Time To Say Goodbye

My husband has not been well for quite some time, and is now unable to do much at all. He needs a lot of care, so needless to say, trying to maintain our large property has become impossible for me. We have purchased a smaller home on a tiny lot. It has a great mountain view, and is in a very quiet gated community. It will be quite a change, but a necessary one.

I have a lot of good memories of establishing my garden and blogging about each of my plants and of the various blog friends I made along the way, but I must close that chapter of my life and move on. My husband needs a lot of care and that comes first.

Perhaps someday I can get back to gardening, albeit on a much smaller scale. I am taking about 15 potted cacti and succulents along to the new place, which is probably 10 too many for the size of the lot. The rest of my container cactus will go to various friends and our landscaper and all my yard art will either stay with the property or go to friends. What I will miss the most are all my wind chimes. I'll be lucky to be able to have one if the very close neighbors don't complain!

Even though I have not posted for quite some time, I still get questions from readers who happened to visit my blog while looking for information on a particular plant, and I've answered them all the best I can, and I will continue to do that as time permits. I do hope that I can occasionally visit my favorite blogs.

So long...

May the longtime sun shine upon you,

 all love surround you,

and the pure, pure light within you,

 guide your way on.

 

The Big Stink

Stapelia hirsuta 

It's the time of year when temperatures cool and getting to spend time on the patio is again possible. It's also time for my 'S. hirsuta' to bloom. So far, it's had about eight flowers on it, but this one is the largest one to date. And it stinks! So much for enjoying my patio. The smell attracts flies and other insects that feast on carrion, and they then act as pollinators. As you can see, a fly has burrowed in the flower and is doing what it is supposed to do. I don't move the plant off the patio. I weigh the smell against being able to see the interesting flower, and the flower wins!