Iberis, or candytuft, started blooming today. I've come to really like this plant. It stays a deep, vibrant green throughout our hot, dry summers and blooms in the middle of winter, while most everything else is dormant.
Two of the three aloes I recently added to the garden as supposedly frost-tolerant species have more or less succumbed to the cold snap of a week or two ago. All the leaf tips of Aloe mudenensis have turned brown and shriveled (the plant may survive), and Aloe distans has gone pale and mushy. So far, A. pratensis is holding its own. Assuming it survives unscathed, it will swell the ranks of the aloes that I know can be grow unprotected outdoors in the 95405 zip code area. The stalwarts are (roughly in order of hardiness) A. striatula, A. aristata, A. buhrii, A. nobilis, A. brevifolia, and A. polyphylla, probably all native to high-altitude habitats in South Africa. A. buhrii, has done especially well (see photo). Two or three other species survive with protection, but I like to let the climate choose the plants; if it can't survive without coddling, I let it go and try something else. I do my best to avoid plants with no hope of survival. I have a shipment of a few other new Aloe species on the way. Stay tuned....
Finally, some real rain today.
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