"Pinwheel" aeonium
The Succulent Extravaganza is an annual event at Succulent Gardens in Castroville, CA (the artichoke capital of the country--w00t!). I'd never been to the event before--though I'd been to the Gardens once--and it was awesome. So many people obsessed with succs all in one place. Plus, the selection was incredible, the speakers were great, and the gardens were extra-beautiful. I'll share some highlights.
This may look a lot to you like a huge, entire bed of agave "blue glow" and "blue flame..." and OMG, you're RIGHT! Is that color awesome or what? It's no wonder these little suckers have been getting so popular with succ-ers in recent years.
Fun fact: Both these kinds of agave produce few offshoots and are grown in a lab using tissue cultures (as opposed to offshoots or seeds). They're two of the very few kinds not grown on-site at Succulent Gardens. I happen to have a lovely blue glow agave at home, and very nearly acquired a blue flame on Friday, but they were a little picked over, plus I'd agreed ahead of time to a $50 spending limit, and I actually stuck to it!
Fun fact: Both these kinds of agave produce few offshoots and are grown in a lab using tissue cultures (as opposed to offshoots or seeds). They're two of the very few kinds not grown on-site at Succulent Gardens. I happen to have a lovely blue glow agave at home, and very nearly acquired a blue flame on Friday, but they were a little picked over, plus I'd agreed ahead of time to a $50 spending limit, and I actually stuck to it!
Here's a close-up of one of the blue glow agaves in the bed depicted above. Sooo beautiful, right? And in this pic, it's not even back-lit. The back-lit ones are even cooler, as Candy of Sweetstuff's Sassy Succulents shows here. (I really like her blog--you should subscribe to it, which if you're reading this, you probably already do.)
It was a tad weird at the event, because I was one of the youngest people by a lot. I also felt practically giddy with energy and couldn't stop jumping around, which may or may not have frightened the other attendees. (A short aside: the Succulent Extravaganza also felt very female and very white. Debra Lee Baldwin says more men are into cacti, which certainly appeared to be the case two days later at the Cactus & Succulent Society of San Jose's show, which we visited on Sunday--it was also very white, and almost entirely male-dominated!)
It was a tad weird at the event, because I was one of the youngest people by a lot. I also felt practically giddy with energy and couldn't stop jumping around, which may or may not have frightened the other attendees. (A short aside: the Succulent Extravaganza also felt very female and very white. Debra Lee Baldwin says more men are into cacti, which certainly appeared to be the case two days later at the Cactus & Succulent Society of San Jose's show, which we visited on Sunday--it was also very white, and almost entirely male-dominated!)
One of the plants with which my girlfriend permitted me to leave was a small, beautiful Agave Attenuata. Not the one pictured, which I believe is called Kara's Stripe, but a little teensy one that cost a mere $5! I took it home and planted it in an unusual pot that's kind of a dull brown color, being sure to leave plenty of room for the roots to grow. As you might know, agave are notorious for growing such big roots that they bust open their pots! I'm not sure the color contrast of the pot and the agave would inspire anyone, but it looks better than it sounds. Maybe I'll post a picture sometime.
In addition to the succulents I picked up for myself, which I'll describe in more detail in a future post, a friend gave me a $20 limit to pick up three succulents for her. I chose this gorgeous array of soft green tones with dark rose highlights, and she loved them! I'm told that they are now living happily on her windowsill.
In addition to the succulents I picked up for myself, which I'll describe in more detail in a future post, a friend gave me a $20 limit to pick up three succulents for her. I chose this gorgeous array of soft green tones with dark rose highlights, and she loved them! I'm told that they are now living happily on her windowsill.
Does your mouth water looking at these, too, or am I just a weirdo?
Here's a closer-up pic of an agave blue flame at Succulent Gardens. You can see how it got its name. This picture doesn't even do it justice.
The speakers were pretty good, too. I was only there on Friday, so I didn't get to hear as many as I would have liked, but I'll talk about two. First, Debra Lee Baldwin. You can't be into succulents for two minutes without hearing her name. Her Friday talk was about different projects you can do with succulents, and included lots of great photo inspiration. My girlfriend and I both got a little weak in the knees seeing her in person, and we may or may not have gasped aloud a few times during her presentation. Whatever. Don't judge me.
Some aeoniums. Because why not?
The other talk I loved was by Flora Grubb. She owns the mind-blowingly cool nursery of the same name in San Francisco, which I've had the privilege of visiting twice. Flora was uber-charming, and her subject was "What's Next for Succulents?" What, you ask, is next for succulents? I'll try to summarize her points:
Every friend to whom I've related my Succulent Extravaganza experience has laughed heartily at me and asked things like, "Did you bring your knitting?" But you know what? I don't care. Because the Succulent Extravaganza was a chance to see beautiful succulents and learn about them, plus a chance to hang out with other people who share my passion. In many cases, maybe all we had in common was our passion for succulents. But isn't it so cool that a hobby like this would bring me in contact with so many great people that I wouldn't otherwise encounter? I can't wait for next year's event! I feel like I became a real succ-er last weekend!
- Some people like succs because succs are weird. That is awesome. Succs have the power to save us from our urban drudgery.
- We need to be tolerant of the poor saps who don't appreciate the weirdness of gasteria and just want some ice plants instead of a yard.
- Succulents save water and are really good for the environment in a variety of other ways, such as minimizing transportation costs, use of harmful pesticides, and pollution.
Every friend to whom I've related my Succulent Extravaganza experience has laughed heartily at me and asked things like, "Did you bring your knitting?" But you know what? I don't care. Because the Succulent Extravaganza was a chance to see beautiful succulents and learn about them, plus a chance to hang out with other people who share my passion. In many cases, maybe all we had in common was our passion for succulents. But isn't it so cool that a hobby like this would bring me in contact with so many great people that I wouldn't otherwise encounter? I can't wait for next year's event! I feel like I became a real succ-er last weekend!
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