the quiver tree Aloe dichotoma in habitat. During his visit to us my son wanted to see the "Quiver Tree forest". That is an experience not to be missed by anybody visiting South Africa or Namibia. To appreciate the full effect of the harsh climate in which these aloes grow visit in December, which was when these photos were taken.

The drive is roughly 500 km there and back.

 Our grandson Thomas enjoyed the boerewors and mielies for lunch (beef sausage and corn on the cob) at a picnic spot in the shade.

Exploring the world with Grandpa - on the shady side of the tree.  Note there is only a hint of green. Everything goes without water until the rains start after April.

Where are the lions and elephants ?

Because of its sponge like fibrous composition the trunk of Aloe dichotoma has a very light weight. Thomas (aged three years and five months) kindly agreed to demonstrate the weight of a dead Aloe dichotoma trunk. The wind was strong and made it difficult for him to keep his balance, but he was not going to give up.  If a guy must pose on a photo for Grandma he will do it with a smile.
Finally the stem was in line with the wind and he could pose.

A last stop to get some of the high quality sandy loam for Grandpa's seedlings.

terrestrial orchids companion plants for aloes
The small terrestrial orchid Pterygodium.volucris can grow happy in the same conditions as the aloes in the garden. The name orchid usually goes with pretty or very odd flowers, but not in the case of this small orchid. The flowers are so plain and the same colour as the leaves so that it is easy to overlook them. The plants are neat and they grow very easy.  Pterygodium volucris is from the winter rainfall area so it needs rest in summer and water in winter. It can remain in the ground in a dry climate.

The orchids grow next to the Paintbrush lily Haemanthus coccinius (The two large leaves in photo ) which bloomed a few weeks ago. 

 The Paintbrush lily sends out the flower first( photo below), then the leaves. The leaves measure, each 39 cm long and 17 cm wide. In inches that is roughly 16 inches long and 7 inches wide. I measured them.

The little blue aloe in the top photo is a hybrid growing without any attention. I would have liked to ask it to make an offshoot or two, but it seems that is not going to happen.
The winter rain has started and the dry patches between the aloes are turning green - soon there will be flowers all over. For now we enjoy the green and the anticipation.

Cultivating the perfect garden aloe hybrid which would bloom throughout the year is ongoing and some are on the market already. Some aloe species in cultivation bloom three or more times a year, with only a few weeks between the previous inflorescens and the new one. There are also the tropical aloe species that bloom twice a year and the aloe species growing in very arid regions will bloom after good rains whenever that opportunity arrives. Combining these aloes in hybrids is difficult as the seeds are seldom viable when the plants differ so much, but there are people out there who just love a challenge.
We started off with Aloe species plants. It is convenient to know exactly how the plant will look and what it needs to grow when planning where to plant it. Then in time we obtained some hybrids. A few times we thought (or was told) that the hybrid was a species plant and at first we were disappointed, but in the end we were not unhappy with the mistake as the hybrids were always very nice.
These plants were easy to grow and more often than not, they had very attractive flowers.
Then we saw some hybrids not done by the birds and bees but by careful cultivation. They were stunning. However we do not have the years on our side, so we made some uncomplicated hybrids and enjoy the surprises given to us by the birds and bees.

Aloe dorothea hybrid is ideal for a border. The aloe sends out offshoots which will form a solid border. The leaves are a shiny yellow-green which will shade dark olive in full sun. The bright red flowers are also glossy and to top this, this aloe hybrid blooms at least three times a year - that is less than a month from the seeds on the old inflorescens to when the new one starts to grow out.

Some medium size aloe hybrids for the garden.

Photo above. The aloe from my previous blog on buds Aloe petricola x Aloe speciosa, is a convenient size plant for most small gardens and this aloe always shows off well in a green garden - even when not in flower. Flowering time is in winter.

Aloe framesii x Aloe arenicola hybrid is a deep green going over to wine red in full sun.  It is a very attractive aloe but would not show off from a distance in a green garden - it usually has the effect of surprise at finding the pretty plant when it catches the eye of visitors in our garden.

photo above. Against the wall - what better than an assortment of Aloe arborescens hybrids and cultivars.

A focal point


The focal point could be on size. We had no idea that this would be the size that this hybrid below would aim for. It is not planted as a focal point but on the side of the garden behind a tree. Many aloes grow higher than 2 m. but that is mainly due to a long stem not a large rosette like this aloe. This seed decided to go one better on Aloe marlothii. The effect of this hybrid on visitors in the garden is - "What is this?!" A man can stand in front of this aloe with his arms spread out and the aloe will still be higher and wider (and it is still growing).
The pole is 2 m. above ground.
At half the size in bloom.

It is possible to see the parent plants of an Aloe F1 hybrid. Further back than that is for the experts with experience in hybridizing. Some garden hybrids have been going on for generations, we do not even try to think what is in their background as long as they are pretty and easy for the garden, that is what matters.

more aloe buds Our winter is an exciting time with at least 80% of our aloes blooming from late fall to early spring. The real thrill is when a rare aloe blooms for the first time and buds are visible on our Aloe sabaea from Yemen! I have not seen this aloe in bloom except on a picture. Buds are also showing on Aloe rubroviolacea, also from Yemen and I have not seen it "live in bloom" either.

The raceme is often mentioned in describing aloes, it is the part of the stem on which the flowers are attached. The length of the raceme change the image of the flowering aloe a lot.
Directly below is Aloe mitriformis with a very short raceme.

Variations occur in this aloe - below is a longer raceme.

The buds of Aloe mitriformis on the left has just passed their green phase. This is the stage in the development of the flowers that I find the most attractive of this aloe, before it changes to the flowering shape on the photo right. Aloes tend to vary in the same species.  The raceme is longer which space the flowers wider apart. The new bud can be seen on the right bottom of the photo on the left. It is obvious that the flowers will not be densely packed. However, that is not the only difference, these flowers are wider apart but much longer than the Aloe mitriformis flowers above - and how do you like those open flowers! The curling of the pedals are so charming. The bees do not have a problem pollinating these narrow long flowers as the nectar flow down and the pollen is also right at the opening of the flowers. The stigma will appear after the pollen is gone, most aloes are not self-fertile.

This is a lovely hybrid of Aloe petricola X Aloe speciosa. Aloe speciosa is obvious in the flowers and buds and Aloe petricola is prominent in the size and shape of the plant. A. petricola is not quite 50 cm high and Aloe speciosa is a tree aloe reaching 3 meter easy. This hybrid plant is just under 50 cm.

 The many flower buds of Aloe speciosa are packed so tight that the raceme with buds feels as hard as a rock. Compare the buds of this aloe with the hybrid above - The buds are much alike but Aloe speciosa buds are very dense. The raceme with flowers on the photo above is 40 cm long.
---------------
What is the meaning of the word "cola" - The lovers of the drink need not answer.....
It means "inhabiting or dweller ". petri (from petros) = rock + cola would be ... rocks/stones .. inhabiting stones.
There is also an Aloe arenicola which grows on the west coast and it is a sand dweller.

but it is a bud...
It is obvious that the Aloe species differ a lot in the shape of the leaves, rosette
and flowers but the buds are also different. The best way to identify an aloe is by the flowers as the leaves and rosette will change shape and color depending on whether they grow in shade, sun or drought but the flowers remain the same. The buds are not taken into account mainly because they change in shape and color nearly on a daily basis and the flowers are so much easier to identify. It can be interesting to watch the change and to note the differences in the buds of the aloes species and hybrids.

Aloe cryptopoda. The bracts give a prickly effect. The buds point upward and as they grow they tip over and color yellow when the flowers open. Then after pollination they tip upwards again. All the different stages are easy to see on the photo.

Aloe gerstneri. The buds hang down from the start and lift slightly as the flowers grow and ripen. The shading of the buds to flowers are lovely. The seedpods point upwards. I can not remember seeing seedpods that hang down.

Aloe glauca is another one of the few aloes with "fluffy" bracts.
The buds point upwards and the flowers tip over to point down in a one-by-one fashion. The flowers seem spaced far apart but they are large which does not show on the photo - Prettier in real life. The teeth on this aloe are very sharp.

Aloe nuwerus. A lovely hybrid. The florescence branch with the racemes near to each other. This gives a nice show. The bracts over the very young buds look like fish scales. The colour of the flowers do not shade much. It is already obvious looking at the bracts on the young buds that the flowers will be many and tightly packed on the raceme.

The hanging aloes - Aloe hardyi hangs down but it sends the florescence upwards. The inflorescens is still small - near the top corner right.

The seeds of the paintbrush lily Haemanthus coccinius are so pretty that I would like to show them to you. The fleshy seeds of the Amaryllidaceae family should be planted immediately when they are ripe.

The seeds are placed on top of the soil and pressed into the soil to just below the soil level. I have planted seeds much deeper. It took them some weeks later than the other seeds, but the lilies managed to grow all the way through the soil and I know a gardener who places the seeds on top of the soil and that works too.
That was not meant to confuse you but to relax you - if they want to grow, they will grow.
One point can not be changed and that is the seeds do not last long. They can be kept cool for a few weeks but the fresher the better.
For the growing medium use normal potting soil and add some sand. 1 x sand and 2 times potting mix. Do not desturb the young lilies for at least a year, preferably two years.

I am going to plant the seeds on the photo. It always feels like a waste to throw seeds away and such pretty seeds can not be wasted. Pity it is so difficult to send the fragile bulky seeds or I would have asked who wants them.

Indoor succulent plant gardens
Aloes succulents and fat plants grow easy indoors in pots or containers. Good drainage and strong light is all that they need. Here are two indoor gardens. A succulent indoor garden in a flat container with mainly fat plants from South Africa and a desert garden in a bowl with succulents and aloes from Namibia. The soil mix contains dolomite gravel, coarse sand and soil. A very weak plant food is given every 6 months with a sprinkling of a few Magnesium sulphate crystal between the plants. (A quarter teaspoon at the most.)

click on the photo to enlarge. The succulent plants in this indoor garden from South Africa. The white plant at the back is a Cotyledon, next row from the left is Aloe davyana, Aloe hybrid in the center and to the right back. Front row from the left is Euphorbia mammilaris. Gasteria species, Gasteria x Aloe hybrid and a group of Aloe brevifolia plants. The ground cover is two Crassula sp. The container is watered thoroughly and then permitted to dry out.

click on the photo to enlarge. This is a desert garden with plants from Namibia. The back row left to right:- mesemb, Tylecodon species, Aloe variegata, Euphorbia gariepina. Front left to right:- mesemb, Cotyledon species, the small plants are Euphorbia juttae, Aloe melanacantha and the small plant to the right of Aloe melanacantha is Anacampseros buderiana. This garden receives only enough rain water to damp the soil. It is then permitted to dry out. It may be necessary to merge the bowl in rain water once a year to rinse out salts or better would be to replace the growing medium with a fresh mix.
For more information and tips see cultivating succulent plants in pots and containers

Stop a minute to smell the rosesIt is an honor to be too busy to smell roses after the age of 60 years. I have so much to do, never worked so physically hard in my life and never realized how lucky I am being able to do it.
The photo below was taken by Sandra Legg who is now the Mom of this boy who likes to smell roses.













Not even a dog is too tough to resist the beauty of a rose!
Between you and me, that rose lasted a few minutes. This dog belongs to our son-in-law and our grand daughter Else took the photo, she is a real sport to do things with grandma.
I think I should introduce Else to you













One thing about retirement bothers me - time passes so fast ! The week is at the most 2 days long, a good month has one week and I will not mention how quick a year flies by.
They say that doing something new is important at this stage. Come to think of it - A year feels very long for a child because there are so many new things that the child experience and do, but at this stage of my life new things are either very expensive or against the law. joking, but it is very near to the truth .. sigh..





I did smell the roses after I finished the earnest task of taking a photo. This photo was taken in England visiting my son. That was a lovely visit. Now how do I get my other son into the USA so that I can smell roses there too.

The lilies are always welcome in the aloe garden. They remain in the ground during the resting period and appear again each year to brag a little with their pretty flowers.








Ammaryllis belladonna a scented lily endemic to the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The wild lily is as lovely as the cultivated lilies of this very popular genus. It blooms in March and is known by the name Marchlily, which is a pity as what could be prettier than the name Belladonna.
The smaller bright red Haemanthus coccinius (just behind the lilies photo above) is starting to open too.






Haemanthus coccinius. A month early for this lily but it might be the heavy rain shower we had in February that confused the lily. The flower is not fully open and smaller than it should be, but it is welcome all the same.












Four days later and the Haemanthus coccinius lilies are open. It is obvious why this lily is known as Paintbrush.

This orchid Eulophia petersii which grows widespread in eastern Africa is very happy in the aloe garden. The plants are doing well under trees where they do not get or need any special attention. The relative small flowers look charming with the curling petals.
My mother got these orchids from a Fauna&Flora rescue expedition where a road would be built Natal. I did not take any plants as I always thought they would be difficult until about three years ago when I decided to give them a try.







The orchids bloomed in our garden for the first time December 2006, the same month my mother died. I spent 2 weeks with her and then 2-3 days after I returned I found the orchids hidden under the tree in full bloom. The first thing I thought was I have to phone Mom and tell her ... then I realized I can not phone her anymore.

every drop countsWith the ongoing water shortage gardeners started to replace lawns with pebbles, gravel and crushed rocks. Some designs are remarkably eye-catching. Even where nothing more was done than to replace the lawn with pebbles, it looked pleasing in a calm way. It could be that it seems like that to me because I am aware that every drop of water saved counts, while the gardener just wanted something different to a lawn, but the end result is it saves water. Most of my life in Namibia saving water was part of life. Now saving water is starting to become the part of life in most cities all over the world.
I used to think it was difficult to keep gravel neat, but now I am surprised at how neat it remains. We have a gravel path on one side of the aloe garden for eight years now. The dust and small debris disappear under the gravel. We have never needed to rake as the gravel is open on all sides and the wind blows the leaves away.
A tip:- Nobody can walk quiet on gravel. Work the gravel into the garden's design to look pleasing but also as security on those sides of the house where it is needed.
Whatever the reason for the new designs in gardening, it opens a lot of possibilities for something different in the garden. Here are a few photos.


The lawn of the garden on the other side is just visible on the photo. Which garden looks better - with or without lawn is not the question. The point is that it is refreshing to see something different.


This garden used to have lawn all the way. That was somewhat dull.

I got tagged by mediterranean garden spain, so I had to jump on the www and find out how this blog game is played.
It does not seem complicated:- tell 5 things that other bloggers do not know about yourself and tag 5 bloggers.
The 5 things are not quite so easy, I do not want to reveal personal secrets but I do not want to seem dull either.
1. After I married my first hobby was cutting and polishing semi precious stones. My husband soon got fed up that I spend too much time on it, so it did not last long - about 3 years.
2. My second hobby was aquariums (I had a fishbowl before I got married) I upgraded to a whole room full of aquariums and no amount of threats could get me off it until we retired. I wrote a book on aquariums, in the days of black and white.
3. I spent 13 years at home after marriage and that was no joke. I will rather work for a salary and pay somebody to clean the house. I am no good at housekeeping.
4. I like reading science fiction to relax. My favourite author is Izak Assimov and in contrast for my other self, I love to read Somerset Maugham and after I read them all, I start over. As I do not read fiction often, those authors last me years.
5. I am married to the same man for 40+ years (peleeze my age is a secret, that is near enough). I have never met a man with whom I even thought I would rather be married to.
I hope this is juicy enough. Now to get 5 bloggers !
Ps.
I got 5 bloggers but only these are still going strong.


Janet's Garden
gardening blog that I hope will be informative and useful

Mo garden
Gardening with Mo Gilmer

green gardening love
We never thought much of Valentine day. Seems like one more way for people to make or spend money and love should be year round. However when I saw this old holiday photo today and I saw the heart at the end of the tunnel I decided to share it with all the garden and plant lovers.

May your love for gardening last forever.

And so say all of us.... 

Rock wall garden

Usually a rock garden needs a lot of space, but this rock garden in the shape of a wall can be build in a very small area. There seems to be a shortage of planting space in any garden. Even if there is an open area then more often than not it will be in the wrong place.
If your hobby happens to be succulents then you can expand your hobby by building succulent plant walls in the relative small places like on a porch or patio against the wall or in the corner. In this situation it might be a good idea to use lightweight fake stones and a ready made small garden pond as base to catch the water and keep in the soil.

Rock garden against a wall

Hide an unsightly old wall by building a rock garden against the wall.


Or ----- build a rock wall

 in the backdoor garden mainly for the cliff hanging aloes. You might see a small portion of it in the left back corner on the last photo of the previous blog (thank you for water restrictions). It is behind the Aloe africana in bloom.
Here is how I built the wall. I have no doubt that most who do it will do it better but here is a rough idea to get you going.
Not counting hauling all those rocks - The rock garden wall was easy and relatively quick to build, while sitting on a folding chair. Rudi did not help (no need). I "use" him only when I must - and that is a lot.









The large heavy cement blocks do not need cement, just put them down. Use cement to keep the rocks in place on top of each other, unlike the normal rock garden where the rocks do not need cement as they are packed on and into a slope of ground. Leave a space between the building-blocks and the rock wall and leave some holes for the plants between the rocks. I found afterwards that if the wall was watered from the top, the soil spilled out of many of the planting holes. I stuffed the holes with paper which will decay in time and by that time the plants would have made enough roots to keep the soil from spilling out. Maybe if I had though of it I could have built the wall in "compartments" using paper as stoppers instead of the frustration afterwards to get the stoppers into the holes without damaging plants. It is also easier to fill the soil while building, than to try to force in soil into the small planting holes. blush... I should have thought of that while building.








The work scene. As you can see, it is easier with a little help and encouragement from a best friend. Watching between snoozes from the distance ( right side of photo).  Mix the size, colour and shape of the rocks. The wall must have a rough appearance, like a heap of rocks lying where they fell.








The succulent plants need to grow a lot more before the wall would be like I imagined it. It is nice to see the plants grow and find odd small succulents and small type aloes to stick in the holes.








The aloes on the top are Aloe hadyi. It is a cliff hanging aloe. Those leaves grow pointing down, they are not soft hanging down. If one of those aloes would be placed upright those leaves will stick out sideways. New leaves will change direction to grow down once more. I have seen that aloe grown from the watering hole underneath a hanging pot. It looks quite interesting. The flower inflorescens grows sideways for a short way, then it bends and grows upwards past the rest of the aloe plant still going downward.

This succulent rockwall garden is standing for 4-5 months. The cement is too clean and most plants must fill their space and some will be removed. I will keep you posted in another year.

It is not perfect yet, that is the ongoing challenge.
2014

thank you for the water restrictions2004 was another dry year where the dams that supply water to towns in the Western Cape were running very low. One of the dams that supply both Cape Town and Moorreesburg were at a 15% low. Water restrictions were vital.
It was then that it finally dawned on us that we did not need a lawn. Especially not this small block of grass 9 metres x 10 metres with bare patches and holes dug by the dogs. I did not even take a photo of the lawn (or rather grass patch) as there is no need for me to be reminded of the frustration that went with it.




This was the first part of the transformation after we were sure all traces of grass were dead. We had to dig in compost and dolomite gravel as the soil was in poor condition. I love digging, pity there are always weeding to be done in the garden, seldom any digging. The photo was taken some time in January 2005.



This photo was taken June 2005 which is in winter and that is our rain season. The green moss growth can be seen on the path, right front of the photo. So far only the triangle middle back has been planted, but the other plants were growing fine and ready to be transplanted.
 It is not wise to replant aloes in wet conditions. The thick sap filled roots are brittle and break easy where rot can set in. There are three options at any time if the roots break; let them dry out before planting; cut them off completely (good idea as the roots will rot away or dry up in any case); or in dry conditions plant the aloes but do not water the aloe for at least 6 weeks. It is best to plant aloes when the new roots (they are bright yellow) start to show, at this stage they are not easily damaged. The roots of an aloe can be seen as expendable. The plant absorb the roots in bad times and regrow them very quickly in good times.

The photo above, of our backdoor garden December 2006, which is our summer. Two years after we started with the garden on the photo at the top. It was summer with few aloes in bloom. The Aloe africana was blooming out of season due to it being disturbed by transplanting such a large plant. It was transplanted by Rudi using his trusted method described in his blog resurrecting an aloe

The plants on the photo far left are all immature, they should make a better show in a few months time. I will show more details of the plants in the winter (June-July 2007)  follow this link below.

For more information on how this garden developed.