x Pachyveria 'Claire'

In order to make more room in one of the greenhouses, Lynn-Marie brought in some trays of Pachyveria 'Claire' and placed them on the table next to the front window. It added a nice touch to the otherwise traditional holiday decor.

And this year, for the first time, all the lights on the tree were LED, noticeably reducing the energy consumption.

Epicactus 'Piland's Pride'

No, Piland's Pride isn't flowering yet. This is from our archives, but buds are beginning to form. So I'm posting this photo as a kind of encouragement to those buds.

And with the weather the past few days, this may be all the encouragement they need. Our expected low tonight is about 50 F...and our high tomorrow is expected to be about 53. And rain. Well, not lots of rain, though there is a flood watch for a few areas. Let's just say it's wet! Normal, Oregon wet for this time of year.

Cactus Chatter posted in Argentina Blog

Since I had included some photos from her wonderful blog (Cecicactus) in the December issue of the publication of the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society, I thought it only appropriate to send a copy to Ceci as thanks. Little did I know that she would post the entire newsletter on her blog. Thanks Ceci! You're a dear friend.

Osita

A bit of a diversion from plants tonight. This is one of our two companions on our various trips, Osita. She's a Belgian Tervuren (Le Belge Berge) and along with her mother, Kiani, she's always in the middle of things around the nursery and tags along with us in our travels throughout the Southwest deserts.

I hope I'll have time to take some pics pretty soon, but in the meantime I'll be posting a bit less often. Thanks for your patience.

Aloe bakeri

A quick post tonight on Christmas Eve, a photo taken by Lynn-Marie the other day of the flower of Aloe bakeri. It and another narrow leaved Aloe, A. albiflora, are blooming right next to each other in the greenhouse, a veritable forest of small "grass" aloes.

It's now time for this old Santa to hit the sack, 'cause there are a lot of packages to be wrapped in the early morning. Hope you have a wonderful day. Back at you next week. Peace!

Lithops optica 'Rubra' C287

A couple of days ago I took a picture of this 4 year old, seed-grown Lithops opitica 'Rubra' C287. Such lovely and striking little flowers on such impressive little bodies.

Our best wishes to all of you for a joyful and blessed
Christmas and a bountiful New Year in which more and more of the people of the world receive the resources needed in order to thrive. May God bless you all!

Aloe deltoideonta var. candicans

I've posted this plant before but Lynn-Marie took a new photo. It's a really cool Aloe in my opinion...and, besides, they've been growing nicely.

Just the photo. Not much to say tonight. Too tired. Family over tomorrow night and then again Sunday afternoon for Christmas.

Enjoy your plants!

Winter Solstice

Well. The Winter solstice is here and the days start getting longer. I'm all for that. So far we've had a really mild winter and December has been especially mild... and dry! Palm Springs, California has had more rain than we've had. I'm not complaining, mind you. I know there's plenty of time for the rains to arrive and I'm sure we'll get them. But, nevertheless, it always feels good to know that things are heading back the other direction. Just like it's done every year during my almost 72 years on this earth. Some things do stay the same.

Enjoy your plants!