Snow shovelling

Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi
(Lavender Scallops)

On Friday night we were supposed to get some very cold temperatures - below freezing. Yes, I can hear the snorts from those of you who spend the winter frozen solid! But our plants are not used to it, so I went out and covered a few delicate ones with branches and towels.

On Saturday, after an energetic few hours of snow shovelling this weekend (not! No snow for us) John came over with some gorgeous plants and I got to work potting them up or planting them. Aloes, Agaves, Lithodora, Aeoniums - lots of cool stuff.

I weeded an area on the cactus wall and planted one right away - an Aloe bainesii aka Aloe barberae. This is a tree Aloe - it will get big, but very, very slooooowly. The one John gave is is about 3' tall so already nice and big: I love it! He also brought us a nice big rooted branch of a Yucca we're not quite sure of the name on: either Y. elephantipes, gloriosa or maybe lacandonica?

Euphorbia lambii
in flower

Later on I was in Oakland and stopped by the CVS Pharmacy on Broadway. This place has an oddly interesting and cheaply priced selection of cacti and succulents - someone in the garden department speaks my language! Matt and I picked up two big Agaves for our patio for very little money, and one has pups: net result is that P. Garden will be getting an Agave "Sharkskin" soon, a type I have long admired.

On Sunday Matt and I went up to Sonoma and found a Yucca elephantipes "Silver Star" for sale at a nursery. We picked it up to replace the Yucca elephantipes "Jewel" that mysteriously died near the steps - hope this one proves to be a stronger plant!