I showed this photo recently at one of my presentations. In the back of the room, a little girl stood on a chair to see better. I understood; as a child growing up in Southern CA, I also was captivated by brilliant ice plant blooms. Those colors! As blindingly bright as ever a flower could [...]
These odd little African succulents start out egg-shaped, then split open to reveal a smaller capsule that in turn splits open at right angles to the first. In spring, being ice plants, they produce neon-bright, multipetalled, daisylike flowers. Pleiospilos are tiny water tanks, accustomed to going months–even a year–without rainfall. They’re also impossible to pronounce, [...]
One of the great things about being a horticulturist specializing in succulents is that I’m part of a worldwide community of like-minded enthusiasts. Case in point is an email I received this week from Jeremy Proctor, who lives in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. He had visited South Africa and sent me a link to [...]
I have a motto: If it’s beautiful, shoot it. This has resulted in an eclectic assortment of gorgeous photos that I didn’t know what to do with…until I discovered a website that lets you upload 12 to 15 photos, select music to go with them, then alchemizes the whole shebang into a 30-second video. (Any longer, you [...]
Why are we so shy about color in our gardens? What’s with all those pastels? Give me loud hues, fierce and bright. Like this pair of ice plants, which is anything but icy. Calendulas sizzle in my garden, their petals glossy orange. Velvety purple is eye-popping, too. This scorcher is Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Sticks on Fire’. In case its [...]