Bring Out Your Dead

 

 

This is the time of year when we start looking at what made it through the winter and what might be D.Y.K. (Dead You Know.) Here are  a few of the plants that surprised me by surviving and some that shocked me by throwing in the towel. 

 

 I think it's safe to assume that Agave weberi will be compost soon.  Although I'd sheltered it from the rain and the soil was bone dry, it was simply not meant to be.  I loved it's sculptural presence.  There are a couple of pups that look o.k. so maybe I'll have smaller ones to play with.

That brown pile of goo used to be Melianthus major.  I've another in a less sheltered bed that sailed through the winter and has fresh new green growth already. Go figure.

 A big surprise was the sudden death a few weeks ago of this Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' I've others that look fabulous. 

I'm thrilled that Pittosporum 'Tom Thumb' made it unscathed.  I've tried and failed a couple of times with this beauty.  Third try's the charm.  Soon the chartreuse new growth will  cover this burgundy bush.  It's a spectacular foliar show!

 This was the first winter that I tried leaving some opuntias outside.  This cute little chubby guy came from Cistus last year and seems to be very happy.

 This one came from Stephen at Beech Street Gardens.  Other than the fact that I planted it a little too high, it looks great and hasn't paid any attention to the rain.

Opuntia 'Santa Rita' was not amused in the least.  This puppy was too large to lug inside for the winter  and every time I looked at it glochids flew across the garden at me.  I swear the damned thing could throw them.  Just the other day, a hose brushed a pad as I was putting it away and glochids got all over my hands. 

While the bottom is toast, some of the topmost pads look as if they might be viable.  I'll get out some tongs and a knife and take any clean looking pads to the plant exchange.    Much as I enjoy the  good  looks of this plant and it's kin with the cute fuzzy looking tufts, I'd much rather be stabbed by spines than coated by the nearly invisible fur of pain.  I was going to call it the Pear of Anguish but it seems that name is already taken by another instrument of torture.

I've several other opuntias which I love and THEY don't attack me!

 

 

Crinodendron hookerianum looks fabulous and has flower buds.  This is a great evergreen bloomer from Chile

This lovely evergreen prostrate camellia made it through the two Phromium killing winters and bloomed its head off with cute little single shell pink lightly fragrant flowers. I couldn't believe that it died this year.

 

Phormium Guardsman and Cordyline pink passion are looking happy.  They got dragged into the glass room for the coldest month of the year but spent the rest of the winter in this sheltered area.   They're ready to be moved back out into the garden.  Hooray! 

 

Oh well, you gotta win a little, loose a little...