Adding a Touch of Life to your Home

I have two new plants in my collection, one is of the Kalanchoe variety, and the other is a Scwarzkopf, or Black Tree.

The Kalanchoe is a flowering succulent, there where many different colours and types, yet I picked one which has flowers the same colour as the tips of it's leaves it looks so cool.
Kalanchoe pictured below:The Scwarzkopf is the most interesting plant I've ever owned, it moves and twists all day. It changes shape, moving so quickly that within ten minutes it can look like a completely different plant. It has the most wonderful rich purple leaves, I really Love it.
Scwarzkopf pictured at the top and below:

I'm starting to get a massive collection of succulents, I've got heaps on new cuttings in the garden which are doing really well too. I think it's amazing how something as simple as a few plants can brighten up a home so much.

The Newest Member of Our Cacti Family

I've been incredibly spoiled today, my partner brought another Cacti to go with out little family of plants. This is him in the picture.

I love him, he is very fluffy, and deceptively dangerous. He is an "Old Man Cactus" called "Cousin It", I think I'll call him "IT"!

The fine hair is to protect "IT" from sunburn. The stronger the the sunlight the better the hair will grow.

If he develops like my other cactus, the hair will get longer when he is happy as well.

He needs water when he is dry and once a month in winter. He also needs a slow release plant food, or liquid feed over 2 months (except in winter).

Aloes: flowering succulents

A couple of days ago my partner brought me a new plant to add to my collection (Pictured right). It is of the Aloe genus, which contains over 400 varieties.

I've just been doing some research on the genus and I've found some very interesting information.

All of the plants in the genus are flowering succulents, and are native to Africa. Most Aloes have rosettes of fleshy leaves.

The leaves are generally long and thick in the middle, tapering off to a point, with spiny edges and the color of the leaves varies from gray to bright green.

The flowers are frequently yellow, orange or red in color and tubular in shape.

Many Aloes have some amazing medical properties, and have been used in numerous ways over time. Aloes have been used in everything from drinks, and food to ointments, and hair styling gel. They are certainly a very amazing genus of plant.