Sunday, July 05, 2009

There is something nice and not so nice in all seasons.
Our winters are wet, but mild with brightly colored
wild flowers.
Welcome! new visitors to our blog. We are at home
in the south western province of South Africa.
Winter is in the middle of the year. Aloes recover
their full splendor very quickly once the rain starts.
This is Aloe rubroviolaceae (Yemen)
dry and shrivelled hanging on to life.
Photo above was taken in March 2009
Photo below was taken in June 2009.
The brick is there to give an idea of the size.

What a difference the rain makes!

Why not water the aloes year round?
We have water restrictions but that is not
 the main reason - aloes must have their
natural dry cycle. Aloes that are watered
and grow in shade tend to become soft.
Insects, snails, fungus and bacteria 
will quickly find a spot to break the 
skin and damage - if not kill- the plant. 
 The leaves grow long and sloppy and
the flower stalk grows further apart 
which does not show off the flowers 
so well.   Note in the background.
It is very difficult to see I happen to
 know it is there. The flower buds of
Aloe sabaea.  Very faint to the right 
of the Aloe rubroviolaceae racemes
Another gem from Yemen. 
I will show it another time.

3 comments:

Pomona Belvedere said...

As always, I learned lots from your post, including that there are species of aloe native to Yemen. Your point is very dramatically illustrated by your pictures!

beth said...

I love garden art and the way you have shown it, Gardening is my biggest passion

Dietmar Reichle said...

Amazing Garden, I love this plant