The Aloes are blooming

Well, only one of my own Aloes is blooming but most of mine are small specimens.  However, I popped in at the South Coast Botanic Garden last last week to check on their collection.  SCBG extended their Desert Garden to include a larger collection of Aloes last year and, as many of these plants bloom during the winter months when flowers are otherwise scarce, I thought this would be a good opportunity to check on how the new plants are coming along.

This Aloe arborescens was already well-established in the older section of the Desert Garden.  In bloom it lives up to its common names of Candelabra Aloe and Torch Aloe.

Aloe 'David Verity', a hybrid of Aloe arborescens, is perhaps my favorite with its red and yellow blooms

I love Aloe 'Erik the Red' as much for its foliage color as its flower.  The specimens at SCBG are all still small.  This one was just starting to bloom.  This hybrid is a complex mix of 4 Aloe species.

This is the yellow-flowered form of Aloe maculata, aka Soap Aloe

I couldn't identify this one Identified by Diana Studer as Aloiampelos ciliaris, aka Climbing Aloe

Looking like something out of a story by Dr Seuss, this is Aloe pluridens, aka French Aloe

This is Aloe 'Rooikappie', a low-growing variety that blooms off and on year-round.  I have a couple of these in my own garden but mine have never produced this many blooms at one time.

Aloe 'Spiney' was also bred by David Verity.  Its foliage is covered with teeth.

The garden has a wide mass planting of Aloe vanbalenii.  Since my hybrid Aloe ferox x vanbalenii came from SCBG, I'm guessing one of these may be its parent.

While I was at SCBG, I also took a quick spin through the older section of the Desert Garden.  Here are some of the highlights:

Not the best photo but the dark Aeoniums glowed ruby-red here

This is a Boojum tree (Fouquieria columnaris), another plant well-suited to a Dr Seuss story

Stenocereus griseus, which always makes me think of a sea creature (a prickly one)

Drimia maritima, aka sea squill, isn't a succulent but I found these low-water plants growing in the Desert Garden anyway.  I love their leaves, which looked great here backlit by the sun.  I've coveted this plant for a long time but the bulbs were hard to find.

However, I finally found one at a relatively reasonable price last year.  The bulb was huge and heavy.  I planted it on my back slope, where my raccoon friends promptly dug it up and tossed it aside.  I replanted it and stuck a wire cage over it.  Now that the plant's foliage has emerged I've removed the cage and left it to fend for itself.

Whatever your weather this weekend, I hope you manage to find some bright color to liven it up.


All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party