Sempervivum; my favorite plant(s) in the garden this week!

I’m kind of cheating at my own game, picking a whole group of plants rather than a particular plant…but they just look so good mashed together here. Usually when I plant sempervivum I spread them around, giving them room to expand. Here I was trying to fill in a corner where pesky squirrels continually dug.

Are you wondering why there’s a muddy channel surrounding them in the image above? Because I’ve removed some of the brick edging to help picture the expanded planting area taking over parts of the lawn. This grouping was right at the “old” corner.

It’s so wonderful as-is that I’m going to try and move it out to the new corner en-masse.

I stopped tracking the name of my different sempervivum long ago, so I can’t tell you specifically what these are.

I have a (bad?) habit of picking up 1 or 2 Semps weekly when I grocery shop (only in the spring and summer). Our local “has everything” grocery chain (Fred Meyer) has a decent nursery for basics like this, and their prices are good, usually on sale 2 for $5. It’s an easy way to amass quite a collection!

The stats…

• Common name: Houseleek or Hens and Chicks.
• Most are quite frost resistant; some hardy to as low as zone 4 but they will melt in desert temperatures (a succulent for us in cooler regions!).
• They dislike damp (although this hasn’t been a problem for me) and prefer full to partial sun.
• They are monocarpic and will die after blooming. Usually the blooming rosette has been surrounded by smaller plants though, so death won’t mean much of an empty space in the garden.
• Happy in containers or rock gardens, and great as a ground cover.

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Foliage Follow-up (and my favorite plant in the garden this week)…

Since my favorite plant feature this week is a favorite because of its foliage it seemed a natural to combine these two topics into a single post. May I present the Saxifraga…

Yes they’re there….I’m referring to the small white edged rosettes, this one…

And this one.

I mistakenly thought I was getting Saxifraga longifolia when I purchased these, but actually I now realize they probably aren’t because they haven’t gotten nearly as large as S. longifolia promises to be (almost 8” across). One label I have actually says Saxifraga x longifolia so perhaps that’s what they both are (a third flowered and died last summer). Whatever they are I love them, after all I’m a sucker for a tidy rosette.

Here’s an interesting little tidbit I picked up from the Wikipedia: “the Latin word saxifraga means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin saxum ("rock" or "stone") + frangere ("to break"). It is usually thought to indicate a medicinal use for treatment of urinary calculi (known as kidney stones), rather than breaking rocks apart.” There's some useful cocktail party chatter for you!

Another favorite Saxifraga is S. macnabiana, its leaves look outlined by frost even on a warm summer day.

Just don’t let them get shaded out by neighboring plants, they’ll quickly melt away and disappear (I speak from experience...).

I picked up this Saxifraga x urbium 'Primuloides' last fall at a nursery sale, well actually I picked up two but later discovered one of them had virtually no roots due to rot. I hope this one spreads fast as I love its varied shades of green.

One of my original Saxifraga loves is S. urbium ‘Aureopunctata'…

This time of the year it’s almost buried under leaf litter from the huge Privet above, but once I get around to cleaning it off the splashes of yellow on the leaves just shine.

And I realized I do have another Saxifraga that I completely forgot to take pictures of! Saxifraga x geum 'Dentata' if you’re curious there are couple of my photos of it here (as well as 27 more varieties!). For more Foliage excitement visit Pam at Digging, our hostess for this monthly adventure.

Well aren't you the little thug?

It took me awhile to decide that I liked Muehlenbeckia axillaris, or Creeping Wire Vine. But decide I did, and three plants went into the area cleared out when the Rhody was removed last spring. I thought they would make a nice, quick growing, groundcover. Ya, you can say that again...

Muehlenbeckia axillaris taking over some Sempervivum

Here’s a positive endorsement I found online… "It's the leaves' unique ability to stay in excellent condition from March through November (or later) which makes all these uses suitable, no cutting back or grooming is generally required."

Muehlenbeckia axillaris climbing up through Grevillea victoriae 'Murray Queen'

And from the same source “it quickly forms a dense mat which weeds are unlikely to penetrate.” Is it just me or does that last bit sound a little like the beginning to a horror story?

Muehlenbeckia axillaris twining around Agave bracteosa

The general consensus online (because I’m researching it now, after I planted it) seems to be that it will grow to be 24-30” wide. That doesn't sound too horrible but when you realize they’re probably talking about each and every tiny stem reaching two to two and half feet long, AND add in the “twining/climbing habit” and yikes. I think this plant could cover a car, or maybe even a house, in a couple of years.

Muehlenbeckia axillaris and Dasylirion wheeleri

I guess the name "Creeping Wire Vine" held some clues, had I paid attention. I’m hoping maybe winter will somehow keep this budding thug in check, but I’m not holding my breath. I am however holding sheers…and will use them.

There used to be a Libertia ixioides 'Goldfinger' under there, somewhere...

Grevillea juniperina 'Molonglo' my favorite plant in the garden, this week…

I’m kind of obsessed with Grevillea juniperina 'Molonglo' and truthfully this plant could be my favorite just about any week, it never looks bad. So why this plant now? Because this is what I’m currently seeing out my front door…

Naturally the sun isn’t always hitting it just so but when it does, well the Grevillea shines a little extra, like a beautiful grass-green carpet.

I bought my plants at Cistus and planted them the summer of 2011. Here’s what they looked like a couple months after planting.

For some reason I thought I needed three plants. I guess I didn't really believe it when the tag said 10 ft wide?....

“A ground covering grevillea, to 2 ft tall x 10 ft wide adorned with deep gold flowers from fall through spring and occasionally beyond. Evergreen, it is dense and smothers weeds easily. Full sun and good drainage. Drought tolerant once established. Avoid fertilizers as with all proteas. Frost hardy in USDA zone 8.”

So about those deep gold flowers; it’s taking a little break at the moment but there will be more soon. Just look…

If you’re wondering what the flowers do look like click on over here, as proof of my obsession there are no less than 15 photos of my plants on plantlust.com, most of them while they’re in bloom.

The stats:

• Evergreen ground cover to 2ft tall by 8-10ft wide.
• Likes sun and well drained soil – drought tolerant.
• Hardy Zone 8a -10b

And speaking of photos on plantlust.com if any of you garden bloggers are okay with us uploading your photos (with credit and a link back to your blog of course) we would LOVE to do so. Just say the word and we’ll get busy.