Succulents and More™

This is the continuation of yesterday’s post . Most of the photos below are along the sidewalk bed in front of the house. A reader asked for a wider view of our house. Here are two panoramas that give you a better idea of how our house is situated in relation to our neighbors: As you can see, we’re on the corner, which is why the L-shaped sidewalk bed is so long. Our house does stand out because no other neighbor has landscaping quite as involved. Continuing with our walkabout at the northwestern end of the sidewalk bed (right below the bamboo on the left in the photo above): A year ago, this section had one golden barrel cactus ( Echinocactus grusonii ). Now there are six, with another one in a pot off to the left. Like rocks, you simply can’t have too many golden barrels. The Baja fairy duster hybrid inside the fence ( Calliandra ‘Sierra Starr’) has been blooming all year. I can’t express how much I love it. In front of it, outside the fence, from left to right: ‘Ian Bush’ manzanita...

This month, I haven’t been able to dedicate as much time to the blog as I would have liked. I did take a bunch of photos, though, and I’d like to share them with you in a couple of “This and that” posts. This is part 1; part 2 is here . Starting in the front yard, inside the fence: Looking towards the front porch Hechtia argentea , dangerous but beautiful Hechtia ‘Silver Star’, quite similar to H. argentea , but with more of a fuzz. To the left, Dioon argenteum with complementary silver leaves. Look what I found: another Hechtia argentea . You could say I have a weakness for them. Also in the gently updated front door bed: Aloe vaombe... ... Agave horrida (plus Hechtia purhepecha  and Hechtia huamelulaensis )... ...and Euphorbia resinifera . I also refreshed the top dressing (mix of 3/8" mocha lava and 5/8" red lava). To the right of the front door: five totem pole cacti ( Lophocereus schottii ) in the square planter, Euphorbia canariensis in the middle, and Mangave ‘Whale...