Pensive Tuesday: Armchair Travel Through Gardening

I'm probably like most people in that I have a list of places I want to visit, but probably never will. I am very fortunate in that I've been able to travel to many countries and places in my life, but hey, there are always more! This is not a phase of my life when travel is likely, however. Which is OK, because I can be in those places, a little, through my garden....



Photo: Mimmo Jodice, "Mediterranean"

I can't at this moment visit Greece or return to the Mediterranean, but I can grow many of the plants that I love from that region. Immortelle, lavender, and rosemary, for example. So I can smell the plants of Mediterranean Italy or France, even if I'm not actually standing there.

I've always wanted to visit the Karoo, and many other places in South Africa, and to see Proteas growing wild. That trip is a ways in the future, but until then, I can grow many of the plants from the Karoo, and that makes me happy. Sadly, Proteas are not possible for me here but I'm working on it!

I miss the US Southwestern desert of my youth, but I am reminded of it every day when I see my "Amigos"- the cacti from that part of the world. By growing these cacti, a little bit of my favorite place on Earth lives with me right here and now.
So "garden-bench traveling" is my mode these days. Do any of you travel via your gardens??

Weekends Are For Watering!

How do you water your collection? I have to divvy mine up into thirds-- Saturday, Tillandsias and Lithops, Sunday, other Mesembs, Monday morning, Cacti....

Not entirely organized....

Of course, sometimes, I'm not so clear cut, my collection gets ahead of me....

Too many happy Tillies....

That's a full table of fast-growing Tillies-- But overall, my system is working, mas o menos. Since Sandy ate my outdoor garden, I have more time for the indoor plants.

How do you organize your gardening?

"Water Me Now!"

Seedlings' (and Pup's) Progress

My Lithops seedlings are finally showing their secondary, adult leaf pairs! I have to say, since this is my first crop, it's exciting:



Lithops Seedlings at 6 months

You can see the most prominent pairs at the bottom left and right of the photo.

Many of my Tillandsias are busy growing their pups. My smallest Tillies, T. funckiana, are about 5cm when adults. One has a pup that just fell off, and it's doing fine. But so tiny and wee!

It's slightly less than 1cm long, can you believe it? But it's taking water, and has just about doubled in size in a month. I'll feature its parents later- T. funckiana is a fun and funky species (of course, it's right there in the name!).

Have a super weekend, and for those in NE USA and Canada, the Carolinas, and the Caribbean, I hope your recovery efforts from Sandy are going well and your power is back on (or comes back on very soon). My outdoor garden took a fair bit of damage from Sandy, but nothing like what happened to your gardens up north, and to our east.


Just a Pretty Lithops Flower

So pretty! Fall is a great time of year for Lithops. This white flower on one of the new French blues made my day. I just had to share it.

Pensive Tuesday: Sandy's Victims

Today my thoughts and prayers are for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. May the dead rest in peace, the injured heal swiftly, the first responders stay safe, civil authorities act wisely, and those who lost their homes and possessions quickly recover.

Hurricane Sandy Pulling Away...But....

Where's the SAND???

That's right, Hurricane Sandy has eaten our sandy beaches! This is low tide today, after 3 days of serious pounding by Sandy....

Florida has taken a hit, for sure; we had 58mph winds yesterday. But obviously, we're worried for the folks up north. We're more used to this sort of thing down here.

My mesembs are screaming for sunshine. All except one (two). The ever-cheerful and optimistic Babytoes (Fenestraria), both of them, decided to bloom! What positive attitude, I love these guys!

Coping with Sandy...I'll Be Back Soon!

We're coping with the outer bands of Hurricane Sandy, school is cancelled for Friday, I'll be back as soon as this has blown over! It's gotten too rough for surfing, unfortunately....