Prickly pear cactus pads sometimes form hearts. I wonder what the plant is trying to tell us: “Be mine but don’t touch me?” This last is a mammillaria. (You can call her Ma’am.) Here’s a bit of trivia: I used to think that mammillaria got their name because they’re rounded like mammillary glands. But no, [...]
I love the way aloes brighten Southern California gardens this time of year. Shown above is the most widely grown aloe, Aloe arborescens. The location is about halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles, in Laguna Beach. This is an artist’s enclave, and not surprisingly, aloe flowers against blue sea and sky are a popular [...]
I’m finding it difficult to do another cheery post about my area of expertise—succulents—after reading this a moment ago on Facebook, posted by a friend who owns a nursery in North Carolina: “With great sadness I have to let my friends know that last night put a real hurting on my succulent collection. With all [...]
To make a succulent wreath, you’ll need about 100 cuttings, a wire wreath form, 24-gauge florist’s wire, a chopstick or ballpoint pen for poking holes, and a bag of sphagnum moss. The form, moss and wire are available at any crafts store. You don’t need soil; the cuttings will root right into the moss. [...]
While compiling photos for my Succulents 2014 calendar, I looked back through hundreds of photos I’d taken in 2013. I evaluated them in terms of composition and how they might illustrate a specific month. For January, I think of aloes in bloom. But these photos say more to me than that. When I look at [...]