No matter what else is going on (or not) in the garden, we always have this.
Of course, during these bleak, rainy days, they stand more as dark sentinels, but I thought I would show them to you catching the morning light.
And I especially like this shot, taken that same morning.
Is this lichen or moss? I don’t know, but I sure do like the way it has encrusted the trunks of the Cleredendrum tree.
The heaths and heathers, I plant not for their blooming season, but for the way they color up in early spring. This one is called, appropriately, ‘Red Fred’.
Out back, in the “dry” berm, things did not go so well. The Opuntia has turned to mush. The main paddle under there may survive. It looks pretty good. I’m guessing I should hustle out there and cut off all the squishy parts. Any thoughts on that? I had feared that this would overtake the whole bed, so maybe this is not such a bad development.
The good news in that area is that the Agave neomexicana pulled through like a champ. Thanks go to Maurice Horn at Joy Creek Nursery for steering me to this one after failing with some others chosen with no help from an expert.
And thanks to Pam at Digging for creating a venue where we can all celebrate the true stars of our gardens, the foliage.
That early morning sunshine certainly livens things up – quite a shot. And your Agave is looking good.
Love the golden crowns of the trees in the morning light. And congrats on finding an agave for your garden. Neomexicana is a beauty as it matures, with those long, dark terminal spines.
Boy I hope your Opuntia survives. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Lovely shots of those towering sentinels. We both have a thing for trees, don’t we? … I think it’s lichen. I’ve heard that it means our air is clean. It won’t grow where there is a lot of pollution. Breathe deep! 🙂
Love the Agave! Perhaps I’ll be trying this one…and not to take anything away from Maurice but you know success with agaves in our climate is more about good drainage than anything so you have a hand in that success too. As for your Opuntia I had one of my paddles go this mushy route. I think it has something to do with their falling over and going horizontal. I didn’t upright mine and the next thing I saw it looked like this. All of the ones that remained upright look fine.
R~It does…we could use more of it.
Pam~I hope it gets nice and big, like some of yours.
Grace~Clean air! After thirteen years of living near ESCO, we relish every deep breath.
Loree~I knew you would have something to add on the Opuntia front. The flabby paddles also had some nibbling damage to let the water in.