Kalanchoe beauty!

Hi everyone!

Can you believe that I have nothing to say??? I've been busy working over at Moms house, and other than that, I have done a smidgen of attempted embroidery, and could not stay focused. This is a problem. I am searching for embroidery stuff everywhere I can think of...DMC, blogs, the web, books, etc., and never really find what I am looking for. What am I looking for??? I'm not even sure. I have begun to think I enjoy a quest more than the finding, and I never like them to come to an end! Are any of you like that???

My kalanchoe is looking lovely right now with little leaflettes all along the edges of each large leaf. This is my favorite succulent of all, but then again I think I could have mentioned that a few times before. hehehehe.

Kalanchaloe daigremontianum on right in stawberry pot, and Kalanchoe tubiflora on left alongside of tires.

So, I am busy every day, but still looking for a great beginning to something fun...an adventure, a new start. Have any of you had a new adventure recently...or started something very exciting???

Looking forward to hearing from you if you have!

xoxo- Julie

I'm dripping in eggplants, and other garden delights!

When I got home today, the lighting seemed perfect for a few garden shots!
My Kalanchoe are covered in leaflets right now! Here is a shot looking straight down onto the top of a K. tubiflora (talk about an awe inspiring design)!!!:

And K. daigremontianum. Isn't this just gorgeous colors???

The new Drift Rose is getting covered by new flowers!




I have a load of green tomatoes. Besides this plant, I have 3 more plants loaded up!!! I think I will make Emeril Lagasse's Green Tomato Pie...I found the recipe in my last Organic Gardening Magazine! Looks delicious!

How many eggplants do you see hanging in there??? I counted 8 visable ones, and a few more were hidden by leaves!!! These babies are continually producing...I have to admit we are reaching the brink with consumption though...I think I have too many plants for sure...but it has been a ton of fun!!!



This little guy ran out just in time for me to snap a pic of him...he seemed to enjoy modeling...stood there quite a while! It looks like his body is wet, and his tail is dry, doesn't it???

I ended up going to work today for my last day of laptop training...
I still have laryngitis tonight, but feel good. It has been a strange illness in that I have been able to carry on throughout. Thank God!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!
Julie

A sweet little succulent shell garden discovered!

When I re-did my succulent tire the other day, amongst the shells used as a top dressing, I discovered the cutest little garden within itself!

A close up. A kalanchoe, for sure. Love the little swirling pattern in the leaves at this stage of growth. Looks like a K. tubiflora. So cute.

Right now it is hanging out in my kitchen window, but I think I will sit it inside another pot of succulents for a little fun decor! Hehehe!

Kalenchoe in the cracks!

I have always found many spawn of these two Kalenchoes (large leaf is Kalanchoe daigremontianum, and thin long leaf is Kalanchoe tubiflora) growing in my tires outside, but have never had any grow in the cracks between my tires...until now! I am kinda excited about it...it makes it look more filled in and softer around the black tire edges. Anyway, I always call these two mothers in crime, Mother of Thousands, Mother of Millions, and Mother of Trillions! They propogate like crazy women!!! LOL! :)

Cactus Monday!

Update on the sketchbook I made (in last post)...I am taking it over and keeping it for myself!!! I could not let it go after making it! LOLOL! I have discovered that the brown paper bag paper loves gel pen ink! WOW! It soaks it up. Of course, I am probably the last person on earth to discover that!!!

Here are 3 cactus that are showing some new things. First, my Bunny Ear Cactus has some new bunny ears! It happened seemingly overnight...looked out the kitchen window, and BAM, there they were! There are others also protruding now, but these two are the cutest!

Here is continuing new growth on my Mammillaria. I have been surprised by this particular cactus over the years...it has had soggy looking days in the past, where I just knew it would die of rot, but it has continued to thrive! Probably because of our last 3 years of drought.

This is the same Mammillaria, and a new set of blossoms completely encircling the end. It is rare for me to ever catch the blooms all the way around. (I don't watch closely enough, generally). This one has been blooming all spring, and it seems like a sort of second wind for it.

And a couple of shots of succulents...all Kalenchoe varieties with their little leaflets all along the leaf edges or ends.
Kalenchoe tubiflora:

Kalenchoe daigremontianum:

And one without leaflets, but a blue-green fuzzy little bugger with chocolate leaf edges...oh so adorable!
Kalenchoe tormentosa:

Have a Happy Cactus Monday everyone!!!

Pics of the wild growing Kalanchoe!

OK, today I finally had my camera to take pics of the Kalenchoe that grows wild in a big neglected field a few towns away from me.

In the picture below you can see the long thin leaves which were quite scraggly! Then below that are the pictures I took showing them in large groups and close up. 3w
I apologize that they are all sort of out of order, but I didn't have the time to rearrange them!

The long thin more yellow leaves belong to this plant! The plants growing out here in the wild have barely any leaves left on them and I had to search to find one that had this many, if you can believe it!


Aren't the blooms so pretty close up??? You can't really see the brightness of the red color in the farther away pictures!





Now I feel like doing a little research on all the different Kalenchoes....I think I am becoming infatuated with them all...

Kalanchoe tubiflora

Oh my goodness...I do feel like I am learning so much with my new Succulent book as far as being able to ID a bit more! It is very exciting! Here is what happened with this plant. I took a picture of it out in my tires. I felt it matched up with Kalanchoe tubiflora, in my book. The only thing was that the pic in the book had little adventitious buds on the ends of the leaves......I didn't think my plant had these until I looked at my photo....and lo and behold...they were there!!! Can you see them??? LOL. Funny how you don't sometimes see something till it nearly bites you in the buttocks!!!