Winter is my least favorite season, and I probably complain about the weather more at this time of year than at any other. Bearing that in mind, this past week has been noteworthy: fog, rain, sun, rain, sun, and wind, too. Sometimes in one day. April weather in January, you might say. As a result, this post is a bit all over the place.
☼ Sun...The sun finally came out after a solid three weeks of high fog in December. We even had a couple of days last week when the sun was out most of the day. With the soil saturated and plants sopping wet, we really needed the sun.
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| Sidewalk bed, looking east |
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| Front walk |
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| UC Davis campus |
š§ Rain...
But of course the sun didn’t last. As I’m writing this on January 5, we’re back to rain. With the ground so waterlogged, there are puddles everywhere.
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| View from Stella’s doggie door |
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| Piles of leaves creating lakes in the gutters |
That was two days ago. Rain, sun, rain. Plus puddles.
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| Flooding on the greenbelt across the street from us |
❊ Flowers...
Any plant flowering in the dead of winter is a winner in my book. Here are some in our garden.
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| Banksia fraseri. These flowers are wonderfully weird, aren’t they? |
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| Banksia fraseri |
 | | Kniphofia ‘Christmas Cheer’, just planted. Someday it’ll look like this. |
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| Veltheimia capensis, a wonderful bulb from the drier regions of South Africa’s Western Cape (hence the species name) |
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| Veltheimia capensis isn’t a fast grower, but it will form a clump over time |
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| The flowers look a bit like a cross between aloe and kniphofia flowers |
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| They’re among my favorite winter flowers |
The biggest attraction between now and early spring are aloe flowers. A couple of aloes in our garden are in full bloom:
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| Aloe lukeana |
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| Aloe suprafoliata has been blooming since November. The flowers last a long time. |
⚘ Aloe flowers almost open...
More aloes would be in bloom by now, but the long period of fog and cold (temperatures in the low 40s, day and night) has set us back by weeks. A few aloes are almost there.
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| Aloe elegans, yellow-flowering form from the Huntington |
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| Aloe ‘Erik the Red’ |
⚘ Aloe flowers that won’t be open for a while...
Other aloes have inflorescences that have started to emerge, but they’ll still need weeks before the flowers are open.
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| Aloe ortholopha × spectabilis, a Nick Deinhart hybrid |
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| Aloe vaombe × spectabilis, a hybrid from Paradise Found Nursery in Florida (sadly out of business now) |
⚘ Aloe flowers just poking out...
Most winter-flowering aloes in our garden fall in the “just poking out” category.
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| Aloe aculeata × esculenta |
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| Aloe vaombe |
⚘ Looking for non-existent aloe flowers...
Part of my daily garden ritual is to look for new aloe flowers. Some aloes are too small to flower; I know that, but I still look. Others are definitely flowering size but have so far refused to oblige.
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| Aloe marlothii × globuligemma, looking, looking, looking — in vain I thought... |
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| ...but take a look at this! Finally, after 10 years! Yes, 10 years. |
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The other fairly large Aloe marlothii is still holding out. It should be large enough to flower, but...
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⚶ Other stuff...
Random things I saw while walking around the garden.
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| Agave ‘Burnt Burgundy’ with manzanita flowers |
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| Agave shawii × isthmensis glistening in the sun. The rock in the front is honey onyx. And the greenery on the left is ‘White Linen’ California poppies growing happily (they don’t seem to mind the weather). If anybody wants some 'White Linen' seeds, let me know. |
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| Ferocactus rectispinus, just because. It has spines close to 7 inches in length. |
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| Epiphyllum guatemalense is a vivid reminder that I need to be better about bringing tender plants inside before the cold temperatures hit |
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| Every day we pick up limes falling off our tree and rolling into the gutter |
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These are regular “supermarket” limes (i.e. Persian or Bearss limes). What you find in the store is immature fruit. Left on the tree, they turn yellow like lemons and eventually fall off. Even when they’re yellow, they still smell and taste like limes.
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☁ Dramatic skies...We had some pretty dramatic skies during breaks in the rain. Even a rainbow yesterday!
š§ Rain...
Inevitably, sun gave way to rain, more rain...
༄ Wind...
...and wind, too! Gusts so strong they knocked over some of the pots in the backyard.
ėŖ¼ Moss...
This is a logical consequence of all the rain: moss growing on the roof which, in the summer, bakes in the hot afternoon sun. How the hecks does moss even manage to survive?
šæ️ Squirrels...
A propos of nothing: What do squirrels do in the winter? Hang out in trees, driving Stella crazy? They definitely do that.
Another thing squirrels do: eat oranges off our tree in the backyard!
I could continue, but let’s end it here. 52°F outside at 4:50pm, with rain falling steadily.
© Gerhard Bock, 2026. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.
I love all your photos of climate, plants. and extras! My oranges get eaten by roof rats. I wish it were squirrels! Oh, and I hate wind! Such fun to scope out aloe blooms!
ReplyDeleteLooking for emerging aloe flower stalks is almost like an obsession LOL.
DeleteHello Gerhard, I would love some while linen poppy seeds if you willing to send by mail. My address is Dorothy Dron-Smith 1724 Ladera Rd, Ojai CA 93023. Your post is always so interesting and informative. I too am one of those people who sends a bit of time each day checking to see how the Aloe blossoms are coming along, 10 years is a long time to wait I hope that flower is worth it. I have an A. excelsa hybrid from Jeff Chemmick that is finally blooming after many years of waiting, keeping my fingers crossed it was worth the wait. Thank you for the information you share.
ReplyDeleteDorothy
Seeds will go in the mail tomorrow (1/7/26).
DeleteDo you know which excelsa hybrid you have from Jeff? As you now, I love Aloes in Wonderland.
Thank you! It was a one gal. plant that came with a label "Ex R&Y" Last year I ask him what the R&Y meant and he said it was for a red and yellow version. It is finally blooming so we shall see.
DeleteI gasped when you showed the bud just eeking out of Marlothii! FINALLY! Did you do a double take? 3 weeks of fog is a nightmare, apparently the Marlothii x globuligemma liked it. Hate the wind, I hope nothing was damaged in those pots. It looks like we're both getting sun every day for the next 10 days at least :).
ReplyDeleteThe fog really made me appreciate the sun, as much as I malign it in the summer :-)
DeleteNo damage to the plants in those pots, but I have to weigh them down with some rocks.
Today was sunny, and I swear my mood improved instantly!
Just stumbled upon this blog. Great stuff and we have similar taste in both plants and landscaping. Just wanted to reach out and commend you on a great blog. You are very well informed on the who's who in the California xeric plant world. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I have discovered so many new plants in your posts but alas, a 15 year old garden has very limited space for new additions. Like most, it is purely an esthetic form of editing down to the most idiosyncratic plants. Cheers. Tin
ReplyDeleteWelome! I'm so glad you found Succulents and More. Where are you located?
DeleteLimited space: I know exactly what you mean. To make room for a new plant, an existing plant has to go.
"View from Stella’s doggie door"... hahaha. Was Stella watching you? "What is that crazy man doing?"
ReplyDeleteHi Gerhard! I would like some 'Linen' poppy seeds also! I will email you and can even send you a self-addressed, stamped envelope. :)
ReplyDeleteYou got it!
DeleteHi Gerhard. Rain and some cool cloudy weather sound good right about now...commenting from 100⁰F Upington, South Africa. Regarding your Marlothii hybrid, well done with your patience getting it to flower at long last. I checked your record, staking it's from habitat collected seed from Lebowa. Area between Burgersfort and Polokwane I know. If collected from a natural hybrid, I presume your plant is a further x again back to Marlothii. It is way too spiny to be a 50/50 Globuligemma x. So my guess for the flower will be orange with mostly flat horizontal branched racemes...
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you, all the way from South Africa! I agree with you, if what I have were 50/50, it would be far less spiny. I've seen photos of natural glob x marlothii hybrids; they can be spectacular.
Delete