The Garden Community for Garden Lovers

Blogs on desert plants



Gardeners' thought

Wanting Cactii that flower in your greenhouse ? No problems when its very hot.

Now is the time to start. In California it rains every ten years. The Cactii in the desert flower. Small plants are now...

4 comments

goldenoldie91

22 Oct, 2019
Goldenoldie91

Half a Century of Friendship ! (Part Two)

Part Two continued from previous blog ... a long story. A week before Christmas 1965, a man living up the road from us suddenly...

34 comments

hywel

15 Dec, 2015
Hywel

Resilient Cacti

My cacti and succulents had to manage without any attention at all from August until the end of October, because of circumstances...

29 comments

hywel

30 Nov, 2015
Hywel

Succulent Christmas tree

with howling wind and rain all day here in Pembrokeshire I spent the afternoon making a succulent Christmas decoration. The...

27 comments

sandra

17 Nov, 2015
Sandra

addiction gone mad!!

So it happened again....i have been actively re-homing my collection of cactus when I get another of those phone calls.... Hello...

22 comments

sandra

14 Nov, 2015
Sandra

Jewels of the desert :)

Some of my cacti have small flowers, which look like jewels when they glisten in the sunshine, and they have given a good...

27 comments

hywel

9 Sep, 2014
Hywel

Oh Dear!!! I'm feeling cruel now..

Now you really shouldn't laugh but I know you will.. I couldn't get the poor thing out of the pot, I think I was being too...

20 comments

lincslass

9 Aug, 2014
Lincslass

Indoors if wet! Cacti, Succulents and tender Plants

Having been rained off on numerous occasions in May, I had to taking shelter inside, and have actually notice what's going...

10 comments

siris

7 Aug, 2014
Siris

Pollen collectors.

The flowers on one of my cacti recently attracted some hoverflies. They were there for ages in the sunshine, and I could...

22 comments

hywel

3 Aug, 2014
Hywel

Exotic Desert Flowers

I started collecting cacti when I was a teenager, back in the 1960s. I initially became interested in their morphology-they...

21 comments

hywel

31 Jul, 2014
Hywel

FOR HYWEL

Thought you might like to see these!

21 comments

helenium

9 Feb, 2014
Helenium

Flowering Cacti

Here are some photos of my cacti that have flowered this year ... There are many ! . 1-Species that grow in north and central...

34 comments

hywel

23 Sep, 2013
Hywel

Flower update

Hi guys, been running around like a madman...just about a month left before the big day... Here are a few flowers Huernia...

7 comments

little_things

16 May, 2013
Little_things

Cactus berries

Last year I had some lovely flowers on my cactus Neochilenia crispa. Maybe some of you will remember them, from the photos...

24 comments

hywel

14 May, 2013
Hywel

Here are some more flowering...

Conophytum longum Orbea variegata twins Adenium obesum Lithops marmorata Argyroderma pearsonii Lapidaria margarethae Hope...

9 comments

little_things

1 May, 2013
Little_things

Stinky and more

Here is another 'stinky'-sweet smelling Tromotriche revoluta Another Piaranthus punctatus second clone My personal fav'-Conophytum...

3 comments

little_things

27 Apr, 2013
Little_things

And another not so stinky!

This one is called Piaranthus punctatus and the first of what seems to be 30 blooms opened. So as promised, another stinky...

3 comments

little_things

9 Apr, 2013
Little_things

Collection of pics!

I have been busy doing some editing, and thought I would share some pics for your amusement! First a Giant Protea Carpobrotus...

7 comments

little_things

29 Mar, 2013
Little_things

Some plants just hold a special place!

I have showed Tanquana hilmarii to you, but at the same time the Pleiospilos bolusii flowers. They are known as the living...

11 comments

little_things

22 Mar, 2013
Little_things

Stinky 2 - not so stinky!

This is Stapelia erectiflora, not nearly as stinky... Matured flower today! Cheers Ryan

12 comments

little_things

20 Mar, 2013
Little_things

Inhale - It's Stinky time!!

Hi guys, Here is a set of pics from Orbea variegata! See it you spot the fly larvae already 'caught' by a very clever plant! ok,...

9 comments

little_things

14 Mar, 2013
Little_things

Conophytum

Hi guys, it is time for the little Cono's to wake up after their summer slumber...some do it by offering a flower for joy! C....

6 comments

little_things

6 Mar, 2013
Little_things

Images of plants and gardens in Mexico.

Our time here in Mexico is getting short. I collected many pictures of magnificant gardens, plants and birds and I'd like...

27 comments

klahanie

1 Mar, 2013
Klahanie

sunshine day!!!!

well after what seems like forever the sun finally shone today. i was up early and headed straight for my polytunnel. with...

21 comments

sandra

14 Feb, 2013
Sandra

Tom Thumb type cactus

Yesterday I was cleaning my windows & moved a tray of this cactus onto a chair. Needless to say perhaps but I forgot...

10 comments

feverfew

14 Feb, 2013
Feverfew

Cactus Care Blog

! ! Long blog-only for those interested in the care of cacti. .......................................................................................................... Several...

29 comments

hywel

14 Feb, 2013
Hywel

Take two ; The Cactus of Lanzarote for Hywel

Emboldened by initial success , here come the rest of my pictures of amazing cactii , and I should have taken more , there...

11 comments

driad

12 Feb, 2013
Driad

My Cacti for Hywel...

Hope these pics are good enough Hywel, this one is my oldest one and must be 30+yrs.. 1 You can see what I mean about lumpy...

17 comments

lincslass

11 Feb, 2013
Lincslass

Cactus are us For Hywel

I need to get out more ! I've spent most of this dismal p.m. trying to load up these pics for Hywel , and all who like cactus...

5 comments

driad

10 Feb, 2013
Driad

Plants of Arizona's desert country, Part2

More pictures of the desert plants around the southern Arizona countryside and neighbourhoods. I do not know the scientific...

9 comments

klahanie

29 Dec, 2012
Klahanie

Cactus country for Hywel --Part1

Around Phoenix Arizona. I have collected these pictures from our visit to Arizona this year. Some are from the present visit...

15 comments

klahanie

16 Dec, 2012
Klahanie

Crassula barbata

Maybe one of the most unique Crassula species. This is a monocarpic plant (dies after flowering once), which is sad in a...

7 comments

little_things

29 Sep, 2012
Little_things

Gymnocalycium & Garden

Maybe hywel can give some more direction on this one, there seems to be a few similar in colour... Mammillaria spinosissima...

8 comments

little_things

22 Sep, 2012
Little_things

Patches of colour

Lampranthus and Delosperma are creating patches of colour all over the garden now.. Even Clivia and Mammalaria's are doing...

12 comments

little_things

18 Sep, 2012
Little_things

A little bit of the garden - Zone5 a

One thing that is a given with succulent gardens, they take time to develop, especially if it also forms part of a collection,...

14 comments

little_things

23 Aug, 2012
Little_things

Various plants in my collection

First up is a seedling (1.6 years)-Faucaria tigrina Next is a plant I need to learn about more, but hope to bring flower...

9 comments

little_things

21 Aug, 2012
Little_things

Haworthia's, the small relative of Aloe

I love Aloes and collect them, but loving them, will inevitably lead to the smaller relative, Haworthia. They do not take...

6 comments

little_things

18 Aug, 2012
Little_things

Ruschia radicans in my garden

Ruschia radicans is a great little mesemb to have in the garden. Mine has made a little mound with time, while slowly spreading...

9 comments

little_things

14 Aug, 2012
Little_things

Sea Holly

Recently I saw lots of sea holly- Eryngium maritimum- growing on dunes near here. I took some photos of it. I haven't seen...

48 comments

hywel

22 Jul, 2011
Hywel