loving my hens and chicks.
hens and chicks, succulents in my garden
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hens and chicks = Echeveria elegans
- succulents in the garden, “Mexican Snowball, Mexican Gem, Pearl Echeveria, White Mexican Rose”
Echeveria elegans
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garden snapshot, aeonium flowers start to open
Compare this to last week’s photo: link here
aeonium starts to bloom
flowers start to open on the cones of the aeonium
my gorgeous aeonium
aeonium, ready to explode!
My aeonium is going to explode into a million gazillion little yellow buds very, very soon~! Check out those cones. . .
flowering cones of the aeonium
garden snapshots: happy succulents! Kalanchoe tomentosa and echeveria glauca
- the fuzzy one is a Kalanchoe (pronounced KAL-n-KOH-ee) tomentosa and the hens and chicks are Echeveria glauca
garden thursday, Dudleya farinosa: Bluff Lettuce
Dudleya farinosa: Bluff Lettuce
I love this plant. Given to me as a gift in 2004, its my very first succulent. The original start for this little guy was given to me by my dear friend Marin, himself an avid gardener, cook and intrepid camper. In fact, while on one of his camping trips to Point Reyes, he found a bunch of dudleya on an outcropping near the beach and, since I’d expressed an interest in learning to garden, he plucked a pup from the plant, and brought it back for me. At that time I was just starting my garden by growing some poppies from seed on my terrace. He asked me if I’d considered planting succulents and I explained I didn’t even know what they were. He gave me the dudleya pup, wrapped in damp paper, and explained what I needed to do. . . just put it in the soil! I treated it gingerly, so afraid that I’d kill it, but of course . . . it grew. And quickly. And changed shape and form fantastically! My love of succulents was born. The plant has thrived since 2004, the one pictured above being one of the many offspring from its hearty parent. I always think of Martin when I see this succulent. He and this plant got me started and inspired my love for gardening and especially, for succulents. Martin has since moved back to Spain so when I see my Dudleya, I’m reminded of my dear friend.
garden snapshot, succulents of course
garden snapshot, succulents
some aeonium, senecio, crassula falcata. . .
garden snapshot, aeonium tabuliforme
aeonium tabuliforme
garden snapshot, tagine among the succulents!
Tagine the cat visits my garden, all the way from Pennsylvania
weekend in pictures, 14-15 Aug 2010
With nearly 10 hours of gardening in the back yard, my muscles are tired but happy from moving rocks, pots and plants much of the weekend. My reward was seeing the view Sunday, late afternoon; while I was down in the garden with friends Dick and Matte Gray, shafts of light illuminated the newly-planted plants, turning them a shimmering gold. It was so beautiful!
The weekend included visits from not only Matte Gray, whom I want to thank for the beautiful aloe, but also visits from the Bamboo Whisperer, Bob & Andy. I had TONS of help from, and quality time with, my superstar upstairs neighbor, Dick. Thanks Dick! and thanks to all for coming to check out the garden, and for the wonderful contributions! The garden reflects the love everyone has brought to it!
The weekend also included a great meals at B&A’s house on Saturday and on Sunday, at Heart Restaurant for their “Spaghetti Sundays” – house-made pasta & meatballs, a wonderfully fresh salad & garlic bread, all incredibly well prepared– this restaurant certainly deserves all the praise it gets from the foodie community.
This was a mighty fine weekend, indeed!
Friday night movie at the Castro Theater, newly restored version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis
Organist still plays the Wurlitzer prior to the start of the film at the Castro Theater
newly planted bamboo in the back yard; I spent about 10 hours there this weekend!
a beautiful evening in SF; san francisco skyline as seen from home
oh no, a house fire near 17th and Mission Streets, on Rondel! Foul play is suspected and 20 people were displaced as a result. Sad.
late afternoon light on the succulents in my garden
one of my favorite succulents, Echeveria ‘Topsy Turvy‘
"Spaghetti Sundays" night at Heart Wine Bar and Restaurant on Valencia St, SF
delicious & simple: romaine salad with anchovie/olive oil dressing, radishes at Heart Restaurant, SF
among the best I've ever had; spaghetti and meatballs at Heart Restaurant
beautiful scooter ride home to Hancock Street, the sunset a brilliant orange and pink
garden snapshot, pachyveria nellii
Pachyveria Nellii, succulent plant
A gorgeous contribution to the garden from none other than L. of Matte Gray, gardener extra- ordinaire!
garden snapshot, Sempervium Arachnoideum, the ‘cobweb’ succulent
One of my favorites, the Sempervium Arachnoideum, or ‘cobweb succulent’
Sempervium Arachnoideum, cobweb succulent
Sempervium Arachnoideum, cobweb succulent
Sempervium Arachnoideum, cobweb succulent
garden snapshot, Echeveria harmsii (“plush plant” or “fox’s ear”)
may 2010, morning light on a beautiful fuzzy succulent, Echeveria harmsii!
foraging. . .
-what a fun lunch today! Burrito, great conversation with “A “, and . . . foraging for wild succulents-!!! Sigh. . . life is good!
succulents!
(click for larger view) flowering succulent
San Francisco is a city for gardeners and given that we never experience a frost, we’re quite lucky to have a broad range of plants available to us for our gardens. In fact, varieties that people in other climates would consider a house plant, San Franciscans can plant to monumental effect outdoors, and succulents are a great example of that. Being planted in the ground allows the plant to grow in size and shape in a way that will surprise anyone who’s only seen them in small containers in the windowsill. . .
While I have a variety of plants in my garden, including vines, shrubs and perennial flowering plants, succulents have become my favorite garden denizens. There’s something about the way they invite you to watch them that makes them special and I’m hopelessly fascinated by them. As they grow they change a lot, in shape, proportion and size. They truly become different over time, evolving in a way that adjusts to the environment in which they are planted. In a way they, more than any other plant I’ve encountered, grow to become unique individuals.
Perhaps chief among the qualities I LOVE to observe is the way in which the succulents flower. Gorgeous and sculptural as they are even without flowers, something exciting happens when it’s time for them to bloom. Weeks in advance you’ll notice a very prominent stalk (the inflorescence) emerge from the plant, all the more striking when it erupts from a plant with radial symmetry, like the echeveria. I can’t describe how fun it is to watch the progress of the stem, pregnant with anticipation…how high will the stalk climb? what will the lone flower look like and when will it open?
The inflorescence first emerged from the center of my aloe in late February, and climbed through March when the flowers emerged. I’ve captured some pictures here that show the height it reached and the type of flower that the aloe creates. Even now in the month of May, the flowers look just as great as they did when they opened in March!
garden snapshot, Sempervivum “Lavender and Old Lace”
Sempervivum “Lavender and Old Lace”
winter/spring 2010
garden snapshot, the flowers of the aeonium
Morning light, March 2010
