-

 Anticipation.  Livermore has been the lucky recipient of another .16" of rain.  And now we are just at the beginning of dancing with freezing temps at night.  Important to note, when we do freeze here it is for a few hours only.  In the very early morning.  I'm trying C9 Christmas lights this year for protection.  Most of these plants are totally fine, but the Agave attenuata (foxtail agave) look terrible come spring.  So I'm hoping the warmth from the lights (plus I have little frost fabric covered domes to add when we actually drop below freezing) help them be their best come warmer weather.  We will see!


It looks kinda cute at night, which surprised me - since my focus was on warming not the look of it.I have several aloes that are giving me -for the first time buds/blooms.  I am over the moon about it.  After the rain, you are not welcome here little snail.

I was surprised to walk around the corner and see a little bud on this Aloe ferox -hybrid I'm guessing. It's in a bit of a princess spot and hasn't bloomed for 3 years, so I'm anxious to see what color the bloom will be.  Any guesses?

The little dudes, Dudleya assortment are coming back to life after the summer scorch.
I'm so excited to see the bloom on this Aloe ferox x. capitata open.  I'm hoping for a dark smudgy red.  
And I've been meaning to share this beautiful orchid - been blooming for months.  It's difficult to get a picture of the bloom & plant together, the blooms are hovering high above.  From Casper Curto's garden in Berkeley.  I'm worried about the cold, but it's been a champ so far.  I may make it a coat.  
So pretty, there are 5 bloom stalks currently.
Thankful for my trusty feline to keep me warm in the cold evenings.  You can see our little house bunny Camille on the ground.  That's why we have the barrier up, she would eat all the houseplants without care that some would poison her.





Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 10, 2023 at 6:28 AM

    What I fantastic garden you have! Good luck with the lights (most interesting idea) and the aloe flowers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousDecember 10, 2023 at 6:31 AM

      Allison @frogend_dweller (not used to Bing sorry)

      Delete
    2. https://tzgarden.blogspot.com/December 10, 2023 at 9:17 AM

      Thank you! I'm anxious to see if this helps.

      Delete
  2. Kris PetersonDecember 10, 2023 at 11:32 AM

    I hope the C9 lights do the trick, Tracy. They look good in any case. No risk of freezes night or day here, thank goodness.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://tzgarden.blogspot.com/December 10, 2023 at 12:50 PM

      You are so lucky! I'm hoping we don't get a huge dousing rain followed by a freeze like we did last year - kiss of death!

      Delete
  3. JeanetteDecember 11, 2023 at 6:35 AM

    Great plants. The cat and bunny are precious.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Alycia~QuiltygirlDecember 11, 2023 at 7:24 AM

    The lights look fabulous!!! and!! you are keeping the plants warm - win win! i never thought about the lights adding heat for the plants -great idea

    ReplyDelete
  5. danger gardenDecember 11, 2023 at 9:53 AM

    We've hit the low 30's/high 20's a few times here but interestingly nothing's really been bit by a serious frost, of course if there were Agave attenuata out in the landscape that would be an entirely different matter! Will you leave the staghorns outdoors thru the winter months?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://tzgarden.blogspot.com/December 12, 2023 at 8:46 AM

      I have one newer staghorn that immediately pouted when the nighttime cold hit. It is recovering nicely in my warm misty shower. The rest have been through a winter or more on the porch and were good. Hopefully they will this year. If we have some drastically cold night, I'll bring them inside to the front room for a sleepover.

      Delete
  6. Carla from The RiverDecember 11, 2023 at 12:28 PM

    I love the lights... doing a job well done also giving the twinkle of the Christmas season to your garden. :-)
    And to answer your question, yes, I do bake my Chex Mix... oh it smells the house up so good.
    xx oo
    Carla

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://tzgarden.blogspot.com/December 12, 2023 at 8:47 AM

      :). Carla, that's the only way to do it, oh it smells so good!

      Delete
  7. Hoover BooDecember 11, 2023 at 1:49 PM

    The two Aloe flowers look to be maybe yellow/gold when they open. The flower buds on my orange-red flowered Aloes tend to start out brown.

    The lighting on the photo with the Dudleyas is especially nice--golden glow, shadow-patterns, backlit fuzzy cacti--the beauty of a winter morning. What palm is that in the upper right may I ask?

    Kitty looks very comfy--just as he should be!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://tzgarden.blogspot.com/December 12, 2023 at 8:58 AM

      I agree with you on the color, I'm asking for a Christmas miracle to hope for red, lol. Thank you, the afternoon sun being so low has been gorgeous. I bought the palm on clearance at Lowe's, I believe it was labeled Majesty? I put it in mainly to shade a Banksia & Hakea near there during the 100's of summer. However it has grown on me, and I hope my clearance buy can handle a little freeze. I will wrap the trunk for Jan/Feb.

      Delete
  8. JoanneDecember 14, 2023 at 12:04 AM

    My aloes flowered for the first time this year. Since then, I have transplanted them all so they are closer to the house and they seem to be thriving. Hardly little devils, aren't they? And stunning when in bloom. Good luck keeping your plants warm. I hope the lighting does the trick for you. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://tzgarden.blogspot.com/December 14, 2023 at 10:07 AM

      Thank you, I'm glad your aloes are enjoying the extra comfort of being next to the house.

      Delete
  9. Beth at PlantPostingsDecember 15, 2023 at 4:57 PM

    Your little pets are so cute. :) And, of course, the plants are amazing! Love the snail shot...and the holiday lights!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gerhard Bock (Succulents and More)December 19, 2023 at 9:10 AM

    P.S. Not thrilled to see slugs/snails making an appearance!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I'd love to hear from you, ~Tracy

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
 Ugh!  I noticed a gaping hole in one of my Golden Barrel cactus when I was wandering through the garden yesterday.  We are in the midst of 3-4 days of rain, which will be followed by a morning freeze - BAD, bad bad.   I will try to lay some poly-tarp on them just for a few days to keep the slope as dry as possible.  I thought being planted on the slope would provide them with enough drainage, and most do seem nice & firm.   These were just planted Spring 2022, if they can make it through this deluge should be fine in the future.   Goo. and more and more goo. 😒 Here is the before - thankfully those big boys Goldens seem solid.  The rot was on a mid size 10" and a much smaller 3".  One portion of the Golden Fox cactus was rotten in our earlier rain in December 2022.  But it looks like the rest of the plant will pull through unscathed.  Fingers crossed. On a positive note, the manzanitas by our driveway smell &...
Read more
-
Image
 Looks like we are headed into a nice drying out period.  Livermore didn't get too overloaded with rain, thankfully.  I'm going to share some more pictures of the Aloes that are beginning to wake up, some of these blooming for me for the first time! Aloe mutabilis  Aloe ferox x capitata -blooms a little damaged from being moved/planted but still that nice fluffy capitata look. It's raining now, but these are so bright it's joyful to look out the kitchen window and see the blooms.  Aloe munchii a little behind but should be open soon - along with A. tangerine  I like this little vignette (by the AC unit) - this area used to hold a too big for the planting bed Bay Laurel.  I liked the laurel, but too tight quarters.  I planted it, I'm the problem it's me.  Ivan helped me get the base of the hefty roots out.  Although I'm seeing the pedilanthus is absolutely NOT taking off against the house.  Which is ridiculous, this is a sweet spot. ...
Read more

Back home

-
Image
I visited Puget Sound with the 2024 Garden Fling for the first 2 days (of 4).  I thought I would post a few of my favorite pictures/moments, as I've not organized all my photos yet.  From Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden.  This blew my mind, not algae but a tiny fern Azolla covering the pond.  I live in such a dry area, this was mindblowingly green.  There was even a little sign warning people not to walk on the water.   Closeup. A private garden on Vashon Island.   Oooh, cones. A sort of natural swimming pond, 7 feet deep on one end. This may be the most inspiring section I saw.  Not just using rock in the slope, but the addition of wood was so great. I left early to visit my parents in Portland, I don't see them enough.  They will be 82 in September.  They are doing great, and had added 40 shrubs to their garden just recently! After moving them in and out of their garage all winter to protect them from the awful freeze. ...
Read more