Holding pattern

I'm feeling energized, we're in a nice pocket of sunny days.  Lots of Aloes are in the beginning throes of their winter show.  Aloe 'Moonglow' a gift of 2 cuttings from Gerhard at Succculentsandmore. Outstanding that they both produced blooms when there were not even roots in April!

Here you can see both, I thought they'd be lovely repeated.  Plus a Grevillea 'Moonlight" back by the fence, hopefully they all show up at once. 

I'll post more aloes as they perform, close is Aloe ferox x. capitata

I'm so anxious to start planting the front, but I want to get the "bigger" specimens in first.  Then work from there, adding rocks, other plants.  Back in November, I ordered a few larger aloes from Dry Oasis Plants. He posted that he had his last order from San Marcos Growers 😢 and I couldn't resist the opportunity.  Hans said I could pick them up whenever I wanted. 

Well, the time is here - Ivan, Sophia and I will make the trek out to Half Moon Bay to pick up on Saturday, January 17.  The trip will be more fun with my cohorts, and Ivan is excellent at packing up a plant haul!

One plant I'm especially excited about, Aloe ferox "White Flower Form". Hans sent this photo yesterday. I don't know how this will initially react being moved from Santa Barbara, to a greenhouse in Half Moon Bay and now to Livermore.  Overall, ferox are very hardy here - it will just be harsher, colder & hotter than it's lived through. 

So I've kept my afternoons full of leaf, grass & weed mucking. Look at that awful mat of whatever stupid weed that is.  I just plowed my hand in and pulled big sections of it up.  

Olives on agaves! *From the neighbor's tree, they are beautiful but very messy trees. 

I used a spent aloe leaf to clear leaves out, it worked so well!  It reminded me of a witches finger. 

Better, now I need to wield the blower around to get the agaves & aloes really clean. 

I keep trimming the babies off this Aloe rupestris, I wish it would take the hint.  I have another rupestris that is solitary, I'm not sure why this one is so broody.

I kept after this Aloe Helenae the same way, and it seems to have given up?  It's also not blooming, so maybe she's just really ticked off. 

Well, this made me go "huh"?  A dahlia (hellstrip) that didn't show it's face all summer has decided to leaf & bloom in January.  Clever. 

Another "huh" - aren't nasturtium leaves usually round?  I threw seed around the chicken coop at least 10 years ago, the chickens loved eating them.  I still have nasturtiums pop up here and there.  

Something I forgot to share, back in December I hung soil warming cable in the lath house.  It's that thin orange wire looped around.  Why not give a temperature boost to orchids and Tillandsia hanging in there.  You can feel it is warm to the touch.  Like a lot of things I do, it's probably not needed - but it was cheap and took no time. 

I think this Codonanthe devosiana 'Zizo' is cute, in or out of bloom.  Flowers are white, followed by orange berries. 

Finally, Echeveria 'Sea Dragon' curly in the sun.  What do you feel about those crunckelated parts? They used to give me the willies.  In fact, I used to think they should've named it "Cauliflower Ear".  

That's a wrap.  I'm SO excited for the upcoming trip to Half Moon Bay.  I'm sure we'll make a stop at the nurseries there as well as Dry Oasis.  If only I had an unlimited budget and a U-Haul!