Rain makes succulents shine

Rain is always welcome in our garden, especially this winter when it's been quite sporadic. What I dread are violent rainstorms with howling winds because they can wreak havoc on tender plants. However, the rain we had yesterday and into today was the opposite: soft and gentle. Just what plants and I like.

Another upside of the rain: It makes succulents glisten like precious jewels. Here are some photos from last evening and this morning:

Aloe vaombe

×Mangave 'Moonglow'

×Mangave 'Spotty Dotty'

×Mangave 'Inkblot'

×Mangave 'Mission to Mars'

×Mangave 'Silver Fox'

Agave applanata 'Cream Spike'

Hechtia glauca

Even the flagstone with bits of bamboo leaves was pretty

Aeonium 'Mardi Gras'

Aeonium 'Mardi Gras'

Aloe cameronii

Other plants glisten too: white sage (Salvia appiana)

Tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii) and Agave 'Crazy Horse' (thought to be a hybrid between Agave cupreata and Agave asperrima)

Tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii)

Agave 'Crazy Horse' 

Agave colorata × parrsana and Felicia aethiopica 'Tight & Tidy'

Aloe ferox

Aloe broomii

Baja fairy duster (Calliandra california) against Yucca linearifolia

Calliandra california

My most recent purchase: Aloe 'Nick Deinhart', a hybrid between Aloidendron barberae and Aloe speciosa. It will grow to 10-12 ft. The yellow-flowering shrub behind it is silvery cassia (Senna phyllodinea)

I'm excited about the first flower from this Aechmea recurvata 'Big Mama' after planting it in the ground

Dudleya brittonii

The flower stalk on my Agave utahensis var. eborispina is growing apace

Agave 'Blue Glow'

Meyer lemon in the front yard

The great collapse is continuing: Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue' suffering from a fungal infection

Nandina domestica 'Lemon Lime'

Another relatively new purchase, Aechmea recurvata var. benrathii

This weather system was we lovingly call a Pineapple Express because it brings warm water from the Hawaiian Islands. Still, it wasn't quite as hot as our weather station would make you believe:

I'm fairly certain that 138.9°F (59.4°C) would set all kinds of records. Even the toughest cacti wouldn't be happy!

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