sedum

Don't you love sedums? There are so many species (400!), manifesting in different shapes and colours.  Some species are very cold resistant, but don't like heat, while other are tropical and don't take any frost. I am anxious to see if they will survive summer heat in Athens.. I wish I had a garden or even a roof to use them as ground cover...Anyway, this is my sweet little collection:P

sedum rubrotinctum

sedum nussbaumerianum

sedum rupestre "blue spruce"

sedum adolphi

sedum makinoi

sedum stahlii

sedum palmeri

sedum x rubrotinctum "aurora"

sedum morgarianum "burro's tail" 

sedum indicum (aka sinocrassula yunnanensis)

Blossoming succulents

Hello there! Some of my succulents have blossomed or are about to blossom here at my tiny balcony garden, so I thought I'd share some pics. Isn't spring the best season? :)

 echeveria glauca

unknown echeveria

 echeveria lilacina

  graptopetalum paraguayense

 echeveria setosa

kalanchoe calandiva (well this one can blossom all year round)

 echeveria pulidonis

echeveria purpusorum

echeveria pilosa

aeoniums!

Aeoniums are one of the most ornamental of all the succulents. And they 're my favourite family of succulents:) Even those that don't appreciate succulents seem to like these plants. I thought I'd share mine..They're not many, but I plan on expanding my collection:P They survived the winter cold, now the only thing that is left is to see how they will cope with the summer heat. Hmm..

aeonium zwartkopf

aeonium arboreum

aeonium "bronze medal"

aeonium "blushing beauty"

aeonium kiwi

aeonium mascaense

aeonium leucoblepharum

aeonium "sunburst" (how cool is this!)

 

aeonium davidbramwellii

tillandsia terrarium

New terrarium in the house! I just got the tillandsias I ordered and I thought they would look great in a terrarium. Tillandsias (a.k.a. air plants) are often epiphytic, which means they grow on other plants (without harming them!). The funny thing about them is that they do not need soil to grow because they absorb nutrients from their leaves. I hope the little piece of reindeer moss I included makes it, because I hear it's very sensitive! 

new fancy plants!

My first plant order from ebay finally arrived.. I was anxious to see if the plants would arrive in a good shape, but they seem pretty fine! They have dramatic names too :P

sempervivum "blade of steel"

 sempervivum "blood of winter"

aeonium "blushing beauty"

 aeonium "bronze medal"

sempervivum "tickled pink"

cactus humour

A nice little comic strip I found online.

terrarium madness

Terrariums are glass containers with plants inside. And we are mad about them! :p You can think of them as miniature landscapes.Best type of terrariums? The ones with succulents inside of course! :p You can even make a themed terrarium, using toy animals like snakes, lizards etc. Dinosaurs are my favourites :p We will post a tutorial for terrariums soon (in case you want to make your own). 

This one is my first attempt. Say hello to Patrick :p I had to empty this bowl though, because one of the plants had mealy bugs! Yiaiks!! They ate the plant from the inside..Poor haworthia cooperi..Mealy bugs are these disgusting little fellas:

http://www.google.gr/search?q=mealy+bugs&hl=el&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-u30TvzkE8bi8AOD9eCfAQ&ved=0CDUQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=645

I hate them..I really do.They're the only insect enemy succulents have. No other insect can harm them:)

So beware, you must inspect every new plant you buy before you introduce it to your other plants!

I made the following terrarium for Eri.hehe.. I used a snake and a dino as ornaments. I think it is a Parasaurolophus :p 

This is a smaller terrarium. It contains a haworthia zebrina and a sempervivum arachnoideum. Kind of creepy, huh? :p

The last terrarium is the one I made for my mum. Didn't put any snakes in it because it would end in the garbage hah. They wouldn't be the first plants with this fate:p These pebbles are too shiny for my taste, but it looks ok I guess.