Echeveria ‘Topsy Turvy’
As the sun set the clouds cast a muted shade of yellow upon a motionless garden. A photographic opportunity had presented itself, I frantically ran indoors to grab my camera and tripod. There I stood in awe of a dead-still garden with perfect lighting. I focused my camera on my specimen and gently pressed down on the shutter button. Click. Wouldn’t you know it as soon as I had begun, the heavens opened up and down came a monsoon of summer precipitation. Conflicted and forlorn I watch drops of water roll down the side of the camera, behoving me to end my photoshoot prematurely. In a moment of grace, the simple solution came to mind and gave this creative expression some hope. I spent the better half of 2 hours taking photos in the rain with the aid of an umbrella looking like an absolute crazy person.
Over the last month I’ve been slowly but surely moving my indoor plants outdoors. While most reasonably people strive to grow plants that are hardy in their climate, I’m far more fascinated with exotics from warmer parts of the world. Intermixing tropicals and succulents into your hardy year-round borders adds a real taste of the tropics to your garden. So far I’m pleased wit the results.
Aloe variegata, Aloe karasbergensis & Agave americana amongst our garden plants.
Aloe variegata is far from rare, but with good reason. It’s pattern reminds me of the mottled spots of snowflake obsidian.
Growing cacti and succulents indoors is a pleasant enough hobby, but the true fun lies in watching them grow outdoors. I often just sit and stare, these obscurities never cease to amaze me. A real treasure for the eyes, it’s satisfying to see plants from all over the world consolidated into one place.
I recently aquired this in bud Trichocereus lobivioides at Valley Succulents, yesterday was it’s first day open. What an amazing fractal of pollen and rippled silk. Cacti are unassuming vessels for such beautiful blooms, it sure makes roses seem pretty ordinary. Photo available in hi-res, click to take a closer look.
I keep the majority of my succulent collection in an open cold-frame as to regulate their water intake and hopefully provide a warmer growing area. My garden is partial sun at best, and this is the sunniest spot in all the garden.
Old mixed with the new, Caralluma acutangula sits in the middle, an oddity I can’t help but to daydream about. A large upright stapelia relative, I can’t wait to see it flower.
A giant flowering allium has been growing and gaining height for quite some time now. Only in the past week has it’s shell cracked and it’s buds started to color up. Slow motion fireworks indeed.
My Sophora microphylla survived another winter, although this year it’s not looking nearly as good as in the past. I got a little carried away with keeping things winter dry and apparently Sophora microphylla didn’t like it. I’d say moist but not dry, my specimen is alive and well but suffered some die-back this winter. Gardening on the edge is a game of trial and error.
The queen of gardening on the edge, Judith mclauchlan gifted me this Begonia luxurians cutting earlier this spring. Rarely seen in cultivation, this begonia is certainly a step up from your everyday tuberous begonia. Growing into a small tree, begonia luxurians has delicate palmate leaves and the strangest pink iridescence. My specimen is still small, but happily growing, I look forward to watching it’s progress.
Recently acquired agaves in their new home amongst the shubbery, I could stare at this Agave victoriae reginae all day long. For those seeking the finest perfection on earth, look no further then nature.
My Cyphostemma juttae has been leafing out the last couple weeks, and I’ve placed it outside to enjoy the garden lifestyle. I’ve read that the plant’s can benefit from having an extended root system, so I placed the pot within another pot. This way the plant can stretch it’s legs a bit while maintaining it’s manageable pot size for winter protection. Dichondra repens sailed through last winter and is coming back more impressive then ever.
Primula capitata flowering amongst drumstick armeria and chiastophyllum oppositifolium .
One could dedicate the whole hobby of plant hoarding to hardy primulas alone. There are so many varieties, blooming from early spring until fall, in all shapes and sizes. The color on these P. capitata are truly surreal.
Like clockwork the Rhodohypoxis have been blooming for well over a month. Pleasing shades of red white and pink.
I find myself a bit nervous growing this Lewisia glandulosa and have yet to see a flower open. Still it seems to be reletively healthy, I’ll tread lightly until I know more about this plant. Behind the first bloom of a Desfontainia spinosa.
I picked up a 2″ pot of this noid sempervivum/jovibarba and have since propagated it into many more. I found this one going into bloom on the side of the house and had to showcase it in something nicer. A true alpine delight, this looks like it should be growing on mars, not my back garden.
Beautiful fuzzy rosettes.
There’s always been a healthy population of snapdragons in my garden with or without a gardener. Over the years they’ve created hybrids and are in all shades of pink, white, cream and yellow. In the evenings the flowers smell like bubble gum. SNAPDRAGON!
A wild collected Lupinus arboreus (tree lupin) has began to flower this week.
I’ve been trying to standardize it into a tree for the last couple years and it’s finally starting to look right. Photos don’t do it justice, it’s a burning bush.
Lupins are particularily stunning in a rain storm, they’re leaves cradle water droplets in the most unusual way.
Stardust.
A twilight shot of Echeveria ‘Topsy Turvy’, it almost glows in the evenings.
My collection of Anacampseros stand on a small shelf placed above the passion vine.
Thanks for coming along for a tour. There’s so much going on in the garden right now I feel like I should spend as much time out there as possible. My friend’s think I’m crazy, but we know who the crazy one’s are right?
Have a nice weekend everybody.
