PROPERTY UPDATE
April 8, 2012
We've finally gotten past winter now and the first signs of spring are beginning to show up with some of our early birds. This winter has been unusually dry and subject to sporadic warm spells. Some plants are leafing out early and we'll just have to wait to see how that affects their summer behavior. This view (right) of the south end of the greenhouse shows many plants just emerging from their winter sleep.
Our Adeniums (above) have come into full bloom. The Pachypodiums (below) especially are putting on a showy display all at the same time this spring.
The plants on Shady Lane too are beginning to show their spring growth.
The new ground beds are finished now and all 53' of them are already planted. The Tylecodons in the nearest boxes were the first to go in and they are already showing their appreciation for the new accomodations.
Another view of the Tylecodons (with some Sarcocaulons next to them). In the background Petra strikes a familiar pose- lovingly tending her flock.
The terracing between Shady Lane and the big greenhouse has been finished for some time now. At this point, we've filled the bigger part of the space with stock plants, but there's still plenty of room for a new crop of residents, which will go in this spring. The terraces performed their secondary function quite satisfactorily this spring. When the rains finally came, we suffered no erosion at all on this slope.
With all of the important infrastructure work behind us, we have finally had time to address more long-term issues, such as the overall drainage on the property. Here we are installing a drain pipe that will run from near the top of the "hill" all the way down to the east property line. There are catch basins on the up-side of both structure pads, as well as one at the top of the slope near the patio.
The uppermost catch basin will be located at the slope break just to the left of the big wooden-potted Aloe.