Statuesque Pines
Tag: beautiful
Wistful Moments
Orange & Yellow
Say ‘Hello’ to my latest Cacti flowers, from my Parodia Mairanana!
I was walking up the side of the house (that we just moved to) and something caught the corner of my eye…it was the gorgeous colour of these flowers.
My Cacti and Succulents (before we moved) had grown to 160 plants. Some of them were duplicates, most not and I have realised that my hobby was getting out of hand. We intend to buy a house next year, however, after the latest move I have come to the conclusion that I need to downsize my collection.
We had a garage sale before moving and I sold/offloaded about 50 plants, reducing my collection to 110. This is still a lot of plants to move, particularly when you consider the size of some of the plants and the pots.
I am going to bite the bullet and pick out my favourite say, 30 plants and have another garage sale.
I also think that I am going to change direction slightly in terms I what future Cacti and Succulent plants I will buy, i.e., I think I will aim for the smaller, flowering plants. There will still be some columnar plants but mainly smaller Ball-type ones.
Written by David Johnson
28 November 2022
More Beauties!
It has been a bit of a challenge posting in this past week as we are in the process of moving. Always a fun task, not!
Following on from my last post, I can excitedly report that two more of my Cacti and Succulents have flowered in the past week.
The first is an Aylosteria pulvinosa. It is only a small Cacti plant measuring 5cm across and has had pups and the flowers in the image are (apart from that flowered last week) the first full crop of flowers that this plant has produced.
The second plant to flower this week (in fact it bloomed today), is an Epiphyllum Hybrid which is sometimes mistakenly called a ‘Dragonfruit’ plant, according to the Cacti and Succulent Association of Australia. I joined the Society nearly 12 months ago and am learning a lot.
I love the rich, Red colour of this flower which really contrasts well against the Green foliage of the plant.
Two more beauties from my collection that have flowered so far in Spring.
I am so looking forward to the rest of Spring and Summer!
Written by David Johnson
12 November 2022
Norfolk Island Is
Transformation
Refined by the sea
Cacti & Succulents – Gone Potty!
In a blog article I did back in September 2018, I explained where my love of Cacti and Succulents came from…a gift from one of my Aunts at the age of 14. I fell in love with their uniqueness and beauty and started off with just a few plants in a low, Terracotta pot whilst living at my parents home to a 35 square metre garden when my wife and I lived at our first location.
We live in a different location now on a much smaller block so currently, all my Cacti and Succulents are in pots. When we move in the future, I’m sure I will have a garden for them as well as keeping some in pots.
With some recent additions early in the year, I now have 133 plants of all different shapes and sizes. Some of the species include: Cereus, Lobivia, Echinopsis, Cleistocactus, Astrophytum, Parodia, Mammillaria, Echinocereus, Corypantha, Cotyledon, Crassula, Agave and more.
Three things that I am looking forward to are:
- Growing Cacti from seed.
- Sketching/Painting my Cacti and Succulents.
- Growing my collection.
This love affair with these unique and beautiful plants has now been running for 44 years and will continue long into the future!
Written by David Johnson
20 June 2021
Summer Rain
Woven By DNA
Communicating Creatively 