Steady growth is a deceptive thing. It wasn't until I compared my September and December photos of the revamped succulent garden that I realised how much things have grown there. At least I know they're loving their new home, and that's the main thing I wanted to happen. Digging in vast amounts of sand has provided them with the free-draining soil they needed, and this relatively dryish spring has suited them just fine. Thank you Huey, the Rain God, very supportive gesture. And so it's on with the guided tour, and if any succulent experts can help me with a few names, I will be forever in your debt.
This morning, December 9, a happy little succulent patch.
Check out the photo below, to see how well it has grown.
This is the day I planted it all out, September 2.
This hovering 'helicopter' shot shows how there's a bit of
crowding going on, but most of them have room to grow.
The main problem here is the green Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
centre left, which is making life hard for the sempervivums.
These portulacas (yellow and red flowers) have come up by
themselves. They are a weed of a thing, so weedy I waged a
battle to be rid of them a few years back, but with all the digging
of soil in so many places, some seed has come to the surface
and, typical of portulacas, raced away. Letting them grow on
might prove to be a mistake, but I do grudgingly admire them.
Sedum rubrotinctim 'Jelly Beans' with a little
pink tinge to the tips, are doing outrageously well.
Ditto the grey-blue Senecio nearby. Slow down!
At the back of the bed, a formerly neglected,
potted Crassula argenta 'Coral', a fat-trunked
mini tree, is loving its new home. Its interesting
dimple-ended fat succulent leaves were sparse
when I transplanted it here, but it's piling on the
foliage now and is now looking much more imposing.
Black-leaved Aeonium 'Schwartkopf' has grown a lot, so too
its neighbour, who I think might be a Senecio ameniensis.
Well-named, Kalanchoe 'Copper Spoons' in
front, with another Senecio amaniensis at the
back, both belting along in the sandy soil.
This weirdo is an echeveria, E. 'Topsy Turvey'.
Euphorbia caput-medusae, or Medusa's head, will soon
be wearing a veil of these pretty little yellow flowers all over.
This trailing succulent, about to flower, is Senecio jacobensii.
It's probably happier in a hanging basket, on the edge of a
rock or ledge, but I am hoping it will grow down the gentle
slope. I have another one in a basket, just as a back-up.
At this stage, its flower looks like a bunch of julienned carrots.
As mentioned earlier, these sempervivums are being crowded
by the rapid spread of the Sedum 'Autumn Joy'. I'm keeping
a watch on this, which I suspect is an unfolding disaster.
Now, for the bit where the succulent experts might be able to
help. This person is growing well, colouring up nicely, but as
for its name I've got short odds on it being a graptoveria, but
go ahead and surprise me, tell me it's something else. All the
original plant label said was 'succulent'.
Same deal with this fascinating person, whose name I don't know.
When planted back in September, it looked decidedly unhealthy,
a bit 'wrinkly' in the foliage, but now it looks like it's back from
the health resort. Searching for something like it in books and
online has come up with the possibility it's an Argyroderma
of some sort (a what?); and there's a rough chance it could be a
haworthia even, but I honestly don't know its name.
EDIT: thanks to reader/commenter Ngeun, who has a great
blog called Lithopsland, at first it looked like this person is
a Lapidaria of some kind, but then a kind friend of Ngeun's
had a look, and the final decision is that it's Corpuscularia,
Probably C. lehmannii. Thank you LT Expanded!
Finally, if you have spotted one or two weeds lurking in the background of photos, yes they are there in numbers at all times. So far I roughly estimate that I have yanked out a few thousand baby weedlets in the last three months (lots of oxalis, natch). From this experience I think pebbles might be pretty but they are the least weed-suppressing mulch ever! Fortunately, in the extremely soft, sandy soil the weeds come out, roots and all, very easily. Wandering outside in the morning to pull out another few dozen weedlets has become part of the daily routine, but I think it has helped a lot.
The other important benefit of spending those few minutes fussing over the succulent patch every morning is that it is so much rewarding fun. And that's the main thing!