Eva Solo Birdtable

Here's another radical birdfeeder for you. Eva Solo has sooooo much interesting stuff on the site so don't sleep on this one. More feeders to come.

Cactus & Succulent Society of America

If your looking for a good place to spend $50 and you hope to learn a bunch about cacti & succulents, I recommend the CSSA. There isn't a more complete newsletter and journal on the subject. Join today.

Photo: Peter Bockenthien

ISI succulents

For all of you succulent crazed folks out there that don't know the ISI is the plant introduction program of the Huntington, a non-profit organization based out of the world famous Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Ca. (near Pasadena) Below is a short blurb about them and thier goals. Check the site out for some far out succulents that just might be new to you.

The aim of International Succulent Introductions is to propagate and distribute new or rare succulents to collectors, nurseries and institutions to further research and appreciation of these remarkable plants. Field-collected plants, cuttings or seeds are not sold, only seedlings, grafts and rooted cuttings produced under nursery conditions without detriment to wild populations. Income is used solely to support this program. An annual offering (mail-order only, discontinued each year after September 1) appears in each March-April issue of the Cactus and Succulent Journal and on this website.

Welwitschia mirabilis

Living Stones Nursery & Plants for the Southwest is great nursery and wonderful website based in Tuscon, AZ that is full of just about everything cacti and succulent related. From rare and unusual plants for sale, to botanical books and t-shirts, this gem is one to checkout. Click on the link to get more info on the awe inspiring Welwitschia mirabilis.

Eriosyce

Eriosyce is a genus of much confusion, with many former genus lumped within it. I have collected cacti and succulents for many years and have never encountered a plant tag that read Eriosyce. As with many cacti, old names, new names and wrong names are prevalent, so often one doesn’t really know what they truly have until much hard work and research is done.
I won’t pretend here to be the authority on the subject but merely try and convey some of my findings and hope you as the reader will glean some useful information about the wild world of Eriosyce.
This interesting group of cacti hails from the hot and dry deserts of western South America. As mentioned, Eriosyce is made up of many plants with previous distinctions and names, some include; Chileorebutia, Delaetia, Horridocactus, Islaya, Neochilenia, Neoporteria, Pyrrhocactus, Echinocactus, Rodentiophila, and Thelocephala.
Eriosyce is primarily distinguished by its wooly fruits, which is also where the plant derives its name (greek, erion – wool, syce – fig ) . It also has a unique flower, pollinated by hummingbirds and insects. Other characteristics include fibrous roots that extend from a tap root, heavy spination, in man cases
flattened against the surface, often baring wooly areoles and many species are highly variable which also makes identification more difficult. Another interesting tidbit about Eriosyce is the way in which many of them receive their water. As with much of the coastal Chilean deserts, very little rain finds the desert floor. The plants which inhabit this area survive on seasonal fog and the very, very minimal rainfall which occurs about every tens years or so.
This special group of plants is one to learn about so grab that cacti your not
sure of the name and maybe it becomes your first Eriosyce!

Keep Clean

For those of us who like to garden in style, here are some amazingly awesome garden aprons.

More for the bird lovers

Up next in our week of the bird are these fantastic, inexpensive feeders from Popoutz that come in a ton of nice colors. We love these. For those of us that can't spend a million on a bird feeder.
Soon to be available at the GROW.

Feed the birds

Throughout much of the month, we hope to feature a few of our favorite bird feeders for your modern garden. First up is this radically designed feeder from J Schatz. As they boast, "Egg Bird Feeders attract many types of birds and the elegant, clean design is a perfect addition to any outdoor environment." Couldn't agree more. Lots of colors to choose from.

The Cactus Patch

WOW. This site is really one of a kind. They have just about everything under the sun that is cacti and succulents. From books to plants to botanical prints to potting supplies to everything else about cacti and succulents. Well put together and very informative. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Garden Tools

It's always a challenge when looking for precision garden tools, especially if your not in a big city with specialized garden suppliers. So when a speaker at our cacti & succulent society gave up her online supplier for amazing bonsai shears, my ears perked up. I use my bonsai shears for all kinds of things and in fact, I don't own one true Japanese bonsai. What I do own are many succulent plants that have been worked with as much passion and patience as their bonsai counterparts. Here is the secret site with some great japanese tools for your collection.

Sansevieria City

While over in Hawaii, as I mentioned previously, we met up with Angel Ramos. As a member of both the Hawaii C&SS as well as Sansevieria International, Angel is an authority on Sansevieria. While at his home we took lots and lots of photos and would love to share some of them here with you.

For more info on Sansevieria and their culture, click on the link above.
More photos to come.