Tag Archive for: succulent

Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Whale’s Tongue Agave

Agave are my favorite succulent of mine in my own garden and also finds itself a prominent addition to many of my landscape designs.

There is so much to love about agave, from the unique, rosette pattern of their succulent leaves to the dramatic flowering stalk that they send up toward the end of their lives.

whale tongue

whale’s tongue agave

While I have several species of agave, whale’s tongue is one of my favorites.

This agave first drew my attention when my friend and fellow blogger, Pam Penick, wrote about the one growing in her garden, where it takes center stage in her backyard.

Since then, I have seen several throughout the greater Phoenix landscape as well.  

whale tongue agave

There is so much to like about this agave including how its blue-green color adds great color contrast to the landscape.

whale tongue agave

I also happen to like the unique shape of its leaves, that really do resemble a whale’s tongue.

Do you think this lovely agave deserves a place in your landscape?

Learn more about how and where to plant this agave as well as what plants to pair it with for maximum impact in my latest Houzz plant profile.  

 

Have you ever seen this agave in the landscape?  What would you plant alongside it?

A Welcome Gift From an Agave and a Friend

Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Aloe Vera

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Do you use any lotion that contains aloe vera?

While most of us think of the medicinal qualities of aloe vera – particularly how they provide relief from burns, its beauty, and drought tolerance make it well worth adding to our “Drought Tolerant And Beautiful” category.

Aloe vera(Aloe barbadensis)

Aloe vera(Aloe barbadensis) thrives in drought-tolerant gardens and produces lovely, yellow flowers in spring, much to the delight of hummingbirds everywhere.  

Want to learn more about this succulent beauty?  Check out my latest plant profile for Houzz.  

Great Design Plant: Aloe Vera

How about you?  

Have you ever grown aloe vera?

Beautiful Agave: How to Grow and Use It In Your Landscape

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Queen butterfly and a Victoria agave

Queen butterfly and a Victoria agave

Do you like succulents?

I do.  I must admit that I am not a huge fan of cacti in my own garden – I have only two.  But, I do have a number of agave, which are without a doubt, my favorite succulent.

What’s not to love about agave?

They are drought-tolerant, fuss-free and with over  200 species to choose from, the possibilities in the landscape are almost endless.

From species 18 inches in size to large size species over 6 feet tall and a variety of colors and leaf shapes to choose from, it’s a wonder that I don’t have more agave in my landscape.

Would you like to include agave in your landscape?

Learn more about this versatile agave and how to use it in your landscape in my latest article for Houzz.


Do you have agave growing in your garden?  What species is your favorite?

Decorate the Landscape With Versatile Agave

 
 

Colorful Flowers With a Fancy Name

One of my favorite plants is described as having ‘chartreuse-colored’ flowers.

Just saying the word, ‘chartreuse’ sounds fancy, doesn’t it?

So what color is chartreuse anyway?

Well, I looked up the definition and found this definition from Wikepedia:

– “a color halfway between green and yellow that resembles a French liqueur called Chartreuse.”

The only reason that I know what color chartreuse is, is because of the flowers produced by this favorite plant of mine…

Colorful Flowers

Colorful Flowers

They are pretty, aren’t they?

What I find quite funny about this plant is that while the color of its flowers have a fancy French name – the common name of this plant is somewhat derogatory.

Beautiful Colorful Flowers of Euphorbia biglandulosa

Beautiful Colorful Flowers of Euphorbia biglandulosa

This succulent plant with the fancy-colored flowers is known as a ‘gopher plant’.

In late winter and early spring, chartreuse-colored flowers appear in zone 9a, providing a welcome splash of color.

As the flowers age, they take on a different appearance that I like as well…

Euphorbia biglandulosa

They do great in full sun or light shade.  Gopher plants don’t need any special care.  Just provide well-drained soil and supplemental water.  The only thing to be careful of is not too overwater them – no more then once a week during the warm months.

Once they are done flowering, prune back the old stems.  Gopher plants (Euphorbia biglandulosa), grow approximately 2 ft. wide and 1 ft. high.

I like planting them nearby boulders or in groups of three.

I often recommend this plant to clients, but I don’t call it ‘gopher plant’ because let’s face it; would you want to add a plant called that without having seen it first?

Instead, I refer to it as “an attractive succulent with chartreuse-colored” flowers.

Which would you prefer to have in your garden; a gopher plant OR a succulent with chartreuse-colored flowers?