Guess who I ran into
at the Ruth Bancroft sidewalk sale? GERHARD of succulentsandmore fame!
New sidewalk planting, well new to me.
I found this photo of our first visit. My son Vincent collecting agave or aloe pups. Time flies!
We must have spent time exploring Walnut Creek, a week prior we visited Lindsay Wildlife Rehab .
This grizzly bear attacked Vincent, thankfully Sophia was there to save him!
This hybrid between the very tall reddish pink flowering Aloe barberae from Natal and the yellow flowering more shrubby Aloe ramosissima of the Northern Cape was created by aloe enthusiast Sarmis Luters.
We purchased our stock plant of this cultivar in the auction of the Aloe Summit held at Lotusland in 2013 and named it 'Samson' in 2016 at the time that we first started selling this plant. At that time, we were unaware of any other aloes having this name, but since we have become aware of other hybrid aloes sharing it, including a plant only listed as a Quiver Tree (Aloe dichotoma) hybrid from De Wett Aloes in South Africa and a Aloe dichotoma cross with Aloe barberae (the reverse of the parentage of the popular Aloe 'Hercules) that is offered by Rancho Soledad Nursery. This name confusion has prompted Jeff Chemnick at Aloes in Wonderland to use the name 'Spartacus' for this same plant instead. As this plant's parents have been reclassified as species of Aloidendron, this hybrid would correctly be called Aloidendron 'Samson', Aloidendron 'Spartacus' or whatever other superhero name gets applied to it.
As luck would have it, there were 4 available. As I was walking toward the back tent, one was being whisked away on a cart. Ah, run! I nabbed the 2nd one, the last 2 were quickly snagged.
Back home with the beast, no damage. In all the excitement and adrenaline rush from the day,
I managed to get this out of the car myself. It even has a little bloom!
It was so great to run into Gerhard and his friend, Michele. We shopped, Gerhard picked out the best Agave victoriae-reg. 'White Rhino" for me. He has the most exquisite 'White Rhino' in his collection, so I was in good hands. If I had 2, I'd want to wear them as earrings.
He talked about how he went about picking the rocks from different quarries. A behemoth job! This little fern, Pellaea *ThanksG. looked so cute tucked in (sorry I don't remember the name).
Agave nickelsiae, so pretty it hurts.
Perfect trio of Agave victoriae-reginae.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend!
You seem to hobnob with the highfliers, so I guess you are one of them.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha, that is hilarious!
DeleteI instantly identified who you were talking about when I read your post's title. You two are lucky to have RBG so close. I'm so sad about San Marcos Growers closing but I'm happy you (and Gerhard) had the opportunity to snag some plants. I've put off my annual visit to Seaside Gardens in Carpinteria until January, which in retrospect is probably a big mistake as I'd guess that nursery also picked up some of SMG's stock. I look forward to seeing your purchases planted in your garden, though.
ReplyDeleteWe arrived at the same time, too. I need to visit the garden more often, it was an easy 35 minute drive -as long as it isn't rush hour(s). Maybe you can check Seaside Gardens inventory? Carpinteria must be a long drive - almost to Santa Barbara!
DeletePhoto 7 of "Aloe ferox": is that a hummingbird I spy, center top?
ReplyDeleteThis is a fabulous garden. The protective area was re-done some years ago and had since became a favorite of mine and a joy to read about whenever someone posts about the RBG. So much inspiration to be had for a gardener who just happen to be re-doing their entire front garden :-D
Agave Queen Victoria is my favorite, bested only by Agave Kind Ferdinand: indeed so gorgeous it hurts.
Whatever that silvery, "bushy bushy blond hair doooo" thing is, it's very cool and unusual.
Chavil
Good eye, I didn't see the hummingbird at the time. They were everywhere. You are right, it was great inspiration. It also made me calm down and realize it's not all done at once. I couldn't ID the bush silvery thing on my phone - I like it, I wish I knew what it was.
DeleteLooks like my kind of day…so many wonderful plants! I would want them all! The giant Aloe and Lachenalia quadricolor are very cool! I am sure they will fit well into your garden.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lee, it was such a fun day!
DeleteHi Tracy, it's Michele, Gerhard's friend. Wanted to say again how nice it was to meet you in person at the RBG sale! Also want to point out that the Causarina glauca is actually 'Cousin It' with one 'T'; it's the low-growing Acacia cognata that is 'Cousin Itt' with two 'T's (just to make life confusing!!)
ReplyDeleteHi Michele (with one l!). I corrected the spelling of your name and my typo, thank you. Great to meet you :).
DeleteAmazing stuff.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fabulous place!
DeleteSuch an amazing garden and plants! I hope to see some photos of your garden with the plants you acquired here. All this flora is so exotic to me! I wonder if any of these plants would grow in my area? Probably not too well, our climate being so different.
ReplyDeleteSome cacti are amazingly tough with cold, agaves & opuntias. But it's prolonged wet that will do them in. I love seeing gardens that are different from mine, too!
DeleteI always enjoy looking at your pictures of plants that are so unfamiliar to me.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jeff the Chef!
DeleteAh... what a day! So glad you were both there to scoop up some treasures. I need to get back to see that crevice garden. Where abouts in the garden is it?
ReplyDeleteYes, I'll meet you there - you could id some of the ferns. It was fairly close to the shade structure. I would guesstimate the crevice garden is NW of the shade structure by about 200 feet?
DeleteGuess who *I* ran into? Tracy of tz_garden fame!!! So much fun shopping and walking the garden with you!
ReplyDeleteP.S. The little fern is a Pellaea, but I don't remember the species.
DeleteIt was a fabulous morning :). *Thanks for the id., I'll go back and add it!
DeleteA great day for you. The treasures and the meet up of dear friends. Thank you for all the photos today.
ReplyDeleteAnd going back into time, it was fun to see your son with all the pups.
Ah, thanks Carla! He's a full grown adult now, I can't believe how fast the time goes.
DeleteSo pretty it hurts. That pretty much describes most of the agaves in today's post. The victoriae-reginae specimens and White Rhino are spectacular. Lucky you.
ReplyDelete