Make hay while the sun shines

Agave, Bulbinella, Phormium

Whenever people complain about the weather in Frisky Town I think that a little perspective would not go amiss. I grew up in Wales so if you think 10 inches of rain a year is bad, try 10 FEET.  On a local level though, I also spent many years living in the Haight and yes - it gets pretty foggy there, which is depressing. But Potrero Hill? No so much! When I look back on my blog posts the sunny weather gets mentioned so often it's almost relentless.

Anyway, today Matt and I went out in the, yes, warm sun and checked a few tasks off the list.

First I staked the Cordyline "Electric Pink" in the middle front bed - it got wobbly recently, and I really want it to suceed.

Matt removed a good-sized Agave americana from the cactus wall, along with a dozen pups. These gorgeous blue-green plants are almost a weed. We planted these as small pups back in January 2009 and they have grown so much they're out of control. The plan is to remove all but one, and replace them with other types of Agave for variety. The removed ones will go to the SPUR project (now known as the Pennsylvania Railroad Garden) down the block.

Yucca gloriosa "Variegata"

He planted the mother plant temporarily in the gap behind a still-weak recently planted Phormium tenax near the shed in the dog area.  Recently it's clear someone scrambled through that area, mashing the Phormium and an Aloe vera among other things, so the Agave should stop intruders dead!

I planted a plant of new genus for us in the same area - Bulbinella robusta (Cat's Tail) - a lovely yellow-flowered plant from Africa that's similar to a Kniphofia. It loves summer drought, so it should be happy in that spot...

While Matt was potting up some seedlings he found at the base of the Bladderpod (Cleome arboria) I planted a small Yucca gloriosa "Variegata" at the bottom of the steps. It's tiny now, but should grow strongly - another drought buster! I gave the Salvia involucrata in the dog area a quick prune, and we called it a day.