Pachypodium Lealii Saundersii

 The most easily recognized pachypodium is probably pachypodium lamerii or p. geayi  the so-called Madagascar palm; this is not that pachypodium! Madagascar palms are from Madagascar; this pachypodium is from South Africa, but has the necessary fat body...

Decorate Your Dish Garden With Railroad Spikes

If you happen to be in possession of old, discarded, rusty, railroad spikes and no clue what you planned to use them for in the first place, here’s an idea. Use them to decorate a dish garden.  Or stick them in your outdoor garden. I brought these home with me...

I Catch The Lithops Blooming

When these mysterious little plants, lithops lesliei, bloom, it is always such a pleasant surprise. And easy to miss since they open in the evening when I may not be checking on them any more for the day. But I was in the right place at the right time and wanted to...

Leuchtenbergia Principis, aka Agave Cactus

 I have been watching and impatiently waiting for this cactus to bloom, and finally it did. I suspect our current overcast skies and lack of sunshine delayed the unveiling, but bloom it did. And it even stayed open for a couple of days, a nice plus....

Succulents Provide Good Color

   If you are not familiar with using succulents for a touch of color, may I recommend ice plant, dew plant, and Autumn Joy sedum. The advantages are that they don’t wilt when you take trip for a few days and have no one to water them, they grow relatively...

Agaves Macrocantha and Sharkskin

  Two more agaves I would recommend for your collection are these two that are smaller and slower growers, which makes it nice for collectors like me who have to drag plants in for the winter.   Agave sharkskin, sometimes called sharkskin shoes, is a...