There. How’s that for proof of some holiday spirit stirring? You can keep the poinsettias. I’ll take my holiday colors in the form of Aeonium ‘Mardi Gras.’
And then there was that very festive plant swap meetup this past week with Gail & Kris that helped start the thawing of my holiday-averse heart. My offering was pups of this variegated Agave bracteosa ‘Monterrey Frost.’ Gail (Piece of Eden) brought a sackload of rare plant treats, as did Kris (Late to the Garden Party). Kris was also entrusted with the solemn duty of dispersing pups from Pam’s whale agave Moby, who passed on in her Austin, TX garden in 2016.
(That’s my very young whale agave also in the photo above, the selection ‘Frosty Blue.’)
This weekend I plan on getting some shopping done at some of the craft fairs that are popping up. A sure bet looks like the Renegade Craft Fair, especially since it will be held at Grand Park this year. And this Sunday is perfect timing for the Rose Bowl Flea Market too. If you’re in Long Beach, the source of my ‘Monterrey Frost’ agave was Urban Americana, a great place, btw, for some holiday shopping. Lots of Bauer and Gainey pottery, including this lust-inducing Bauer Hanging Indian Pot. Maybe Marty will check the blog before the 25th. Long Beach harbor’s twinkly boat parade this Saturday night always softens me up and gets me in a holiday mood. And If I stream the semi-holiday-themed movie “About A Boy,” maybe while baking some Molasses Crinkle cookies, I should be just about there.
Have a very merry weekend!
I much prefer your Aeonium over a Poinsettia too. What fun to get together with Gail and Kris to swap plants. I’ve been baking lots of holiday cookies lately. We’re going to get very fat.
That Aeonium is splendid, in season or out. Your Agave bracteosa pup is in the ground with some other (non-variegated) squids to keep him company. As you and Gail both passed on the Barleria obtusa, I’ve been squeezing my orphan plants into my own garden, which will probably be swamped by bush violets come next summer.
It was good to see you. Best wishes with the holiday shopping!
I have exactly 2 Bauer clay pots, one came from my late MIL and the other I found in an antique shop for 12 dollars-clearly they didn’t realize what they had. I should have resisted clicking on that link. I knew I’d be sorry and obsessed with having a hanging Indian pot. My Chipman reference book says the Indian pot was also made in green.
@Allison, our neighborhood has an annual cookie get-together where we swap goodies, so that mitigates the getting fat a bit!
@Kris, “bush violets” is a very evocative name that’s making me regret declining your cuttings! But at least I can enjoy them on your blog.
@Kathy, some price, right? But I love that it has holes pre-drilled for hanging. And green too? Oh, you shouldn’t have supplied that tidbit…
My ‘Mardi Gras’ bloomed and died without progeny, so bah humbug on that. Thanks for the great plants and the fun conversation. We missed you at lunch.
The tree is Hoheria augustifolia? Might have a place for it.
Oh that’ sounds like a fun swap I wish I could have attended! I was thinking about baking gingerbread cookies tomorrow. I think you’ve convinced me.
I’m with you, I’ll take an aeonium over a pointsettia any day!
I bet your plant swap was fun. I wish I lived a few hundred miles closer to y’all :-).
That is definitely a festive Aeonium. Love it, and well, frankly, most everything in your garden.