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 💙💛
