Ruth Bancroft Garden spectacular, part 2 of 3

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Late winter in the Ruth Bancroft Garden (RBG) means aloe flowers. But aloes aren't the only plants in bloom. In this recent post, I featured several different “ice plants” or “mesembs;” here are some more:

Glottiphyllum longum

Cheiridopsis denticulata

Not labeled, possibly Cheiridopsis brownii

Even with all the other plant attractions, it is hard to resist the siren call of the aloes:

Aloe branddraaiensis, not the most spectacular aloe based on the leaves, but the flowers are really nice

Aloe branddraaiensis flowers against Agave ovatifolia

Lots of blooming aloes here

Aloe ferox & co.

More Aloe ferox

And even more

Aloe 'Creamsicle', a Brian Kemble hybrid between a yellow-flowering Aloe arborescens and a yellow-flowering Aloe ferox

Aloe speciosa, the appropriately named tilt-head aloe, in front of Aloidendron 'Hercules'

Aloe speciosa

And let's not forget the agaves:

Mystery agave on February 13

Two weeks later, it looks like this. Yep, it's about to flower. 

On my second trip, I got more info about this agave from Brian Kemble. It originally came from the Bolinas garden of the late succulent collector Herman Schwartz (here is an interesting 2003 article from SF Gate, including a photo of a mustachioed Brian Kemble). Brian calls it Agave mitis 'Chocolate Edge' because of the brown margin, although he conjectures it might be a hybrid because of the unusual way the leaves fold up. To me, it looks like a super-sized cousin of Mangave 'Praying Hands'!

Fortunately, like other species of the Polycephalae group of agaves, A. mitis typically produces basal offsets after flowering (i.e. pups emerging from the center) so this very special clone will live on.

Agave mitis 'Chocolate Edge', with Arctostaphylos 'Ruth Bancroft' behind it

Arctostaphylos 'Ruth Bancroft', with Agave ovatifolia on the left

Arctostaphylos 'Ruth Bancroft' and Agave ovatifolia

Arctostaphylos 'Ruth Bancroft' flowers

Agave ovatifolia 'Orca'

Cassia artemisioides, an Australian shrub with linear leaves that looks great in dry gardens

At the Ruth Bancroft Garden, it's easy to get distracted by the large, showy plants. But there's a huge variety to discover lower to the ground. Here's a good example, an ever expanding carpet of Sedum rubrotinctum.

Mask-wearing visitors are a vivid reminder that we're still in the middle of a pandemic

Aloe karasbergensis, seductive and temperamental, seems to have found a spot it likes

Mangave 'Mission to Mars' and Aloe schoelleri

Mangave 'Mission to Mars', growing to impressive proportions in this sunny spot

Euphorbia myrsinites

Euphorbia echinus, one of the euphorbia species from Morocco

Euphorbia caput-medusae from near Cape Town

Euphorbia caput-medusae

Euphorbia inermis var. huttonae (right) and Euphorbia caput-medusae (top right)

Large clump of Agave mitis

Agave mitis var. albidior and Senecio mandraliscae (left), Senecio ficoides 'Skyscraper' (right)

The newly restored pond

Senecio ficoides 'Skyscraper' from the Sunset Western Garden Collection, a great option where a vertical accent is needed

Unnamed Brian Kemble Mangave (Mangave 'Macho Mocha' crossed with Agave pablocarrilloi) about to flower 

Mixed-succulent planting near the pond...

...more living proof that small plants can be beautiful, too

Dyckias and Senecio serpens

My new-found focus on the smaller plants has got me quite excited. I think I'll follow through on that in our garden as well.

Click here to go to part 3.

RELATED POSTS:

• Ruth Bancroft Garden spectacular, February 2021, part 1 of 3
• Ruth Bancroft Garden spectacular, February 2021, part 2 of 3
• Ruth Bancroft Garden spectacular, February 2021, part 3 of 3
• All posts about the Ruth Bancroft Garden

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