Succulents and More™

I just got back from Santa Barbara, just three months after my previous trip . I gave a talk on mangaves at the Santa Barbara Cactus and Succulent Society (a great club!) and added a few extra days to do some exploring. Here’s a quick overview of what I did and saw. I’ll have more detailed posts in the weeks to come. The motel I stayed at in Santa Barbara, the Lemon Tree Inn , had the kind of succulent-centric landscaping I love: Massive Agave guiengola Hundreds of Agave attenuata , this one right outside my patio I was able to explore Lotusland on my own – a very special experience I won’t soon forget: Japanese Garden at Lotusland Tree ferns Echinopsis flowers Euphorbia ammak Cactus forest outside the main residence Agave grower extraordinaire Tony Krock showed me how he cuts agaves for propagation. As a Succulents and More exclusive, I’ll share a video of his demonstration. Tony Krock with his miniature machete Tony demonstrating how he cuts agaves in half to trigger the productio

If you’ve been following Succulents and More for a while, you’ve probably seen the garden of my geologist friend Kyle in Sacramento ( here , here , here , and here ). It’s been 10 months since my last post. Kyle is a very active gardener, and things have changed – a lot. There are more rocks and more plants, not just succulents, but also California natives and perennials. Let’s take a look. In the front, Kyle expanded the planting strip by converting more lawn. I joke about the lawn disappearing altogether some day. That isn’t likely to happen because the two trees in the front yard need to be watered; irrigating the lawn also provides water to the trees. Look at the way the echeverias at the front are tucked into the rock Closer to the house, there are a few surprises, including a Leucospermum  'Starlight' and a Japanese maple with burgundy leaves: One thing ties everything together, both in the front yard and in the back: the rocks. Kyle’s garden has more rocks than any other