Turk’s cap cactus uses its pelt to collect moisture. It’s native to a maritime location that gets fog but very little rain. As far as the other fuzzy succulents shown here, the best I can come up with is that their filaments help them gain a few degrees of cold protection. If you have a better [...]
When in Orange County recently, I stopped by a nursery I’d heard about—the Dana Point Nursery on Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point. I experienced it through my camera, and lost track of time. I shot a lot of cool plants and container combos, but the aeoniums were my favorites. Aeoniums are native to the [...]
Is it any wonder I’m such a fan of succulents? In addition to being easy care, low-water and having architectural shapes, they send forth spectacular flowers. Some of the most amazing are those of aloes, most of which bloom in midwinter (in temperate climates). Shown above is Aloe x ‘David Verity’, in Patrick Anderson’s Fallbrook, [...]
These vignettes suggest water—flowing, tumbling, cascading, splashing or dripping water—yet there is none. Each illustrates the ingenuity of a garden designer in the dry, hot Southwest, where water is scarce. Yet the same concept, of creating the look of water, might apply to any garden. In this composition, by Akana Designs for the San Diego [...]
While on the Malibu Garden Tour, I hoped for high-end gardens that incorporated my specialty: succulents (plants with juicy leaves and stems). Homes in the hills of this tony enclave north of Los Angeles are huge, on multi-acre lots. My host had grown up in the area shown here, and recalled how neighbors helped Barbra Streisand protect her canyon home [...]