Succulents are beautiful in a bouquet.
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As a Crown Garden Club member, it was my turn to do the library flowers for our public library. My philosophy about floral design is that I try not to buy any arranging materials; instead, if possible, I try to harvest everything from my garden. As usual, succulents rule the day, mainly because I have so many of them growing around the yard. I love designing with succulents, but I do get counted against in the flower show because I’m not using “traditional” materials. To that rule, I say poo-poo.
Here’s my finished product for today’s design. I wouldn’t say it’s my best design, but I’m happy. Really, how can you go wrong with succulents! I used aeoniums, aloes, and a couple of echeverrias for accent, arranged in an old trophy I bought at a garage sale. When I bring the arrangement home, it will go on display in the house for another month or two, then I’ll replant the pieces out in the yard.
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I love this time of year. Aloe ‘arborescens’ are blooming all over the place. I was driving down the Silver Strand on Thursday and there are massive clumps blooming in the median divide.
On the beach walkway in front of the Hotel del Coronado cottages, the color of the aloe blooms adds a lot to their succulent landscaping.
I love the way the torches sprout up as tight buds. Can you tell which side gets the sun? That’s the side that will start blooming first. (An observation I made last year when I apparently had way too much time on my hands, or was procrastinating on another project, which was more likely the case!)
In my own garden, the aloes are about a month behind schedule, so I’ll have blooms out there in January. Can’t wait!
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When most of our gardens are resting and not looking their best, succulents are putting on a great show. I’ve got a little clump of aloe arborscens planted around my jacaranda tree in the front yard. This year I’m having a good show of aloe blooms: tall, deep orange, and reaching for the sky.
The plants were cuttings taken from a friend’s garden. It’s taken two years, but the plants are filling in nicely and are finally mature enough to put out blooms.
Here’s a tight flower bud that appeared when the bloom spikes first came up early in December.
Now the aloes are in perfect form. It’s a beautiful sight when I drive up to the house.
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To the Cockroach who stole my beautiful aloe:
Gardeners share, they don’t steal.
If you had asked me, I would have happily, and generously, given you a pup from this plant. Instead, there’s a hole in the ground. May you feel guilty every time you look at your conquest.
P.S. Nice touch, taking the time to pull out all the flowering stalks and leaving those behind for me.
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