Two Yucca rostrata (below) were in dire straits when rescued several years ago. After the first winter, their fate was more in question. Finally, by this late spring they seem fully recovered, though this has little to do with my efforts. I must take small credit for planting them in an area that is slightly raised for improved drainage, that I suspect was the problem in their previous site. A third yucca, much shorter, barely stood above yellow leafed, cascading sedges, and with its slow recovery I ran out of patience. So , there are two, an awkward number in design, but one that doesn’t bother me, at least here.

The yuccas do not fit a design theme. They are just interesting plants that were worth a minimal effort to save, and I have no desire to add more than the few yuccas that are already scattered about the garden, or to add any other southwestern style plants. In fact, and this has nothing to do with the yuccas, I’ve begun a small collection of mangaves (below), a cross with agaves that are similar in appearance but much more vigorous in growth.

The garden does not fit the more restrained planting scheme of a southwest garden, with the relaxed look taken to a bit of an extreme in the area behind the yuccas (above). A blue-green variegated ‘Regal Splendor’ hosta was divided from a clump now nearly hidden under a wide spreading paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha), then transplanted between a grouping of variegated Northern sea oats ( Chasmanthium latifolium ‘River Mist’) and toad lilies (Tricyrtis). By the second year the hosta should stand taller than its neighbors, lending a bit of structure to this hodgepodge, but for now it’s a ….. well, a hodgepodge. But, I suppose that with such a state of disorder the dual yuccas are less likely to distract the eye.