Ruth Bancroft Garden in the spring

Last Saturday I went to the spring plant sale at Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, CA. Click here to read my write up about the sale.

After I had picked out what I wanted, I wandered through this 3-acre succulent wonderland to check up on my favorite plants and to take photos for this blog. I visit three or four times a year and every time I find something new and different—not surprising considering there are thousands upon thousands of plants. One of these days I’ll try to find out how many species of succulents there are in the Garden’s collections.

Ruth Bancroft (104 years old now!)
still lives in the house next to the garden

The first thing you see as you enter the Garden through the north entrance is a fantastic array of agaves, yuccas and dasylirions interspersed with shorter columnar cacti.

 

 

 

 

The most exciting discovery for me this past Saturday was this blooming Euphorbia caput-medusae. The flowers on most succulent euphorbias are small and plain, but I found these to be simply beautiful.

Agave parryi and Euphorbia caput-medusae

Euphorbia caput-medusae

Euphorbia caput-medusae

Inside the Garden I found a similar euphorbia, Euphorbia inermis var. huttonae, although it wasn’t in bloom yet (apparently it has the regular yellow euphorbia flowers). This specimen formed an almost perfect Medusa’s head.

Euphorbia inermis var. huttonae

Euphorbia inermis var. huttonae

Euphorbia inermis var. huttonae

Right next to it in the euphorbia section is this aggressively clumping species. I love the mats it forms, but I wasn’t able to identify it.

Unidentified cactoid euphorbia

Unidentified cactoid euphorbia

Unidentified cactoid euphorbia

Euphorbia resinifera with an agave pup appearing in the middle of the colony

Needless to say these euphorbias weren’t the only plants of interest. In fact, they were just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Unidentified dyckia species surrounded by trailing Senecio mandraliscae

Tulipa saxatilis, a wild tulip native to the Greek island of Crete, and Brunsvigia josephinae, a South African bulb which can become massive over time

Unidentified Gasteria species. I’m not used to gasterias forming such an open rosette (and having such long, pointed leaves).

Bulbinella nutans, a South African succulent whose flowers are a dead ringer for my old friend Bulbine frutescens, aka Cape balsam

Coral aloe (Aloe striata) hybrids. Coral aloe is quite promiscuous and readily makes babies with other aloe species.

Bed of different aloe species

As nice as the Echeveria glauca in the lower right are, the real stars here are the
Aloe capitata var. quartziticola

Aloe capitata var. quartziticola
My one true aloe love!

More Echeveria glauca from Mexico and Senecio kleinia from the Canary Islands

Aeonium smithii, one of the less frequently seen aeonium species, probably because it’s not as showy as some of its larger cousins. It’s not always size that matters!

Another rare aeonium, Aeonium leucoblepharum ‘De Cabrillo’. They had some in the spring plant sale, and in hindsight I should have snapped one up.

I love how this small aeonium species has filled the cracks between the rocks

Aeoniums (green) and pork-and-beans sedum (Sedum rubrotinctum)

Peek-a-book aeonium between the leaves of an Agave americana ‘Mediopicta Aurea’

Unidentified variegated aeonium with a giant rosette (that’s my hand for comparison)

Agave attenuata ‘Boutin Blue’ (formerly known as ‘Nova’)
and fan aloe (Aloe plicatilis) on the right

Agave attenuata ‘Boutin Blue’: massive, solitary, and blue. When I saw it, I wanted to weep because mine (which I’ve coddled for four years) is a small runt. Mine is in a container, theirs has free root run. Maybe that’s the difference?

For comparison, a regular green Agave attenuata. Still, this colony is an impressive sight, especially for an inland location where Agave attenuata is notoriously difficult to keep alive, let alone make thrive.

Massive inflorescence on Yucca treculeana

Backlit Opuntia rufida

Opuntia robusta with orange-flowered ice plants

Opuntia violacea with intensely purple new pads

This corner of the Ruth Bancroft Garden is cactus paradise

Ferocactus echidne var. victoriensis

Ferocactus echidne var. victoriensis

Ferocactus echidne var. victoriensis (a different specimen with offsets)

Ferocactus pottsii

Ferocactus pillosus

Ferocactus pillosus

Ferocactus latispinus

Unidentified cactus (Echinopsis?) surrounded by
Crassula pubescens var. radicans

Another creeping cactus with butterscotch yellow Sedum adolphii

Similar cactus with orange-flowered Cape balsam (Bulbine frutescens ‘Hallmark’)

Agave americana ‘Mediopicta Alba’ surrounded by an assortment of cactus

Oreocereus celsianus growing in the middle of a mat of Deuterocohnia lorentziana, a terrestrial bromeliad from Argentina

Cleistocactus straussii behind a mound of Deuterocohnia lorentziana

Cleistocactus hyalacanthus

Sempervivum arachnoideum

                                                                                                                                               
 

LEFT: Cleistocactus hyalacanthus and Sempervivum arachnoideum
RIGHT: Oreocereus celsianus and Mammillaria geminispina

Oreocereus doelzianus

If you’re ever in the Bay Area, Ruth Bancroft Garden is a must-see destination. It’s less than an hour from San Francisco.

They also offer a variety of interesting events, including an Agaves and Aloes Theme Tour this coming Saturday, April 21, at 10am. Check out their online calendar.