Happy Summer!

I love summer! Vacations, long days, barbecues and gardening--I wish it was summer all year long. But here in Wisconsin, it's not. So I have to enjoy it as much as I can while it lasts. And that means heading to the Farmer's Market bright and early on Saturday mornings.

By far my favorite stop to make at the market is Mark and Chris's stand from Creekside Farm. They drive all the way from Prairie du Chein to Madison and they bring with them all kinds of interesting and unusual succulents. Later in the season they harvest equally wonderful vegetables like purple tomatillos and, our favorite, mouse melons. Mark knows me by name, and by now, he likes me enough to give me a discount.


This stunning aloe caught my eye immediately. I love the color and the beautiful fine lines in the leaves. Don't worry--I didn't buy it, it seems too beautiful for even my collection. :)

I was admiring the red Gasteria at the top of this photo. Maybe next week...

But I did go home with a little gem. This is a Euphorbia Quadrangularus, named for its 4-sided stems. It is currently indoors, being babied. Speaking of babies, you can see our little girl, Birdie in the upper left corner. :)

Roadrunners & Aloes

Here is my first succulent dish garden! I finally put my Haeger red planter to good use. Towards the back of the planter is a small Haworthia, an aloe variety, and in the front is a lovely little succulent (possibly Kalanchoe?) with interesting leaf shape and color. The aloe is very sensitive to heat/light, and I'm wondering if it will be ok with these other plants in the long run. We shall see!

I found these super awesome ceramic cups with a very cool roadrunner (and little cacti) on them! I just love them! As a bonus, they fit several of my tinier plants, like this unusual aloe I picked up a few weeks ago from my friend Mark at the farmer's market.

Speaking of aloes, these two beauties are my newest additions. The plant on the left is a Blue Aloe "Elf" which needs to be re-potted and cleaned up a bit, and I'm really at a loss as to what kind the plant on the right is. It's not an Aloe Vera (it is growing little sprouts along a stem, which Veras don't have), it's not variegated, and it looks similar to a mini aloe I have which is red, but this one is pure green. It can't be that rare; I got it at Home Depot!

You may remember a very similar photo I posted not too long ago--this little cactus was blooming when I bought it, then a couple weeks ago it bloomed again! When the blossoms were just opening, they were a darker, more vibrant pink and after they were a day or so old, they faded to this lovely soft pink. So pretty!!