A few pretty things post-Covid

An unexpected, and most definitely unwanted, visitor followed me home from the 2024 Garden Fling in Tacoma, Washington: Covid. Even though my symptoms were on the mild side, I tested positive for almost two weeks. And I continue to tire surprisingly easily even now that I’m officially in the clear.

Essentially, the last two weeks were a complete loss. Between naps, I did drag myself to my desk to work at my day job, but I had no energy to do any gardening. In fact, there were quite a few days where I barely spent any time outside. My heartfelt sympathy to people whose Covid symptoms are much worse than mine. I hadn’t fully grasped how debilitating this fatigue can be.

I did get some gardening done in the past couple of days and was able to take a closer look at what’s up. The “standouts” continue to be the victims of the recent heat dome. While I’ve already removed a few of the dead carcasses, there are plenty of signs of stress and damage all over the garden. In addition, I found mealy bugs on an agave and mites on an aloe.

But I don’t want to focus on that. Instead, here are a few pictures of pretty things in the garden.

⤥ Amazing how the sight of a simple foxtail fern can lift my mood:

Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myersii’

⤥ Our silver dioon (Dioon argentea) just had its biggest flush yet. Now I’m beginning to understand where the “silver” moniker comes from:

Dioon argentea

⤥ I think the Baja fairy duster is one of the most beautiful shrubs native to the California Floristic Province, but it’s too large for our small garden (we still have one, and I constantly whack it back). The hybrid ‘Sierra Starr’, Calliandra californica × Calliandra eriophylla, stays significantly smaller and has flowers that are just as pretty:

Calliandra ‘Sierra Starr’, named after agave guru Greg Starr

Calliandra ‘Sierra Starr’ flowers

⤥ Out of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of plants in the front yard, my favorite is the desert tree we planted to qualify for the State of California’s lawn removal rebate program in 2015, a palo blanco (Mariosousa heterophylla). This acacia relative from northern Mexico has been a stellar performer. I love the tiny leaves and, most of all, the peeling white bark:

Palo blanco (Mariosousa heterophylla)

⤥ Dyckia ‘Cherry Cola’ is in bloom in the backyard. The flowers aren’t that interesting, but the color gets your attention – definitely a hummingbird beacon!

Dyckia ‘Cherry Cola’

⤥ I still owe you a proper update on my new greenhouse. Here are a few things that caught my eye in the greenhouse the other day:

Dyckia delicata continues to delight me

Agave parryi var. truncata ‘Orizaba’ used to be as rare as hen’s teeth, but it’s in tissue culture now and hence more available (and affordable). Mine still has a way to go before it’s large enough to go into the ground, but it will, eventually.

I’ve killed my share of Lithops over the years. I gave up on them for quite a while, but I’ve recently begun to try again. So far so good. Give them water in the summer when they’re in active growth, withhold water in the fall when the leaves begin to split and flowers emerge.

These are seedlings from my Echinopsis ‘Flying Saucer’. I have no idea if ‘Flying Saucer’ selfed or if bees brought pollen from some other echinopsis nearby. We’ll know more when they’re old enough to flower.

⤥ I fell in love with Astrophytum asterias at the 2024 San Francisco Succulent Expo, especially the fancy Japanese Super Kabuto cultivars with V-shaped patterns. Each one is unique. Two of mine flowered a few days ago:

Astrophytum asterias ‘V-type’

Astrophytum asterias ‘V-type’

Astrophytum asterias ‘V-type’

⤥ After taking a break during the hottest weeks of the year, the echinopsis in our garden have started to flower again. For some, it’s the fifth or even sixth wave this year. When I find new flowers in the morning, I know it will be a good day.

Echinopsis ‘June Noon’

Echinopsis oxygona

Echinopsis ‘Tondelayo’

Echinopsis ‘Shades of Bourne’

Echinopsis ‘Shades of Bourne’

Echinopsis ‘Daydream’

Echinopsis ‘Daydream’

⤥ When I watch a TV show or a movie, I’m always on the lookout for cool plants, especially succulents. I’ll have a separate post about this someday, but here’s a good example:

This was a trailer for a movie – I don’t even remember which one, because I was so focused on the Agave attenuata on either side of the door. I did a reverse image search, and it turns out this is a real location, the Paramour Estate in Los Angeles. The agaves seem to be a permanent fixture, as you can see here.

© Gerhard Bock, 2024. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.