Cactus & More

“But I do know that I love you,

And I know that if you love me too

Puya venusta

Ruth Bancroft was delighted when this clump-forming silvery-leaved bromeliad finally flowered in the garden, but sadly it was later killed in a severe cold snap in 1990. It took us a long time to get another one, but we are very happy to have it back! The intense purplish-blue of the flowers, combined with the pinkish-red of the stalks and the silvery leaves - well, it all adds up to a stand-out!

A little kiwi update.

The flower buds have not opened yet, but they grew significantly larger. It's been raining a lot and pretty cold during the night, so I'd say the slow growth is justified.

Mammillaria parkinsonii

This cactus is popular with collectors, and it is not difficult to grow if temperatures do not drop below the mid-20's F (-4 C). The heads divide and then re-divide to make an ever-larger clump, though it never gets tall. The flowers are essentially a very pale yellow with a reddish center stripe on each petal, but when the stripe is prominent enough, the whole flower looks pink from a distance. Native to central Mexico, in the state of Hidalgo.

Haageocereus pseudomelanostele

Haageocereus is a genus of columnar cacti native to coastal Peru and northern Argentina; older plants may form colonies, with the stems creeping out horizontally in the sandy environment where they grow. The rainfall there is extremely low, so plants probably depend on fog off the ocean for survival. The flowers are visited by both bats and hummingbirds. The flowers of the plant pictured here are greenish white, but the species has red-flowered plants as well. Not commonly seen in cultivation.

Hart‘s Tongue Fern II - Helena Parada Kim , 2023.

German, b. 1982 -