They have perfect lines...
and curves...
and perfect colors.
They are cute and charming but resilient and hardy.
Succulents
What would you like to be if you were a plant? Personally, if I had an option to be a tree I'd be Sequoia. They are fat strong and tall and can overlook the hustle and bustle of life below from the high. But if not a tree, I'd be a cactus. Why not? And I would live 100 years. No kidding, cacti can live even longer. But not sure if our world would live so long. I would be a beautiful thorny cactus.
I took all these pictures in the greenhouse of Kyiv Botanical Garden about a month ago, i.e. this winter. When I sorted and edited them it turned out that I have a favorite.
Kroenleinia grusonii
Also known as the golden barrel cactus, golden ball or mother-in-law's cushion, mother-in-law's chair. Wow, what a variety and creativity. Especially regarding the mother-in-law. It is a species of barrel cactus that is endemic to east-central Mexico.
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When I finished editing and showed these photos to my hubby Nick he showed me the one from his cloud storage, he took it in the same month in this very place but 15 years ago! Look how young we were - the cacti and me! ❤️ I purchased this jacket in a kid's store, it was less expensive than the clothes for adults. 😊 My lifehack...
I wish he'd shown me this photo before so I could find these little golden balls and see how much they have grown. Now I can only guess. But it was a great surprise.
Me in 2008
and me now.
The funny thing is that looks like I still love the same style of the photos, LOL.
Flowering
Those succulents that I observed bloomed once in a blue moon. But their flowering was worth the wait.
Also, it is known that if succulents are placed in stressful conditions, they will change the color of their leaves or trunk.
Succulents can be perfect friends for me. They can easily survive my average vacation, i.e. a week or two. I will always remember my Gardenia Jasmine. My workmates presented it to me for my birthday when I just moved to Kyiv. This girl was very capricious. She dropped leaves when she didn't like something. Watering, lighting, humidity. My karma. I was ready for anything to see how she blooms.
It took me a year to find a place in my flat for her where she could give birth to new leaves. And then came vacation time! I had (the only) friend in Kyiv, and she proposed to come over to water my flower pots and I was happy. But when I returned... I found my Gardenia "burned alive". The plant with nice big leaves looked like frozen but all brown. That summer was too hot. We are still friends with that girl though.
Watch out! Who is it?
Looks like a weird lizard but it is just a joke. It's dummy.
Aloe
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Thorns
Succulents are plants that can store moisture. Some store moisture in the leaves, some in the trunk. In this case, the trunk is often thorny. But still fascinating. 😉
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Madagascar Ocotillo, or Alluaudia procera. This one is most unusual and beautiful and native to Madagascar (photo below).
Agave
I spotted amazing patterns on their leaves drawn by nature, year by year as they are growing.
This genus originates from America. Among the two hundred types, the most famous is probably the one from which tequila is made.
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That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by.
Have a good weekend and may peace be with you 💙💛
Cheers,
@zirochka
Ha ha! Love the photo of your younger self, so careful and playful!
If needed I can house sit plants for you in future, because they'll probably die under my watch but I'm glad to know that you will forgive me and we'll still be friends.
Have a great weekend!!
I can go to the store and buy a new plant or live on without it but a good friend is a real treasure ❤
Loved this post, @zirochka ...
... along with its personal insights. Starting my career, we lived in the Sonora Desert of southern Arizona. Which is an extension of it from just south of there in Mexico. In the time we lived there, it was always fascinating to get out on the desert floor and inspect these amazing plants "up close and personal." I have no doubt many of them were far older than we might have been initially inclined to believe.
Yep, easily ... In their natural habitat, the conditions under which they must not only survive, but thrive, are formidable. Living indoors with us? By contrast? "Piece of cake ..." Hahaha ...
Very good to hear your beloved was able to help you in adding value to this post. Well done! 🫡
Thank you for sharing these pictures and perspectives on what they represent for you! 👋
I have never been to a real desert. I would really like to see it with my own eyes 😊
Yes, well ...
... if you are ever given that opportunity and knowing a bit about your time in the mountains there and hiking around, remember your American acquaintance provided you this little tip:
When we first moved there, being an outdoorsman and loving to go out hiking, we learned this lesson very quickly.
Just about every plant there is spiky / thorny (some of which are barbed at the tip). And eventually these plants die and fall to the ground ... Decomposition there is very slow and it is remarkable, if inspected closely, how seems the spiky / thorny bits are the last to go. Concealed down in the dirt / gravel, on which you are walking ...
God help you, if you fall down, as you will painfully get back to your feet and then begin the process of extracting all that has now become uhhh ... "attached" 😉
Seriously, for you and your loved ones there, I hope that opportunity does present itself at some point in your future! If so, try especially to arrive in the Spring. In spite of the heat and lack of moisture, every year there is still the process of the renewal of life. The desert blooms with all sorts of flowers and with the spectacular sunsets as a backdrop, you will be left with a lifetime impression.
Oh, I never thought of this. Now I see that "Don't lose your footing and fall down!" isn't just a figure of speech 😃
Once, I stepped on a sea urchin in the water, and back then all medical help I could afford abroad was the help of our "doctor" - another tourist who was a dentist but luckily he had some medical alcohol, a bandage, and we found a sewing needle that he used to get the thorns out of my foot. It was ... unforgettable 😅
Ouch!! While you don't say, I would assume this incident was when you were barefoot.
What I did not mention was that, when we first went out on our hikes in our new home, we were initially surprised to find out how many of the barbed "remnants" we had just been walking on followed us inside our house. On the soles of our shoes ...
Whether along the seashore or in the desert, it sure makes us appreciate whoever invented shoes! Hahaha ... 🫡😉
Exactly!
"You got your toecaps reinforced with steel
Hard-wearing sole and heel
Make those tired feet feel like new
Take your pick, black or brown
Great for the country or the man in town
You're gonna need a quality shoe."
(c) Mark Knopfler - Quality Shoe
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aloe vera and cactus are my very favorite plants, our garden has a dragonfood growing now
Here we can only grow cacti in a pot on the windowsill
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Muy bonito amiga verdad que los cactus 🌵 son bellos y el echinocactus grussoni más 😍 lindas fotos
Si puedes ve a mi post mi último blog es de un Adenium blanco seguro te gusta la planta 🪴
Saludos 😊👏
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