Nature is astonishing, isn’t it? How delightfully ironic that the flowers of many cacti resemble water lilies and the tops of some, snowflakes. Here are 18 examples to warm you this chilly season. Apologies to cactiphiles; I wasn’t able to identify all of them. If you would like to provide one or more IDs, please do! — [...]
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, [...]
Saxon’s recent post, showing gorgeous December photos from his past calendars, has inspired me to share with you the images from my first-ever calendar along with info you might find useful should you want to create one yourself. It’s easy to do through Cafe Press or Zazzle, online sources for note cards, coffee mugs, T-shirts and other customizable items—even [...]
Every year, as Halloween approaches, I recall my visit to Professor Mordant’s garden on the forbidden island of Desire. I call it forbidden because it was rumored to be an eerie, inhospitable place—a volcanic outcropping devoid of vegetation. Nothing like the mainland resort where I and other garden writers had been sunning ourselves in style. [...]