Late afternoon, and the garden lights up

Our Xeric bed gets alot of direct sun as its faces south west, but late in the afternoon its become a little shady as one or two of ours shrubs have shot up. So I clipped and cut back and have made a gap to take advantage of the late afternoon sun. 

And today I saw it for the first time, backlit and not looking too bad.

A few more Agavoides babies.

My friend Harry told me a great plant quote, which was " I don't  grow labels I grow plants "

And with hybrid seedlings you are growing the unknown, but they could be marvelous.

Here's a few of my recent additions

A pale green with red tips

Next Burgundy tips..

Now this was called Super Sirius, and is a very nice Agavoides

I call this purple spiky for now

and lastly one with a blush to it and great tips

An ugly duckling....but it will be beautiful !

You know the story a ugly duckling grows into a beautiful swan. Well that's going to be the story of my Agave Ovatifolia or Whales Tongue Agave as it is also known .

Due to finances I couldn't go go large and buy a beautiful specimen , but came across a nursery that had a single one that had been overwintered.  To be kind it was battered and stressed , but was assured that once in the ground it would flourish.

So I set about making a mound in the bed for it to sit in with good drainage and room for it to grow. Hopefully it will be very happy next to the Agave Montana.

Blue and Spikey

Such a beautiful looking Agave, I hope Im right in its name being Parryi ? Has always been in a pot but maybe being liberated soon after my success with a dry winter shelter.

Same, same but different

As well as loving my plants, I have a background in martial arts. There is a phrase from my teacher which was, 'Same, same but different'. And in this world of Echeveria Agavoides this is certainly true with the change of colour in different temperatures and levels of sunlight. Same plant, different outcomes.

For myself I'm not one to keep plants pampered under glass , I'm not looking for artificial perfection but what natures reveals in itself. And what does it do? Splodges and colour changes to name a few things.

Although its late spring here's a selection.

Aquamarine, a jade green specimen with a hint of red tips starts to change with red edging

Its called Honey Pink, but what's in a name?  Splodges !

Giant Purple/Purple Giant 

This one was interesting, bought originally as a plain green but nicely shaped Sirius, it is showing some great markings 

This is one of a group of hybrid seedlings from Plantlife Cactus  that could turn out to be something quite special.

This unnamed variety is from Portugal and is turning out to be a great looking plant with interesting markings.

  
Another cracking little seedling from Plantlife Cactus with great rich colouring

There are more pictures to come, as Im building quite a nice little collection now.
This year should see good growth and changes in colour.

Spring has sprung..with yellow Delospermas

Such a cheery sight and light up the garden with their vibrant colour. This year although a few were lost, one was in my dry bed that had a temporary cover over it, that worked maybe too well?? But a lost plant, is just another excuse for more experimenting (shopping).

Here are my two yellow's, one Lampranthus the other a modern low growing Delosperma

Everyone loves a cheeky red