Succulents and More™

In another sign that the worst may be behind us, the Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Society is holding a 3-day plant sale from Friday, April 30, to Sunday, May 2 . Because of COVID-19 protocols dictating social distancing, we decided not to have a juried show and instead dedicate all the space available at the Shepard Garden & Arts Center to vendor tables. After an essentially lost year, vendors are eager for plant sales to resume, and I think the buying public is, too! Here are the dates for the sale: Friday, April 30: 1pm – 6pm Saturday, May 1: 9am – 6pm Sunday, May 2: 9am – 4pm Location:  Shepard Garden & Arts Center 3330 McKinley Blvd Sacramento, CA 95816 For updated information, please visit www.sacramentocss.com . I'll post a reminder in mid-April. By then I should have a list of all the vendors who will be participating.

One of my 2021 garden resolutions was to pay more attention to smaller plants that may not stand out as much but are so essential in knitting everything together. Except they do stand out at certain times of the year, especially when they're in bloom. A prime example are ice plants, typically called “mesembs” by collectors because they were once in the Mesembryanthemaceae family (now they're in the Aizoaceae). For the most part, their leaves are fairly unremarkable, although I would argue that it's exactly that quality that makes them so good at creating “neutral” spaces for your eyes to rest on. But when they're in flower, they're impossible to miss. Delosperma  'Granita Orange' is a 2019  Plant Select introduction Delosperma  'Granita Orange'. I was hoping for a nice orange when I bought it, and that's what I got. Speaking of orange: This  Lampranthus aureus  from  Annie's Annuals  is the very  definition  of orange! Aloinopsis villeti...

Driving two hours one way to visit a botanical garden may seem weird to some, but I wear my weirdness with pride. Plus, I love driving, listening to an audiobook, or just letting my mind go where it wants to. In other words, I enjoy getting there as much as being there. My destination this time was the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Arboretum. I was surprised to realize that I hadn't been there since May 2019 , so almost two years. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered my perception of time to the point where I can't trust myself to accurately gauge when I did this or that. My focus on this trip was the Australian Garden. Right now, it's a riot of color from countless trees, shrubs, and perennials in vibrant bloom against a backdrop of evergreen foliage. Walking around and taking photos was a glorious experience.  This post is image-heavy and it'll take you a while to go through, but I promise it's worth your time. I'll keep my comments to a minimum. Gre...