, I noticed most of the Santa-rita photos did not show the long pale spines which this one has, but Tubac does have those. Good to have a positive on it as it was received in a trade.

    I see good looking D. wheeleri around SA, but this wasn't making the grade for such a visible spot in the front yard anyway.

    Been raining all day and in the 60's here so it's a good thing I got the camera out yesterday.

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  5. I continue to lust after your Bismarckia too but am too chicken to try one up here in Austin. I will just have to enjoy yours! Good change with the 'Bright Edge' yucca. I have a Wheeler's sotol in my back garden, and I can attest that it is VERY slow growing. I planted it at the same time as my 'Sapphire Skies' Yucca rostrata, and the yucca is now three times as big. I love your purple prickly pear too.

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    1. Good to know, I'm thinking of adding 'Sapphire Skies' sometime. I plan on wrapping the Bismarckia with lights if we get really cold weather the next few years. I spotted a silvery Masari Palm at the nursery recently and it's apparently hardier.


      Thanks for hosting Foliage Day, Pam.

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  6. My my...60 degrees...maybe I could live there after all. My 'Bright Edge' is puny compared to yours.

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    1. I was just thinking that this was more like PNW weather. We'll be hot again in a few days though.

      It seems we have perfect weather for Yucca.

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  7. Great pictures of great plants. I`m very familiar with that part of the State and lived there part time a decade ago when I was working for a company in SA. Iknow the limestone gets to be a pain, but I haul as much as I can into my sandy, rockless landscape. It really livens up the displays. Great blog !

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    1. We have almost no soil here and have to haul in dirt. The rocks you see sitting around in the landscape were dug out and moved aside while planting so none were brought in. They are in demand by my "rockless" gardening friends in other parts of the city.

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  8. You are getting a nice collection of succulents in your garden. I am not a huge fan of variegated plants, but your color guard yuccas may change my mind.

    I am wondering if your Liatris survived. Mine are just beginning to bloom.

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    1. San Antonio is very different in climate and style from Plano. With all the concrete driveway and silvery plants, the variegation is needed for an accent here and there. The yellow/green variegation might not be right for your prairie but possibly a silver and white combination.

      All of the liatris are doing well in the topsoil mix we brought in for the wheel garden beds. The top leaves are more compact now so I expect blooms soon and I'll post them. Pam's post has me looking for the eryngium now too!

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  9. Nicely done. It's so clean and well spaced. Good plants for that area. Your gardens are coming along nicely. I can't wait to see how it all matures together.

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  10. I really like that prickly pear. I did not know they had that purple hue. I love seeing gardens with many different shades and shapes of foliage.

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  11. Your gardens look incredible! It is amazing the difference changing one plant can cause. Great choice, Shirley :)

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