GARDENING SUCCS
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A Tribute to Furry Succ-ers

5/22/2014

 
As you know, my partner and I lost our beloved furry pal, Scout, last week.  (Here's a free lesson: never have just one pet.  Coming home to a quiet pet-less house is awful if it's not what you're used to.) 

I asked readers to share pictures of their own animal gardening buddies, and I was touched that so many of you did!  Thank you for the heartwarming pictures and condolences.  Here are the pictures of succ-er pets that readers sent in:
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Shana is happy!
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Missy excels at guarding the sanseveria.
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Kiko is 15-16 years old and still full of love.
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Another succ-er friend. Chillin'.
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This succ-er's furry friends eat the garden, so here's a picture of an unnamed helper instead!
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Wheee!
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Peaches lies in the shade while her dad works in the garden
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Lizard-chasing Lucy
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These kids love watching their mom garden.
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I'm kind of in love with this little guy, Wednesday, based on his picture alone.
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Lily's mom says Lily is great at finding purrrfect containers for succulents
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Pepper spends every day in the greenhouse with his people!
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Tytus!
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Since I am so sad about losing my Scout, Pepper offered to let me play with his rat. Thanks, Pepper!
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Sugar, aka "Fattie," poses with greenery.
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A succ-er's beloved dog, Deja, passed away in February.
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Can a garden be complete without a cat? Highly debatable...
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This is another Scout! *This* Scout belongs to Candy of Sweetstuff's Sassy Succulents.
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Candy's Scout again! Is this a cute picture or what?
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Oreo guarding a variegated Agave americana
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Wesley "helps" by trying to eat everything in the container garden.
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Sadly, this lovely grey cat passed away last month.
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A Succulent Fanatic's pic of his kids
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Abbey and Noggin are rescue dogs who love to ride in anything, wheelbarrow included!
What a cute bunch! 

I know there are a lot of pets out there that need good homes, like Scout did almost a decade ago, and maybe eventually I'll be able to give another dog or two a good home.  For now, I suspect I'd just be wandering after the new pet despondently, wondering why it isn't in magic psychic connection with me like Scout was.  I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again to all of the succ-ers who sent in pictures of their furry gardening companions.  It helps so much to see all those wonderful pets enjoying lives alongside their wonderful people!

A Tribute to Scout

5/18/2014

 
Well, dear succ-ers, I have some bad news.  My wonderful, beloved succulent mutt, Scout, has moved on to the big succulent garden in the sky.  She was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of liver cancer back in November, and the vets expected her to live only a month or two.  But with the help of chemo, love, generosity, and prayer, she lasted six months.  They were good months, too--up until the day before she died, she was enjoying walks, treats, and laying in the sun.  And up to her very last moments on earth, she loved cuddling with her moms.

It's hard to put into words how much I loved this dog, and what a faithful companion she was through some rough times.  And, of course, she hung out with me while I gardened!  Granted, on her part there was more relaxation than actual gardening, but she helped out by
chasing cats, highlighting previously undiscovered patches of afternoon sunshine, and letting me know when it was too cold to stay outside.

I know that some of you, dear readers, also have animal companions who are your buddies in gardening and life.  As a tribute to Scout, I would LOVE it if you'd email me a picture or two of your pet(s) in your yard/garden.  Just email me the photo, along with your pet's name and anything you'd like me to say about him or her in the caption.  Meanwhile, here are a few photos of Scout. 
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Me and Scouters at Stanford's Arizona Garden
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At the beach
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Patrolling the front deck was crucial.
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On the back deck
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"The sun's pretty good over here, Mom."
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"Oh, I was just going to guard these for a while."
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"Although I AM pretty comfortable."
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"Why do you always wake me up so early?"
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These last two pictures might be my favorite, because they remind me of some of the best, nicest, most relaxing times I've had in the past two years or so since I started succulent gardening: Scout hanging out with me on the front deck while I planted, and Scout curled up on my legs or my lap on the back deck. 

I sure miss her. 

Rest in peace, my dear friend.

Ruth Bancroft Visit: Photos, Round 2

5/14/2014

 
I'm not going to pretend that my photos are as cool as Liz's, but I thought I'd share them nonetheless.  (And, hey, not bad for iPhone photos, eh?)  The Ruth Bancroft Garden is also featured, I just discovered, in a book that came out less than a year ago: Succulent Paradise.

Let's start with a few agaves, shall we?
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I went wild for this variegated agave parryi, which I *think* is synonymous with agave "excelsior." Can anyone confirm this? It was sprouting about a dozen pups! I only hope my excelsior will eventually do the same...
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Can someone please ID this for me?
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A baby agave victoria-reginae, nestled among rocks
Next, a few aloes.  It's tough to capture the grandeur of the aloes here.  There were really some amazing specimens, including huge aloe nobilis and aloe striata, of which I have no decent pictures.  My favorite aloe, though, was the one immediately below this text, and to the right.
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As regular readers of this blog are already aware, I am a bit of a haworthia geek.  I may or may not have squealed aloud with glee when I saw a whole bunch of gorgeous haworthia truncata of various types, shades, and sizes growing among the rocks in a shaded area.  Observe:
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This was the largest cluster. Nice, thick windows and lime-green coloration.
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Haworthia are so cool in "wild" settings.
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Also a truncata, but so different!
Although I wasn't always the world's biggest gasteria fan, I have to admit that they've grown on me more and more...  particularly en masse and variegated!
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And sempervivums (doesn't it seem like it should be "semperviva?") abounded:
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A veritable carpet of cobwebbed semps!
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This was labeled as an echeveria, which it is not.
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Scout, my succulent mutt and constant companion, looks up at me, ready for a water break.
Can we talk about terrestrial bromeliads for a moment?  ...Actually, I don't have much to say about them; I just love the phrase "terrestrial bromeliad"--though these dyckia look extraterrestrial to me.  I love the combinations of purples and greens.
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Onto echeverias.  Like (nearly) everything else in the Ruth Bancroft Garden, most of the echeverias weren't labeled.  Ruth Bancroft (who is alive and kicking at over 100 years old!) doesn't like the way labels can detract from plants in a garden, which I can understand.
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This echeveria was arrested during our visit because its colors were disturbing the peace.
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Echeveria "Wham-Ka-Zaam." (I am sufficiently chagrined by my inability to name everything that I have started making names up.)
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Okay, okay, echeverias. We GET it--you're gorgeous. But why do you have to keep flaunting it with your parades and your rainbow of colors?
Last but not least...  cacti!  The RBG is home to dozens, maybe hundreds, of cacti varieties.  It's a great time to visit the garden, because many of them are in bloom right now.  A few favorites:
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I believe that this is a silver torch cactus (Cleistocactus strausii). My mom pointed out that it looks like a fuzzy little bird from this angle!
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Mammilaria matudae (I think), waiting to get big enough that it can flop over and prowl the ground.
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Ferocactus something, I bet. (Hey, I never promised you a cactus garden.)
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A spectacular bloom!
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More spectacular blooms!
Bottom line: if you're anywhere in Northern California, it's worth the drive to Walnut Creek to check out the Ruth Bancroft Garden!  (Especially if you're meeting your awesome parents for sushi.)  And be sure to check out their nursery, too--they had several hard-to-find plants at pretty reasonable prices.  Ta ta for now, succ-ers!

Ruth Bancroft Garden Visit...  Photos, Round 1

5/12/2014

 
My partner, Liz, and I spent Saturday celebrating Mothers' Day with my parents at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, CA.  The RBG was even better than I expected, in part because they allow dogs AND have tables that make picnicking easy.  My parents picked up sushi for the picnic 'cause that's how we roll.  (Get it?  Sushi?  Roll?  Hahaha.)  We had a great time, enjoying the gardens and the nursery, where my mom and I each picked up a mangave bloodspot for $8. 

I need to cull through my own photos and will post those in a few days, but meanwhile I wanted to share Liz's, which I thought were absolutely amazing.  Here's a tiny fraction of 'em:

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Echeveria agavoides
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The colors on this aloe were just breathtaking!
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Cactus buds (silver torch?)
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Mammilaria buds
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Echeveria flowers
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Euphorbia obesa. Possibly my favorite of Liz's photos from the day. I want to frame this and put it on our wall!
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Echeveria subrigada, which I always thought was pronounced "sub-ree-GAW-duh," but then someone at RBG pronounced it "sub-RIDGE-uh-duh," which sounded like it was probably correct. Anyone want to weigh in?
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Unknown cactus buds. I love the color and detail.
All in all, the RBG was more than worth the 90-minute drive from our house.  And thanks to my parents' b-day present to me, I can get in for free all year as a member!  Yay!  Can't wait to go back.  I'll share some of my own photography from the day (albeit inferior) soon. 

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