A Little Variegation In The Morning

  This morning it was just so lovely in the garden...the fall light is too beautiful. Most of the garden is heading south for the winter, but the variegated plants I love so much are still rocking' right along. 

  Johnny had asked me to take some pictures of a couple of new paintings over in his studio, but I was severely sidetracked by the pretty day...with just a few minutes to go before heading off to work, I managed to get some tasty little snapshots of a few of my favorites... the theme is most definitely variegation!

New to the garden, I picked up two of these ferns in Santa Cruz. Sadly, I don't know their names..Anyone?
Tasha?

Another recent addition, Carex "Sparkler". I just had to get three.... I'm underplaying with
a variegated plectranthus, of course.

Starting to die back for the season, this is a fantastic "hardy geranium" that tolerates shade. I just
got it for the foliage, but it has sweet magenta colored flowers.

Another one that is dying back for winter, this is a favorite of mine, variegated Fallopia.
It has gorgeous pink-tinged new growth in spring, too.

  Since I'm a notoriously frugal, I love having plants that I can take cuttings from, and spread all over the garden. These beauties below are three of my current faves to tuck in here and there. They work well in most of the garden, and play well with each other, too.

My good buddy Tasha passed along a cutting of this ivy geranium to me, and it has just thrived everywhere.
I don't care if it blooms or not, but when it does, it's bubblegum pink.

I've written about this plectranthus before in the blog, and for good reason.
This fellow is awesome, and doesn't seem to mind shade. A real workhorse. 

I usually keep this one in pots, because it does better with regular watering. I love it.
Arrhenatherum, or Tuber Oat Grass...it has little bulblettes, so easy to propagate!

Another new addition, found in 4" pots (yes!), this is a variegated Pteris fern.
Had to get a couple of these, and am waiting for some growth....

  I love the plants I can easily propagate, but have had no luck with this Coprosma "Marble Queen", below. It really chaps my hide, because I want it everywhere in the garden. Must try harder, I suppose....Anyway, below you will see a nice shot of the normal coloration, and then a weird freakish mutation. A large chunk of one of my shrubs is showing this mutation, so I'll just let it go, and see what happens. I like to think I have my own zombie plant going on here....

Normal 

Zombie

OOPs...here's that pesky plectranthus again. But I love it here among the fallen leaves of my Cersis 'Forest Pansy".

Just a regular old garden geranium, but I like it. I don't care for it's flowers, though.
Lipstick red...(shudder). Seems to be fine in partial shade, which adds points.

  As we here on the central coast of California are becoming only too aware of, water is getting very tight. We are always on restrictions, and I'm totally down with that. It's one reason why when I find a real garden trooper, I take cuttings and spread it all over the place. 

  I'm going back to my gardening youth these days, it seems, as I am adding more and more succulents to my once thirsty garden. They have made a major fashion come-back over the past several years, so why not join in the fun? Plus, as we all know, you can start with one, and like little bunnies, you'll have dozens before you know it. Speaks volumes to the cheapskate in me!

Of course, I favor the variegated types, but have many varieties through out my garden.
 Thankfully, we rarely have frost this close to the ocean...

  These final shots are of a geranium "Phaeum", not certain which. I had just about given up on it but decided to dig it out of the garden bed and baby it a little. I took the best of what was left of the original, and now very sad plant and just cut it way back. There were about 6 or 7 pieces I could see that might come back, and just look! I put the little viable root pieces in some good, fresh soil with compost and they are really thriving. I'll probable keep them in containers for awhile, until I figure out where to put them. They like water, it seems, so maybe they will stay in pots until they need to be split again.
  Can't you just see these underplanted with that plectrantus? Hmmm...or interplanted with the variegated grass from up the page aways...Hmmm...This one does have the most beautifully delicate little flower, sort of a light magenta color. Yum.

  I just had a most profound thought..well, maybe not profound... but at least sort of interesting. I wonder...as I am getting older, and I can't do as much in the garden physically, and my eye site is beginning to truly suck, maybe it's this. Maybe I love my variegated plants because I have to just get right on top of them to see and really appreciate them, and they take no real care, for the most part...at least the ones I have don't. They give back so much real pleasure just being there. 

  I can get so overwhelmed by my garden, and all the work it needs and takes...but these little fellows just sit there, being all variegated. So simple.