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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Foliage Follow Up/Wednesday Vignette - Some Like it Hot!


Much of the foliage in my garden looks a bit weary of the heat and dry weather but some are looking positively radiant.

Cacti and succulents love the heat.  Notice the Yucca recurvifolia 'Margaritaville' on the left.  It's one of four that were a gift from Hoover Boo at Piece of Eden several years ago.  They've grown nicely and need to find a place in the ground this fall.


I'm relatively new to this group of plants and have only this year learned that they do enjoy water during the growing season and even a bit of dilute fertilizer.  While they survived for the past few years, some have shown their appreciation of better treatment by putting on new growth.



This collection has grown to the point that many don't get to spend the summer outside in the danger gardenette.
 In three of the purple plastic pots are the spawn of Moby, the late Agave ovatifolia from the garden of Pam Penick.  Pam is the host of Foliage Follow-Up which occurs on the day after Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and reminds us of the important role foliage plays in our gardens every day of the year. Click here to join the fun.

My own Agave ovatifolia will someday be joined in the ground by Ishmael, Ahab, and Elijah, Moby's progeny. 





 Lithops are spreading very slowly. 

The NoID blue cactus is a new addition this year.  What a captivating color!

Fasciated Opuntia 'Thetag'sintheresomewhere' 

 Cylindropuntia (Cholla) found by the side of the road beneath a free sign four years ago.  Someone had removed a huge plant and there were large chunks of it scattered all over the place.

The danger gardenette. It'll be interesting this fall to see how all of this will fit back in the greenhouse won't it?  Stay tuned to see if it can be done.

Meanwhile, the Cascade Cactus and Succulent Society's "Odd Plant Show and Sale" will take place on September 9 and 10 at Sky Nursery in Seattle.  Since the migration won't take place until October, there'll probably be a few more plants to wrangle after that event.

This'll be my contribution for Wednesday Vignette hosted by Anna at Flutter and Hum

Plant life in the soggy Pacific Northwest.
What green goodness is catching your eye this month?  

21 comments:

  1. I think that may be larger than a gardinette!!! Love that weird Opuntia and the lovely hairy growth on the cactus higher up in the post. Looks like you should just pet it. . .And terrific names for Moby's progeny.

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    1. It is fun to pet that furry cactus. The "fir" is a bit coarse but sometimes one just can't resist!

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  2. Looking grand! And let's not speak of the great migration quite yet...

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  3. I'm with Loree -- don't talk about bringing stuff in yet. Anxiety thinking about it... let's just enjoy your huge collection!

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    1. You're absolutely right. I'd like to pretend that summer will never end.

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  4. Honestly, I think you have more cactus and succulents than I do! Maybe 2x as many by the look of it. How did that happen? Wait, I momentarily forgot about your varied nursery trip posts...

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    1. Some of them came from box stores as tiny things with dyed straw flowers glued to them.

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  5. I really enjoyed seeing all of these weird plants in person! :-)

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    1. The oddities amuse me and require so little to survive. It was a delight to have you visit my laboratory.

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  6. Such a wonderland of plant life, Peter! It's truly impressive. I think I'm going to move more toward containers next year. They make it a little more difficult for the rabbits to reach the plants. Your Agave is wonderful!

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    1. Bunnies are so cute but I'm thankful that my garden isn't visited by them.

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  7. Holy Crap! "Relatively new to this group of plants"!? I can't even begin to imagine what it will look like if you happen to become even slightly serious about these things! Thanks for making me feel entirely frugal and responsible ;)
    Your furry cactus makes me a little uncomfortable. He needs to put that thing away.

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    1. The collection started with gifts and pass along plants from other gardeners about six years ago but recently grew quite a bit when I inherited most of someone else's collection.

      I'll let the furry cactus know! :)

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  8. Oh snap! Fertilizer! I meant to give my front porch succulents some fertilizer this year and totally forgot. I wonder if it's too late. I was amazed how many succulents you still had living in the greenhouse when I visited on your Open Garden day. The danger gardenette is looking good.

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    1. You could give them a bit now but they'll be fine without it until next spring. Whichever works for you. Truth be told, quite a few of the greenhouse plants live inside the house but got moved out for a summer vacation and to fill up empty space.

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  9. I envy your lithops. I have tried to grow them several times and they have died each time. I can't figure out what I do to make them so...dead. Yours look great sitting there looking like rocks. Your succulent/cactus groups are also enviable. I like this group of plants. The tall blue one is gorgeous. Your moby is admirable. Lucky to be able to have it outside.

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  10. That collection is REALLY impressive. I envy your lithops. We've killed the few we've tried.

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  11. I was so lazy this year that there was limited migration to the great out-of-doors. On the upside, that will make the great Fall migration a snap.

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  12. It's a very good thing that some plants do indeed like it hot.

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  13. Impressive collection, Peter. I'm already feeling nervous about them all getting back inside!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.