New beginnings

It's time to start thinking about planting again. In Los Angeles the last spring frost is generally in February and after that plants can start going in the ground outside (or the container pots filled with "ground"). I know I did not have the best of luck last year; actually lets be honest I had abysmal luck with my plants, but it is time to try again.

The final count was 13%. What does this "13%" mean? Well it means 13% of the plants I tried to grow last year survived. Two hardy souls made it through out of the 15 I brought home. They are Adromischus maculatus (aka Space Rocks) and Aeonium arboreum atropurpureum (aka Zwartzkop). Both are settled happily into their respective homes on the outdoor deck and seem to be thriving despite my best intentions!

This year I have decided to do things differently. I am researching which plants I am going to buy prior to going to the store (in fact I may just do it all from seed and skip the seedling part). Last year I showed up at the nursery, wandered around looking for things I liked, then planted them. Obviously that was not a good way to start (13%!). I am also going to find out more about container gardening; some plants like it, some do not, I think I should figure out which is which. As this year's adventures in growing progress I will keep you all posted.

But for now, enjoy the pictures of the two plants that survived (despite all the odds)!