April 01, 2021
A few years ago I hung from a tree a dish planter with a few sprigs of ghost plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense) tucked around a variegated squid agave — each one a cutting or pup from existing plants in my garden. A bunch of leftovers. And now it’s grown into a combo that thrills me in every season, especially spring, when the cascading ghost plant goes starry with pale yellow flowers on long stems.
I mean. It’s a pastel confection of dusty pink rosettes with aqua centers. A profusion of straw-yellow flowers bristle from every rosette. in the center, a spearmint-green squid agave (A. bracteosa ‘Monterrey Frost’), her ivory stripes echoing the ghost plant’s flowers, arches her tentacled arms over the scene.
Shazam! Ghost plant is generally winter-hardy here in Austin. But because it’s in a hanging planter (i.e., exposed), I always take it down and put it in a sheltered spot on the ground (for warmth) during ordinary freezes. During the Arctic Freeze From Hell, I brought it indoors.
The sunsets have been on fire lately — compensation for the freeze-blasted bareness of the garden? This one from a couple days ago wowed me with shades of coral, mango, and gold.
Dusty violet soon followed, which always reminds me of Austin’s nickname, City of the Violet Crown.
By the way, I’ve updated my post about the Big Freeze to reflect the current status of plants I could only speculate about 6 weeks ago. Scroll down to “5 days post-freeze – Feb. 24: How much green is left?” for the updates.
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