Succulents and More™

Another week and weekend without rain. Isolated cells dropped some H₂O near us, but our part of Davis remained dry. However, downtown Sacramento's record of 212 consecutive days without measurable precipitation was broken, and that counts for something. A sunny and mild weekend meant I was able to get work done in relative comfort. Project #1 involved relocating the plant producing the mass of strappy green leaves you see in the photo below: Drimia maritima  (green leaves) and  Euphorbia characias  'Tasmanian Tiger' The wavy leaves belong to Drimia maritima , commonly known as giant sea squill, a bulb native to the Mediterranean basin. Its leaves emerge in the fall and die back in late spring. In mid-summer, it produces tall inflorescences with masses of small white flowers ( see photo here taken at the UC Davis Arboretum).  I don't know if Drimia maritima  is the largest bulb in the plant world, but it's got to be close. According to Wikipedia , Drimia maritim...

Another weekend, another bout of weekend warrioring. This time I went a bit easier on myself because of ongoing shoulder issues and some pain from a recent flu shot. Plus, I kept getting distracted by pretty sights like these: Guernsey lily ( Nerine sarniensis ) in full flower, set off beautifully by a backdrop of hechtias and agaves. Unfortunately, the flower stalk snapped off in yesterday's high winds. Multi-branched Aloe fosteri  inflorescence nearing its peak With its orange and yellow flowers, Aloe fosteri  is the perfect Halloween aloe ↴  Last weekend's main project involved a bunch of flagstone remnants I originally got at Urban Ore Ecopark in Berkeley: The goal was to build a raised planter in this spot along the sidewalk that had been empty since early May. It had been the former home of  Agave 'Crazy Horse' , which I removed because it had grown too large—and was producing too many pups on rather long runners. At the time, I wasn't sure which replacement ...

In a typical week, I spend Monday through Friday chained to my desktop computer. Garden interactions are brief and limited to looking or taking quick snapshots. But on Saturday morning, I spring into action.  Throughout the summer and fall, the first order of business is handwatering the pots in the back and front yard that aren't on drip irrigation. That takes a solid two hours. Then I move on to the chores on my list, whatever they might be that particular weekend.  By the end of the day, my back—and muscles that go unused during the week—often ache. Even if I don't complain much, my wife somehow can tell: “Overdid the weekend warrior things again, didn't you?,” is a typical response. To which I offer my grumbling assent. Weekend warrioring may not be the must efficient way to get things done, but for many of us, it's the only way, sore muscles and all. Here's what I got done this past weekend. Project 1: Move out agave, move in cycad The agave you see in the pho...

It's been a beautiful weekend with plenty of sunshine and daytime highs in the 70s. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any rain since mid-March, and nothing in the forecast. I spent Saturday fixing broken drip emitters and running new spur lines to plants added since fall. Then I turned on the irrigation system for the first time since November. I've started to use blue flags to mark spots that need attention, either repairs or new emitters: New emitters needed, but when I created this mound, I buried the main irrigation line. Duh! I love the two clumping bamboos left in the front yard, but they shed more leaves than a golden retriever does hair. After several windy days last week, this is what the path looked like: The chore that never ends.... I also moved some plants, put a few others in the ground, and repotted some Agave pintilla  and Hechtia michoacana  seedlings. And I spent quite a bit of time enjoying what's in bloom right now: L-R:  Helichrysum thianschanicum...