First Views is a meme that Town Mouse started to show seasonal view of larger areas of your garden, rather than more focused photos of certain plants.  She has a Mr Linky widget on her page so others can enjoy this idea, and add links to their blogs. Please visit her page to see her views and add yours: September First Views (Town Mouse). Now on to this month’s views at the Sierra Foothill Garden.

As I walk around the house at first I am dismayed by all the fading dry scenes before me.  Also, since I’m doing this without first ‘spiffing up’ hiding hoses and dead heading, I see that there is much to do, but not today…

The descriptions are all below the photos:

On the slope in front of the house is the ‘lavender field’, now very much in need of trimming. I’m leaving the seed heads on a little longer so I get more seedlings to transplant in spring.

This is the back entry to the garden.  There is a dry ‘stream’, coreopsis, a bird’s nest spruce, surrounded by Teucrium chamaedryoides groundcover, a wallflower ‘Bowles Mauve’ and an Eastern redbud.

In  a front bed is where I had to start over, remove ALL the plants and eradicate the Mexican primrose. It’s a battle won but with skirmishes every few months. I replaced the plants after the winter was over and mulched well. Rudbeckia hirta is the bright spot with asters starting to bloom as well. The blue bowling ball? I’ll show a close-up at the end of the post.

Further along is an Aristocrat Pear, a common lilac, lavender and santolina, all very dry. Against the house are two ‘Iceberg’ roses that the deer haven’t eaten.  Shhhh.  I think because it’s so narrow with a cement sidewalk there, they don’t to walk there.

Walking down the hill from the right side of the last photo and looking back, there is the rock garden on the left top and the meadow area with a gravel and log path coming down. The penstemons and autumn sages are the only thing here with a bit of bloom and the green at the right is Red Hot Poker which bloomed in June.

Winding around the back is a long log edged path one level down from the house. There;s Iris to the left, Thyme, Bergenia and more Iris.  On the right is a pine an oak with a bench under neath where I sit and water and the grey ground cover is Helichrysum ‘Moe’s Silver’ a very hardy useful Mediterranean.

Looking straight down is a natural area where I’m starting some Iris, some Douglas iris and some CA natives, here in the background are a Spicebush circled with rocks and some Juncus down in a soggy area (in winter).

Looking the other way are logs steps down through the salvia bed, two Ceanothus, ‘Carmel Creeper’ in front and the bigger one is ‘Ray Hartman’, there are also an Abelia, Penstemon, Agastache, a “Tiny Towers” dwarf Italian cypress and Lamb’s ears. 

OK, I’ve walked up a level to the other end of the long path and turned around. On the right, Iris, Agastache, Heuchera, creeping sage, a flowering quince and Autumn sage.  On the left, Blue sage a Rose ‘Eden’, Cleveland sage and other sages.  There is boxwood in the two containers (that need to be leveled I see).

Here is a Box Elder tree, a CA native, with Autumn sage and some indigenous Bear Clover,  Chamaebatia foliolosa that some call mountain misery, (I don’t, I like it) and some Iris.

Coming up the hill to the house is the wonderful, ever-grey Helichrysum ‘Icicles’ which I like in any stage.  Now it’s much like a dried flower, and will stay like this, soft gold, until I trim it. It’s in front of the existing Arctostaphylos viscida ssp. viscida – Sticky White-leaf Manzanita.

This is the bank directly in back of the house, covered with, from front to back, Red fountain grass, (an annual here), Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’, easily started with cuttings here and rosemary, thyme, lavender, a small flowering rose ‘The Gift’,  Pineapple sage, Cleveland sage and Buddleia ‘Black Knight’ way in the background. 

A path skirts this bed at the bottom with a Ponderosa pine, asters and the native Wyethia elata, Hall’s Mules Ears.

This is the natural tarweed meadow way down below.  It’s beautiful in September, and soapily fragrant especially when Tractor Man comes in from weed eating. Ah, the fading California landscape turns to pale gold and muted colors.  I love it but I need to get out there and spiff! It’s cooling off, luckily.  Thanks, Town Mouse for the idea!

And here’s the spot I finally found for my ‘tiled’ blue bowling ball, now a Garden Orb. I found this rusted iron plant holder on trash day in our old neighborhood. Can you believe someone threw Mr. Peacock out….(maybe you can).  This photo recently created a sensation on the Flea Market Gardening  FB page. They love rust. I recently added his little blue eye at their suggestion.