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Huntington Cactus/Succulent Show 2019
In the Desert Garden
Saturday we went to the Huntington for the annual Cactus & Succulent Show. Our first stop as always is the Desert Garden. Just a few Aloes blooming at this time of year, but there are always beauties to admire.
The Entrance Garden seemed almost overgrown from the miraculous rainy winter of 2018-19
The purple-blue color of the San Gabriel Mountains was distinctly evocative of many California Plein Air paintings.
This is the sole surviving old Aloe barbarae, one of six or eight that lived in the garden for about 100 years. The others reached the end of their lives and were removed over the past couple of years.
We met up with Gerhard of SucculentsAndMore and his wife Heather, and had a brief but very fun visit with them. They were in the LA area for the show.
Bloggers in habitat. Beloved took over photography when we got to the show buildings.
Tacitus bellis. A tiny plant with relatively huge, brilliant pink flowers. I've long wanted to try to grow this plant, but it is not common.
Dorstenia gigas won special honors
A flawless, elegantly simple Haemanthus in flower.
Drimiopsis species with nifty foliage
Didn't look at the label, but this is a crested Pedilanthus, I think. It was the coolest thing, more like a modernist or surrealist sculpture than a plant. Photo does not do it justice!
Really nice show this year. Last year was a little thin.
Gorgeous color on that Gasteria, with the new growth green in the center. Gasteria is an elegant genus closely related to Aloes.
Absolutely, completely flawless Mangave 'Lavender Lady' on the trophy table.
The show is normally held in two different but adjacent buildings. This year the trophy table (the big winners, the best of the best) was switched from the other building to the larger, better well-lit one, and visitors could admire each plant close up.
I got to chat with the charming gentleman who owned and grew trophy table winner Andromischus marianiae f. herrei. He has several of these plants and said that a difference of two feet on the same bench in his shade house made a difference in the coloration of the foliage. This is the color the plant develops in its native habitat. A. marianae f. herrei grows in cracked granite in the Little Namaqualand region of South Africa.
I joked that it was actually a spray-painted plant from a big box store and why did he let the paint wear off? He replied in the same spirit that he removed the glued-on artificial flowers before he brought it to the show.
Real flower stems are just emerging from the foliage
These are crocheted plants of great craft and skill, though I'm not keen on plants that are not actual plants. Nothing can compare to the real thing.
I really wasn't intending to buy any plants at the show sale. We usually go on Sunday, not Saturday, and by then the interesting plants are all gone, but somehow I ended up bringing a box home, though in my defense three of them were gifts from Gerhard, and the others were really cool, inexpensive, and were from the Huntington ISI collection, which helps to support the Huntington Desert Garden.
Aloe hemmingii
Tacitus bellis (!!!!!)
Ursulaea tuitensis
and from Gerhard (Thank you again!!!!):
Mangave 'Espresso'
Mangave 'Greg Starr'
Lagerstroemia 'Cherry Mocha'
Fun day!
Wow! Got to love the succulent family with all it's cool forms and colours. All are beautifully displayed. The Andromischus is particularly gorgeous. Looks like a bouquet of celosia blooms. Do you know what the round plant beneath the silver bowl on the trophy table is? Congratulations on finally getting the Tacitus.
ReplyDeleteThe round plant is Ariocarpus--not certain of species,trigonus or retusus. Ain't it a beauty? A cactus person at the show commented that the fuzz can be blown clean and combed to look its best. No, really. Someone said that.
DeleteHoping I don't kill the Tacitus!
Wish I had that much extra time to blow and comb the cactus fuzz. However, glad someone wants to do it as it looks stunning. Good luck with the Tacitus.
DeletePlant exhibitors are competitive people! Competitive people do weird stuff. A guy on TV just ate 71 hot dogs to win a contest. Ew.
DeleteHard to believe, looking at the show entry Tacitus bellis with its perfect (and perfectly timed!) blooms, that there was one still available to buy; big congratulations on scoring a long-term resident of your wishlist. And what nice presents from Gerhard!
ReplyDeleteNormally the crested forms don't appeal at all, but that Pedilanthus: wow. It looks as if made of porcelain. The shape is endlessly interesting, perfect for placement on a pedestal that would let viewers walk around it to see from every angle.
The 'Lavender Lady' is so flawless that she glows softly with self-satisfaction.
The Pedilanthus did look like it was made from porcealain. Beautiful thing. It was a great show.
DeleteI missed the show yet again. Remodel-related activities took precedence. That Tacitus bellis is wonderful and I look forward to seeing how it does in your garden.
ReplyDeleteInter-city is in August. Keep it in mind. Hope your remodel is going smoothly!
DeleteYes, the flowers on that tiny plant...we'll find out if it motivates me enough to take good care of that little plant.
I have never seen a cactus climb a tree. What a sight. Then you entered the show. WOW. So many of these plants look like statues to me. They seem unreal. All quite beautiful with such unusual forms and exemplary condition. Makes me wish I could grow such beauties.
ReplyDeleteDragon-fruit type cactus do that, if you are familiar with dragon fruit. They are grown on trellis like grapes when commercially farmed.
DeleteTakes more skill to grow many of those rare plants than I will ever have! The plant that looks like green concrete is something that always amazes me.
I love it when the stars align and we get to meet up. Great fun to see the show together!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos from the Desert Garden. I swear, that vining Queen of the Night cactus had more flowers on Saturday than it did on Friday when we walked through!