Succulents and More™

Summer is here, and everything is slowing down. This includes our cacti — there are far fewer flowers now than in previous months . I’m finally getting around to posting these photos taken in June. I know it’s a bit late, but they’re too pretty not to share. There isn’t much text in this post, it’s 90% photos. Lean back and enjoy! Echinocereus rigidissimus var. albiflorus , the white-spined and white-flowering form of the Arizona rainbow cactus. The flowers are such a pure white, they positively glow. Astrophytum asterias ‘Super Kabuto V-Type’ Astrophytum ornatum Echinopsis ‘June Noon’ Mammillaria longimamma Echinopsis ‘For Norma’ Echinopsis ‘Tondelayo’ Echinopsis ‘Southern Belle’ Echinopsis ‘Napaea’ Echinopsis ‘Flying Saucer’, third round of flowers Unidentified lobivia hybrid Acanthocalycium spiniflorum f. violaceum Echinopsis ‘Flatty Cake’, 14 flowers open at the same time Echinopsis ‘Flatty Cake’ Most of the cacti above have set fruit, which is now ripening. If I wanted to,...

Last weekend, my friend Mariel Dennis, the former president of the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society (SCSS), held another open house. She has been very generous about inviting people to her garden, and I appreciate the opportunity to see it evolve. As some of you may remember, I’ve blogged about her garden before ( 2017 , 2020 , and 2023 ). Let’s take a look at what her garden looks like right now, i.e. at the beginning of July 2025. Mariel Dennis Mariel’s home (and garden) has a name now: Solunare. It’s a combination of the Spanish words for sun and moon, “sol” and “luna.” The open house was the day after the Fourth of July As you enter the backyard, you see racks upon racks of potted succulents on a covered patio. Mariel collects both plants and pots. Many of Mariel’s pots have faces The latest addition to Mariel’s collection Looking back towards the covered patio The aeoniums are going dormant for the summer Exploring the northeastern corner of the garden: This corner of the ...