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Agave and aloe sale at Arid Lands mail order nursery
Piece of Eden, one my favorite gardening blogs, recently mentioned that Arid Lands Greenhouses in Tucson, AZ is having an agave and aloe sale through the end of September. All agave and aloe species...
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2014 Succulents Extravaganza teaser
I’m at Succulent Gardens in Castroville, CA for the 2014 Succulent Extravaganza. This is the fourth time succulent lovers from far and wide have gathered here to tour this extraordinary nursery, listen...
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I didn’t think it would get this big
I didn’t think it would get this big.How often do we say that?I certainly say it frequently enough that by now people might be wondering how somebody who pretends to be reasonably smart can be so...
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Front yard desert bed—September 2014 update
≡ This post continues the coverage of ourfront yard desert garden project.≡At this year’s Succulent Extravaganza, Brian Kemble, the curator of the Ruth Bancroft Garden and one of the country’s...
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2014 Succulent Extravaganza wrap-up, part 1
This might be my biggest post ever as far as the number of photos is concerned. I took well over 300 pictures at the recent 2014 Succulent Extravaganza held at Succulent Gardens in Castroville, CA, and...
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2014 Succulent Extravaganza wrap-up, part 2
Part 1 of my recap of the 2014 Succulent Extravaganza held at Succulent Gardens in Castroville, CA at the end of September had 80 photos, and part 2 isn’t going to be much shorter. But I promise you,...
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#GBFling14: Danger Garden
It took almost four years, but here it is: post # 1000! I’m dedicating it to a very special garden I had the privilege of visiting in July during the 2014 Garden Bloggers Fling: the appropriately named...
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Ruth Bancroft Garden 2014 fall plant sale recap
The plant sales at the Ruth Bancroft Garden are personal highlights for me. I go every spring and fall, and I always walk about with interesting plants as well as lots of new photos.Here’s my recap of...
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October update: Mangave ‘Bloodspot’ and Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’
As you may remember from an earlier post, one of my Mangave ‘Bloodspot’ ( Agave macroacantha × Manfreda maculosa) had gone into flower and the 5x5 ft. Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’ by the front door...
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Exploring the Ruth Bancroft Garden, October 2014 edition
It’s no secret, I love plant sales at the Ruth Bancroft Garden. I have my routine down pat. I’m there before the doors open to members at 9am, and I take no prisoners while I have my shopping hat on....
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Stinky time again
October 11: It’s the middle of October. While most people are thinking of pumpkins in anticipation of Halloween, I’ve been looking forward to something else. Here’s a clue:Our front porch will soon be...
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Another visit to Sweetstuff’s Sassy Succulents
Candice Suter is one of the nicest, kindest and warmest people you’ll ever meet. She’s also one of the most succulent-obsessed, and proud of it. Known far and wide for her blog and Facebook page...
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Time for some R&R (refreshing and rejuvenating)
R&R is always a good thing. At least that’s what I think. In this case R&R stands for refreshing and rejuvenating, and that’s exactly what I did to several areas in the front yard this past...
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Mexican poppy mystery solved
In August noticed this little beauty in the succulent bed along the driveway:I conjectured this might be a Mexican poppy, but I didn’t know.This mystery poppy was still blooming two days ago when a...
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Fall color in California’s Eastern Sierra
In early October I spent a long weekend in one of my favorite places on earth: California’s Eastern Sierra. If you don’t quite know where that is, don’t feel bad. Many Californians aren’t sure...
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Veltheimia capensis finally blooming
While I’m not a collector of South African bulbs like Albuca, Brunsvigia, Boophane, Nerine, etc., I bought several veltheimias a few years ago—both Veltheimia capensis and Veltheimia bracteata, the...
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Blue
Green leaves are the norm. Yellow, orange, red or purple leaves can be interesting or just plain weird. But blue—blue leaves make me go weak at the knees.A bluish cast is the result of either a waxy...
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After the rain
As I’m writing this on Sunday morning, the weather is as perfect as can be in the fall: blue sky, a slight breeze, and a crisp 57°F with an expected high of 69°F. On Friday, things were very different:...
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Weekend stroll through UC Davis Arboretum
The UC Davis Arboretum is literally 10 minutes from my house, and even though I’ve blogged about it many times before, I don’t go often enough. It seems it requires an out-of-town visitor to jostle me...
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Welcome, × Mangave ‘Macho Mocha’
For some reason, when I hear the word “mangave,” I think of mangrove. The two have nothing to do with each other. Mangroves are swamp trees while mangaves are hybrids between two succulent genera:...
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