Another Surprise Flower

I bought a Pleiospilos nelii this year simply because it had a bud ready to open. I thought. Brought it home, repotted it with two others that I bought with it, Pleiospilos nelii royal flush, just because they were a pretty purple color. I waited a couple of days in...

The Conophytum Bloomed!

Three years ago I ordered this little plant from Plants for the Southwest, a specialty nursery in Tucson I learned about at one of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America’s conventions a few years ago. Conophytum pearsonii is not a variety you will see in the big...

One Agave Bed Calls for Another!

I had so much fun creating the new agave bed I told you about a few days ago (“The New Agave Bed,” August 9, 2020), I decided to do another one. The patch of zebra grass at the back of the garden had not looked good for the last few years. I couldn’t keep it wet...

My New Agave Bed

The Russian sage was not performing well. I realized that part of the garden had nothing going on; it was basically wasted space. Then I watched a Cactus and Succulent Society of America webinar with Kelly Griffin talking about agaves. He shared a picture of one of...

A Nice Surprise from Turbinicarpus Horripilus

I brought home a nice Turbinicarpus horripilus gold spines from the CCSA (Cactus and Succulent Society of America) convention last year in San Luis Obispo, planted it in a dish garden, and then  got busy doing other things and didn’t look at it very closely as I...

Blue Barrel Cactus Make a Beautiful Bloom

Echinocactus horizonthalonius, sometimes called eagle claw or blue barrel and sometimes mistaken for Echinocactus texensis, the horse crippler,  is native to the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts, northern Mexico and the Trans-Pecos area of Texas. I have six...