Another Look at Ariocarpus
I have written about ariocarpus before, but it has been a while, so some of you may not be familiar with this plant. Fall is their blooming season, as you can see here. Ariocarpus retusus is not a plant you will find at the big box stores, but it is worth...
Refreshing a Path in the Cactus Garden
My cactus garden is over 20 years old and needs renovation from time to time. One path through the garden had become cluttered and hard to navigate, so the time had come to fix it. These pictures show the path in question. The flat rocks are supposed to mark the way,...
My New Stapeliad Turns Out to Be Controversial
I have become a fan of stapeliads and bought one I don’t have the other day at the Living Desert in Spicewood. It was not identified, which is not uncommon because there are so many very similar varieties. As luck would have it, i was blessed with blooms right after I...
Clean Your Cactus With Your Hair Dryer
Fall brings football season; up here it also signals that it is time to bring my potted cactus and succulents inside for the winter. In my garden, if it is in a pot, it is because it is not cold-hardy. I have braved icy winds and impending snow storms and...
Try Autumn Joy Sedum for Fall Color
Try Autumn Joy Sedum for Fall Color I have mentioned autumn joy for fall color before, but let’s take another, closer look at this reliable succulent. Autumn joy sedum is a plant in the crassulaceae family also known as stonecrop sedum and...
Praying Mantis Like Cactus, Too.
I discovered this praying mantis on the euphorbia trigona the other day. Just to simplify a bit, mantises are from the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, and order Mantodea and I suspect most of us take them for granted as a native insect. Not so; they were introduced...
Create An Entrance to Your Garden
We recently added two new features to my cactus garden, cedar post arches that invite you to meander through its pathways. I shared the genesis of these rustic portals yesterday-“Look What My Husband Built for Me!”-The Bright Lights of Muleshoe, September 15,...
How To Landscape Without Plants
The entrance to the club house at our country club had become an eyesore, did nothing but collect trash, Jeanetta Precure complained. So we set about to change that. Due to location and sun issues, plants didn’t always do well in that spot, plus Jeanetta didn’t have...
Add an Aeonium to Your Collection
One of my first really spectacular succulents was an aeonium. I think it was an aeonium sunburst. It grew tall and the rosette was about the size of a dinner plate. I never measured it, but it really was that big. Just a beautiful plant. Then it bloomed. And then it...
A New Huernia
I have been looking for more stapeliads and huernias to add to my collection because of their striking flowers with their intricate designs and wonderful colors. I was finally at the right place at the right time the other day and came across this huernia zebrina de...
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