In the last few years, I've greatly expanded my collection of succulent plants. I'd very few in my former, shady garden but the sunnier, drier garden I inherited with the purchase of our current home 6 years ago seemed to call out for succulents, even before the drought became a significant issue here. Other than a few
Agave attenuata and some ragged
Delosperma, this garden had no succulent plants when we moved in but today I can't even venture a guess as to how many succulent genera I have, much less muster a count of the sheer number of plants I've accumulated since our move-in date. Every time I go to a garden center or nursery, I usually come back with at least one, and often several, succulents. It's on the verge of becoming an addiction.
So, was it a good idea for me to spend last Saturday morning at the
South Bay Cactus & Succulent Society's Show & Sale? I didn't have any specific purchases in mind. I went just to look...I admit that I spent most of my time scouring the sale tables but let's start with the show plants, shall we? Here's a small selection of what was on display:
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| Among other things, this table featured: Aeonium 'Velour', a crested Euphorbia lactea, Mangave 'Pineapple Express' and Mangave 'Kaleidoscope' |
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| My favorites on this table included: Aloe 'David Verity Hybrid', Hydnophytum formicarum (a plant I also recall admiring at last year's show), and Peperomia kimnachii |
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| The plants that drew my attention on this table included: Cyphostemma juttae x cirrhosum, Echeveria 'Etna', Fockea edulis, and Gastrolea 'Green Ice'. The second and the fourth aren't all that unusual, but aren't the specimens perfect? |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, other plants I liked included: Agave victoriae-reginae 'Compacta' (another perfect specimen), Echeveria 'Dick Wright Hybrid', Echinocereus triglochidiatus, Lithops aucampiae, Lithops olivacae, and Neochilenia napina |
One of my favorite displays involved some relatively ordinary but stylishly displayed succulents:
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| Through inadvertent eavesdropping, I learned that this contributor is a local TV weather forecaster. As I recall, I enjoyed some of her creative presentations in prior years too. |
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| This piece featuring Sansevieria and Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' was entitled "Lift Off: Fly Me to the Moon" |
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| This one, constructed using noID Aeonium and what I think may be Senecio barbertonicus, was called "The Eagle Has Landed: One Small Step for Man..." |
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| This one, featuring Kalanchoe luciae and noID Tillandsia, was entitled "Succulent Galaxy: Does Anyone Out There Hear Us?" |
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| And finally, this one with Aeonium 'Sunburst' and Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire' was entitled "Houston: We Have a Problem" |
The sale areas were packed and just about impossible to photograph. Here's one display that particularly intrigued me:
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| EMT Design Studios had numerous succulent displays in both the show and sale areas but I was particularly attracted to these succulent kokedama. I don't like most kokedama but I liked these and, after-the-fact, regretted that I didn't bring one home with me. |
Even though I passed up on the kokedama succulents, I certainly didn't leave empty-handed. In fact, when my sale was tallied by the cashier, I actually blinked. Here's my haul:
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Back row, left to right: Sedum oxypetalum, Senecio macroglossus, Aeonium nobile, and Aloe cameronii
Middle row: Crassula platyphylla, Rosularia murtagadhensis, noID Echeveria, and Agave macroacantha
Front: Albuca spiralis |
Two plants were tucked into pots but the rest found homes in the garden. Now, if I could just clear out some of that ivy and honeysuckle on the back slope, maybe I could find myself some more room...
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
