Sachem (Atalopedes campestris)

Sachem (Atalopedes campestris)

Sachem (Atalopedes campestris)

Making a vegetable garden with Ash Juniper branches

Here in Central Texas we have an (over) abundance of Ashe juniper (Cedar) trees.  I decided to construct a small compost pile out of cedar limbs and later to convert that to a vegetable garden.  The cedar limbs are very aromatic and have a lot of oil and therefore are very resistant to rot and last a long time even while in contact with the soil.  Many cedar fence posts you see along the highway in Texas are more than 50+ years and date to a time when there were no penalties for employing non-citizen labor from Mexico.

What blooms in February?

 Thelocactus macdowellii

Concrete Leaf Living Stone, Titanopsis calcarea

Aloe maculata, Aloe saponaria

Not flowers but colorful.

Ancistrocactus scheeri

South Coast Botanic Garden

South Coast Botanic Garden

Aloe ferox - Cape Aloe

Aloe ferox - Cape Aloe

Aloe arborescens - Torch aloe

Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden

Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden

In contrast with the rest of the country, visiting California in the winter, with all of its amazing succulents, will have you wanting to move to the West Coast.  But what would you grow?  too many choices, I have grown comfortable with a steady march of dead plants that get too much sun, humidity, or cold.  I don't want too many choices, give me Texas, where its cause for celebration if something survives for multiple years.

What!? Aloes have flowers?

Allen’s Hummingbird in California

South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes, California

Allen's hummingbird - taken from a distance with my cell phone.

Allen's hummingbird, from this angle the iridescent feathers turn from black to vermillion.

Winter turning to Spring

Juniper Hairstreak

Thelocactus macdowellii

Thelocactus macdowellii

Late Winter flowers from Aloe maculata, Euphorbia rigida, Drummond Creeping Phlox and Sedum palmeri.