What's Up With Aloes

The rain we got in October and November made the xeric portions of the garden quite beautiful.  7 months of dust washed away, and new growth from everything.  More flower stems on the Aloes than is usual.

Our Second Spring is Fall 

I managed to get up on the front slope to inspect Aloe 'Eric The Red', which appeared to have an Aloe gall mite infestation.  It did: an extensive one.  I yanked 'Eric' out, along with the trash palm seedling that had sprouted next to it.  

Into the bin with you! 

The winter's Aloe show begins.  Some starting to show color and open, and new flower stems emerging--color yet to come.

A. candelabrum: 

A. candelabrum's companion--fellow South African Protea 'Claire':

Stems emerge on A. castanea:

Nearby, behind Kalachoe beharensis, is Arctostaphylos 'Austin Griffiths' in full flower:

The flowers are tiny, the size of peas, but there are hundreds of them:

A. 'Hellskloof Bells' flowered last summer, but the foliage washed clean softly gleams in winter light:

Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon':

Aloe cameronii aside the driveway--I pulled a rosette of it off the cameronii out on the front bank and planted it here.  The wall behind highlights the beauty of the Aloe and the Aeonium on either side of it.   

A. thraskii is open and attracting bees:

It's getting quite tall, 8 feet, at least (not including the flowers).  The long stretch of heat we got in September stressed it, bleaching the foliage somewhat, but the October and November rain events seem to have helped it bounce back:

Aloe hardyi is a cliff dweller and I speculate this location is too hot for it.  It looked stressed all summer.  I should move it to a spot with more shade.  Blooming though, thanks once again to the autumn rains:

Grevillea 'Superb', being its usual superb self:

As rose flushes go, 'Brass Band's isn't impressive, but it is pretty good for late December:

One of the Aizoaceae, a Delosperma perhaps, is finally in a spot that's enabled it to prosper.  I always had it in too dry a place.  This area gets a bit of irrigation.  

Out on the front slope, Leucadendron 'Cloudbank Ginny' is threatening to overwhelm Aloe 'David Verity'.  Didn't stop 'David' from pushing out a flower stem, though:

First sign of the red A. ferox flower stem emerging:

The white A. ferox is well advanced:

A. vanbaleni:

Two flower stems on Aloe tauri.  This Aloe's foliage turns bright red when stressed.  It isn't stressed at the moment:

Staring way up at the larger of the two A. 'Hercules', I realized there are flowers up there:

Flowers that can't be easily seen, unless you are a bird:

Down the road from us, a big old clump of Aloe arborescens is flowering.  Yes, that autumn rain again.  I walked there and took pictures. 

This was a big clump when we moved here 25 years ago.  Now it's bigger.  10 feet across, at least:

The flowers were humming with bees:

Back at home, a rose greeted me: 

And surprise, surprise, the first Hellebore flower of the winter:

We're forecast to get rain for Christmas.  For a SoCal gardener, what better present is that?  

Happy Solstice, Happy Holidays!