South of the border

How is that weekends fly past so quickly! I only had time for the briefest of visits to the garden this morning, and yesterday, just enough time to feed the fish before I was out and about. This morning I finally cleaned out the water feature. The fish will be a lot happier now that their home has been freshened up.

After a slowish start, my 'Mexican' garden is finally coming along, although I seem to have relaxed the theme as time has passed.  The Salvia 'Velour White' is flowering happily, as is the Osteospermum 'Double Sensation'. Cineraria 'Silver Dust', between the rosemary and the Aloe 'Diana'  is making slower progress. This part of the garden looks a little bare in places, but I have planted it with a variety of seeds and some gorgeous orange ranunculi bulbs, which should add a bit of a punch to the grey foliaged plants, plus I hope to eventually mosaic the step in the top left corner.

Just beneath the step is a canna, 'Coco' I think, which hasn't exactly thrived, and most of my herbs - oregano, a small leafed basil, thyme and chives - and I have variegated applemint and summer savory nearby. I have also had great success in the same spot with Mexican tarragon and Italian parsley, which I need to replant.

Here is a view from the other end of the garden. The height in the garden near the steps is provided by the hammerhead frangipani Plumeria pudica and the rosemary, and, at the other end, by a yucca and a Hawaiian Fan Palm.

The end of the garden will eventually be a hedge of gardenia 'Professor Pucci' and a lower hedge of box, but in the meantime I have let a pineapple sage have free reign.

Here's how the Mexican garden looks from left to right. The small spiky plant to the right of the aloe is Yucca 'Purple Royale'. In front of that is Agave attenuata, with a little succulent graptopetalum tucked under its left side, and, under the palm I have a couple of bromeliads, Tradescantia 'Purple Heart' and the cycad-like Zamia paucijuga. I have just started to move some of the daylilies from the opposite side, which is getting a bit shady in places, to form a border on this side of the garden too. My ugly garden edging is, hopefully, just a very temporary one.

Elsewhere in the garden, there was a new bromeliad in flower. This is Guzmania wittmackii.

I get a little disheartened when I look over the fence at the back of the garage. I have been just letting the garden settle since I had a big palm removed, but I decided to have a tug at some roots that had got under the pavers. Not surprisingly, I have managed to flip quite a few pavers out of their places. Fixing that will be a task for next weekend.

With a final look at the front, there was no delaying any longer. It was time to head inside to the paperwork. Onslow looked suitably mournful, as he always does.

While Miss Bella seemed absolutely delighted that I was coming back inside her side of the fence.