Aloes and South African bulbs at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden

I swung by the UC Botanical Gardens at Berkeley last Saturday to check on the progress of the aloes. In a nutshell: The peak of the bloom is still a few weeks away. While some aloes are flowering nicely already, others are just in the early stages. So many plants seem to be late this year, across the board. 

Tall and majestic. Labeled Aloe sp. so no definitive ID.

The Southern Africa Garden is located on the hill behind the Garden Shop and restrooms. While it features plants from a variety of countries in Southern Africa—the Republic of South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, and Namibia—the focus is on the plants of the Cape Region, including bulbs, succulents, proteas, ericas, restios, and cycads.

The Garden's aloe collection isn't extensive, especially not compared to the Ruth Bancroft Garden just over the hill in Walnut Creek, but it's still a cheery sight to see in the middle of winter.

Aloes above the restrooms (literally)

The shrubby aloe in the front is Aloe kedongensis

The tall aloe in the front is labeled Aloe sp.

Aloe ukambensis

Aloe ukambensis flower

Another one labeled Aloe sp. When you have so many aloes growing close to each other, you get a whole lot of cross-pollination. I assume this was a volunteer seedling.

Aloe castanea, with Aloe speciosa behind it

Aloe speciosa, with an early-stage inflorescence

I'm making an effort to include masked visitors in my photos, so 20 years down the line I'll be able to say, "Remember when...?"

Looking toward the New World Desert, Aloe sp. on the left and Kumara plicatilis on the right

Stately Kumara plicatilis...

...looking out over the Tour Deck, now unused since there are no tours

Aloe suprafoliata and Encephalartos altensteinii. As you can imagine, the slope has great drainage, which is key for many of these plants.

Aloe aculeata, pushing a flower stalk

Aloe mitriformis, formerly known as Aloe distans

Aloe comptonii

Aloe comptonii

Gasteria, babiana, and something mesemb-y all making a life in a crack between two rocks

This time I made more of an effort to photograph the many bulbs growing on the hill. Only a few of the spring-blooming bulbs were in flower, like the Haemanthus albiflos below. But as with aloes, the leaves are the main attraction for me; the flowers are icing on the cake.

Haemanthus albiflos (starts flowering in early winter)

Haemanthus coccineus (flowers in the fall)

Brunsvigia gregaria (flowers in late fall or early winter)

Brunsvigia grandiflora (flowers in late fall or early winter)

Brunsvigia josephinae (flowers in the fall)

Brunsvigia josephinae (flowers in the fall)

Boophane haemanthoides (flowers mid to late summer)

Boophane haemanthoides (flowers mid to late summer)

A few other plants that caught my attention:

Strelitzia juncae, a rare leafless relative of the bird of paradise, and Aloe soutpansbergensis, an aloe species I had never even heard of before

Caputia pyramidata, the kind of succulent I would totally put in my garden as a filler between statement plants. I've never seen it for sale.

And finally a selfie I actually like. It'll be my new social media profile photo:

Coming soon: dudleyas from Alta and Baja California.

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