Last week, I caught up with my friend Justin. He lives in Pinole, about an hour away, but for one reason or another, I hadn’t seen his garden in 10 months. High time for an update. (If you want to see what Justin’s garden looked like in previous years, check out these posts: June 2021 | June 2022 | June 2023 | October 2023.)
The Agave applanata near the driveway has grown dramatically. It’s over 6 ft. wide and tall now (for comparison, Justin is 6'3"). Justin believes it will flower soon. I think he wants the space back so he can plant something else (I can relate).
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| Agave applanata on the left, Agave horrida on the right looking downright puny |
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| Mangave ‘Bloodspot’ × Agave titanota on the left, Agave applanata in the middle, Agave horrida on the right |
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| What this corner looked like in June 2021 |
More from Justin’s front yard:
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| Aloe glauca var. spinosior growing in a pocket between rocks |
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| A colorful mix of South African daisies, irises, aloes, field poppies... |
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| ...and California poppies, lachenalias, and much more |
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| Cactus flowers as well |
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| Notice the positively gigantic Agave montana on the right |
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| It’s the largest Agave montana I have personally seen. I wouldn’t be surprised if it flowered soon. |
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| Agave shawii has very showy teeth |
Moving into the backyard:
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| Much of the fence on the west side is covered with purple passionflower (Passiflora sp.) — quite a sight |
Up against the house is a multi-level raised planter that Justin built himself:
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| Agave utahensis var. eborispina |
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| Look at these terminal spines! |
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| Notocactus herteri ssp. roseoluteus (aka Parodia roseolutea) getting ready to burst into flower |
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| Echinocereus dasyacanthus |
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Echinocereus coccineus
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| Justin didn’t have anywhere near as many losses this winter as I did, but he didn’t escape entirely unscathed either |
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| Take a look at this prickly beauty of an aloe |
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| Some of Justin’s potted succulents |
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| I’m particularly fond of the variegated Aloe striata hybrid in the middle |
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| In the backyard, Justin has created several rock garden beds similar to what he did in the front yard |
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| There are some fantastic tapestries |
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| And plants tucked into crevices... |
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| ....like this Dudleya gnoma |
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| Dudleya pachyphytum and Aloinopsis sp. |
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| Aloinopsis sp. |
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| Aloe peglerae |
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| Agave utahensis var. eborispina (more eborispina photos below) |
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| Opuntia aurea |
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| Delosperma sp. |
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| Stomatium sp., a night-blooming mesemb (“ice plant”) |
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| Agave albopilosa |
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| A very special aloe hybrid made by Justin, Aloe polyphylla × Aloe ‘Pink Blush’ |
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It flowers multiple times a year, just like its Aloe ‘Pink Blush’ parent
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| One of several mariposa lilies (Calochortus sp.) in the ground |
And finally a look inside the greenhouse. It’s home to both Justin’s collection and some of the succulents he’s propagating (he will be a vendor at the
2026 San Francisco Succulent Expo from June 19-21, 2026).
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| Lithops in a hollowed-out lava rock |
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| Seed-grown cacti that will be for sale at the 2026 San Francisco Succulent Expo |
Of particular interest to me were the seedlings of
Agave utahensis var.
eborispina and
Agave utahensis var.
nevadensis you see below. Justin grew them from seed we collected on our
Las Vegas trip four years ago. We only took a couple of seed pods of each variety, maybe a few dozen seeds, but the germination rate was excellent. Four years on, the seedlings are still on the small side (this is a very slow-growing species), but they look great. Lots of variability as you can see, particularly in the spines and marginal teeth.
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| Look how different the spines and teeth are. The first three are eborispina, the one on the bottom right is nevadendis. |
Like in previous years, I’ll be helping Justin get his plants ready for the San Francisco Succulent Expo. Maybe I’ll see some of you there?
© Gerhard Bock, 2026. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.
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