"Baby Toes" Flowers Have Appeared!!

What a surprise! My first experience with the flowers of Baby Toes a.k.a. officially as: Ficoidaceae-Aizodaceae fenestraria, was a simple white, daisy-like flower, but boy was I surprised by the delicate shade of pink and yellow flowers that appeared on this one! You never know what you're going to get. I wrote about this recently here, and so far three flowers have appeared. In the picture below I only show two, but since then another has appeared, and if I'm not incorrect there will be a fourth one appearing shortly! Click to enlarge the pictures. The colors are unbelievable! Fairy tell like, if you ask me!

My "Baby Toes": Ficoidaceae-Aizoaceae fenestraria

Remember me whining a while back about how terrible my "Baby Toe" succulent plant was doing? Or maybe I only whined to Donna about it? Hmm.... Anyway, here's how it looked in between the bad stage, including a picture of the pretty white flower that had bloomed. Not too long after this it started going down hill. Probably due to overwatering. I was so bummed out, 'cause my plant was getting all "smooshy" and I really loved my Baby Toe succulent plant. After that one started going down the toilet, I decided to pick up a couple of others, just in case I lost the first one. Well, I left the plant alone and believe it or not it recovered. Here's a picture of it now, with lots of new "toes":
Okay, so that's great, right? But what really got me wanting to blog about this excellent succulent specimen was the fabulous flower buds that appeared on one of my other plants. Three buds, to be exact! I was really surprised when I noticed these the other day. Here's a pic that shows the new flower buds growing on the plant on the right:

And then here's another great plant I have that's doing fabulous:

Anyway, I just had to share this. I've got another post coming up real quick! I'm excited to share with you my latest purchase, which I'm really excited about. Someone better get me a nice big yard, real quick like!). I'll give you a hint...it is subtropical and it bears fruit. Any guesses???

Frogs, Frogs and more FROGS!

My Mom LOVES frogs. And when I say she LOVES frogs, I'm not exaggerating one bit. My daughter Micaela took pictures of all her frogs, and boy were there a lot of pictures of frogs. She lost count when she tried counting them all, but we will make a valiant attempt to count them all the next time we visit during the summer. It all started over me buying her one little toad. I know, it's not a frog, but that's what kicked off her HUGE frog addiction. Anyway, I found some GREAT frogs at the 99 Cent store. I was sure to pick up a couple for my Mommy, and a couple for myself, of course. So here they are along with some of my plants I haven't blogged yet (Click on them to enlarge if you like!):

And here's a close-up:

And here's another little friend. Ain't he cute?

And we can't forget this little guy either:

My Latest Project...

Okay, so my old project, propagating succulent plants from leaves, blew away, literally. Yes, Donna and I experienced a great deal of wind about a week or two ago and I came home to find my leaves and their corresponding pots all over the balcony, and dirt everywhere. I got over it and I'm trying simpler methods, but the other day I picked up some Aizoceace Split-Rocks, Lithops and Conophytum plants at Lowe's and one thing led to another...

So, I got this idea, (which always gets me in trouble), to try to grow Lithops. Why? I don't know, I'm just drawn to do it, and probably because in researching the plants, I came across a few people who were growing them from seed, so I had to try it! I borrowed a tank from Donna, and I'm going to create a greenhouse for the seedlings. I'm so excited, like a mad scientist! I just ordered seeds from eBay, from a company called "The Cactus Seed." (Those are his pics up above). I'm getting a 100 "mixed" Lithop seeds in the bottom pic, and 20 Conophytum, which are those in the top pic.

I should have my seeds within 3 days, I hope. They're coming from Illinois. Hey, I wonder if the California Cactus Center sells seeds???? I emailed them once before, but they never responded, but perhaps I should try calling them or emailing them again? (What do you think Donna)? BTW...I was there this weekend, (The California Cactus Center), and it was great! It's an awesome store, with tons of exotic cacti and succulents, pots of all kinds, great soil, rock cover, etc. It started to rain, which was really interesting. I had a lot of fun that day! They have Sophia, the one-eyed cat, who sits in a box next to the register. She's so sweet. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how the project goes!

Where Have I Been???

Have you missed me? Where have I been? Poor Jack's sweet face above, a picture taken as he's crying to me for attention, (be sure to click on it for a close up) clearly expresses my sorrow in not being able to write on my blog! It's killing me not being able to spend time talking about things I love and sharing with you the latest succulents I've added to my garden.

I told you in the beginning, that I am back in college, College of the Canyons to be exact. I'm taking two classes, Anthropology 101 and British Literature 1. The British Lit. class is killing me. The work is unbelievable, on top of the fact that I found out it's an 8 week course, not a 16 week course. I'm freaking out! My professors syllabus is ridiculous and I'm working with her to try and make it more reasonable. It really should be a 16 week course, as I thought it was in the first place.

Okay, so I had some fun picking a poem for my latest homework in the class today. We're into 17th century literature at this point, and I picked Andrew Marvell's lusty, "To His Coy Mistress." Ooh-La-La! I think I have a thing for lusty "carpe diem," i.e., "seize the day" poems. I have to share this one with you, which has crazy metaphors in an attempt to persuade his "Coy Mistress" to hurry up and go to bed with him already:

To His Coy Mistress
by Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)

HAD we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, Lady, were no crime
We would sit down and think which way
To walk and pass our long love's day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges' side 5
Shouldst rubies find: I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood,
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews. 10
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow;
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast, 15
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, Lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate. 20
But at my back I always hear
Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found, 25
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song: then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust: 30
The grave 's a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.
Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires 35
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may,
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour
Than languish in his slow-chapt power. 40
Let us roll all our strength and all
Our sweetness up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life:
Thus, though we cannot make our sun 45
Stand still, yet we will make him run.

What did you think of his references to her decaying body in her tomb? What a nut! I think if I were this lady, I would have been cracking up! I'm not sure yet whether I would have given in or not. He seems like he might be a lot fun though...hee-hee! Like I sad, "What a nut!"

On to succulents:

So I've added some more plants to my garden. I've got a bunch to blog about, but no time. I have to get all their scientific information together. I will be starting with my "rock-like" plants first and then working my way back. I've a ton to catch up on. Above is my growing "indoor" succulent garden, and below is the plants I will blog on tomorrow, if everything goes right!

BABY TOES: Ficoidaceae-Aizoaceae Fenestraria Rhopalophylla

I'm up entirely too early this lovely Saturday morning, but I couldn't sleep. I have so much on my mind. I will be visiting some nurseries today, and I can't wait, plus I've been so caught up with my school work, that I haven't really had time to post any more articles on my nearly 30 specimens of succulents! It's been driving me bonkers! I got my school work done after 8:00 last night and now I'm kicking off my weekend of posts with my absolute favorite of all succulents:

The sweet and adorable Baby Toes!

This plant is bizarre and fanciful to behold. I loved it so much I had to have two of them, and picked one up for my friend Donna yesterday; a little beat up, but still salvageable! (By the way, I'm going through this plant rescuing thing, picking up prospective beauties and attempting to revive them at home). Okay, I've got to stop side tracking here. Anyway, the story goes that only the top portion of the plant leaf sticks out from the sand. It has this marvelous looking convex, bulging, somewhat translucent window at its tip that adjusts itself by becoming more or less translucent depending on the weather conditions. It does all this for optimum photosynthesis and protection from the harshness of the sun. This is why they say that if your Baby Toes aren't getting enough sun, the translucent window will spread further open and can change the look of your plant!

Let's get to the scientific stuff:

Family: Ficoidaceae (fy-koy-DAY-see-ay) meaning "fig-like"
Genus:Fenestraria (fen-es-TRAY-ree-uh) meaning window in Latin and rhopalophylla
Species: rhopalophylla
Common Name: Baby Toes
Min Temp: to 32 degrees F
Bloom: A variety of colors such as yellow, purple and white like a daisy! - Varies
USDA Zone: Zone 9
Exposure: Bright light/Partial Shade
Height: Under 6 inches
Origin: Cape Province, South Africa and South West Africa

Here's what The Cactus Collection has to say about it:

"Fenestraria or "Baby Toes" are very unusual plants from the deserts of South Africa. These plants belong to large family of Aizoaceae (synonymous with Mesembryanthemaceae), which includes plants known as "Mimicry" plants for their ability to camouflage with their environment. "Baby Toes" have finger-like leaves in upright clusters. Each "finger" has a translucent "window" at the tip, and it is through this window that the harsh African sunlight if filtered to enable photosynthesis. In habitat, often only these "windows" are visible above the quartz sand. Prefers a soil with less organic material; extra pumice or perlite provides excellent drainage essential to these type of plants. Requires bright light to prevent "stretching" of the leaves. Water thoroughly when soil is dry to the touch. Will not tolerate water-logged soils. Somewhat frost tolerant, but protection is advisable to prevent scarring."

As you can see from above, they list a different family name for Baby Toes. I listed the family that I found in one of the books I checked out from the library, ficoidaceae, but they list it as Aizoaceae, which means "evergreen."

Below is a beautiful bloom on my Baby Toes! It looks just like a pretty daisy!

And here is where my Baby Toes lives, protected by Sir Patrick Corridan, my fabulous garden gnome.

Side note: I sure wish the spell check was working...