December and in the run up to Christmas, a period of indulgence! And I have been indulging over the past few weeks (way before December actually) with lots sweet little personal treats, but not the calorific kind.
The earliest batch went into colourful containers...
I have been buying little succulents over the past few weeks and have continued to do so even when the weather has turned noticeably colder than before. Every week a little parcel arrives which I always open with excitement, like a kid opening a box of sweets! Ebay is where I look for these little succulents, usually on a Thursday night and check out the ones that will end on the Sunday. If the starting price is low I put on a bid and if I win it then it usually arrives on our doorstep by the latter part of the following week.Aloe 'Goby'
It seems that not a single week has passed by of recent that a parcel has not arrived for me to tear open. Sounds very indulgent I know but I do put on low bids only and don't go crazy with my maximum offer. People can get carried away with these online auction sites and get themselves on a bidding war, especially for the rarer succulents but such a behavior I tend to avoid. There's something special and extra thrilling to know that you acquired something for a bargain price and for me part that's part of the excitement of these weekly little parcels.
Agave gentryi 'Jaws'
My succulent inclinations are still largely on the agaves but recently I've found myself liking hybrid aloes and are now currently a larger percentage of my recent purchases. Every week I find myself potting up these little gems that have arrived on our doorstep.Some of the earlier batch has featured on our blog already but I have yet to take any photos of the newer ones. Gaz asked me to feature them but instead of me taking photos why not use the ones that the seller took and posted on Ebay? They are the same plants afterall...
Resolution isn't great and the scale is rather deceptive (these plants are a lot smaller than what the photo implies but the description accompanying them were accurate) but here are some of them...
Agave 'Little Shark'
Agave 'Royal Spine'
Aloe 'Twilight Zone'
Aloe 'Bright Star'
Aloe claviflora
Aloe 'Fire Ranch'
Aloe 'Green Sand'
Aloe 'Marmalade'
Aloe 'Midnight Child'
Aloe 'Mini Belle'
Aloe 'Pickled Pink'
Aloe 'Pink Blush'
Aloe 'Raspberry Ruffles'
Aloe rauhii
Aloe saponaria 'Variegata'
Aloe 'Silver Ridge'
Aloe 'Silver Star'
Aloe 'Sparkling Burgundy
All of the photos (apart from the first one) were taken by the seller plantlifecactus and they also have their own website which has a link to their Ebay page. They got sent bare root and have since been potted on. Once they are all arranged nicely in their home for the winter (in the Shed O'Fun) I'll take individual photos again and feature them in our blog.Zero calorie treats!
Mark :-)