Tag Archives | succulent plants

Robin’s Succulent Sphere

photo-2Robin Stockwell (right), owner of Succulent Gardens Nursery, has a reputation of creating over-the-top displays for the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. Like two years ago, a cube house with succulent walls and a moat. Robin’s known for his vertical displays of succulents—entire panels consisting of little plants with different colored leaves. So take a look at this. Does it look familiar? Yep, Robin has made a huge succulent globe for the show this year, which is taking place right now through March 24. Below are photos of the globe under construction. Details are on the Succulent Gardens website. Continue Reading →

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South African Adventure

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 a Picasa page with his photos of the marvelous succulents he saw. Below are some of the highlights, with his comments and then mine in italics.

“A kokerboom tree (Aloe dichotoma) — the first of many I saw up-close on this trip.”

And it’s in bloom! People may not realize that there are succulent trees. This one grows well in Southern CA, too, if given excellent drainage. Continue Reading →

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Warm Wishes from GGW

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! — Debra

L-R, top: unknown, Epiphyllum sp., Ferocactus wislizeni

L-R, middle: Opuntia sp. (cholla), Chamaelobivia ‘Rose Quartz’ (peanut cactus), Thelocactus nidulans

L-R, bottom: Trichocereus sp., unknown, Mammillaria sp.

  Continue Reading →

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Succulent Extravaganza Recap

See the seahorse? It’s sempervivums planted in vertical panels. This was one of many lovely and unusual sights at the second annual Succulent Extravaganza at Succulent Gardens nursery in Castroville, CA last week.

A terrace at the nursery is planted with Agave ‘Blue Glow’ (foreground) and Agave ‘Blue Flame’ (background). Continue Reading →

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Companion Plants for Succulents

 

At this month’s Succulent Extravaganza, Sept. 28 and 29 at Succulent Gardens near San Francisco, I’ll be speaking about companion plants for succulents that vary from ground covers to trees. Many grow in my own garden near San Diego. Two examples are above: orange California poppies (an annual) and blue fescue, a perennial that is low-growing, mounding and truly blue. Like all ornamental grasses, it adds great texture to gardens.

Speaking of texture, Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ has finely cut leaves and shimmers with a silvery blue comparable to Agave americana, shown here in my garden. In bloom higher up the slope are aloes with orange flowers. Continue Reading →

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