PLEASE DON'T SEND US TO THE GULAG

Just ask my gardening group, I'll take in any waif and stray plant. And when it comes to saving stray plants in my garden it's a given. The problem is what to do with them all. Naturally some are more favored than others. Some are sent to the Gulag.

Conditions are harsh in my Gulag. If you are in the ground on the lower level. There is no soil, just a fill limestone road base covered with gravel. And water only comes when it rains so all the plants have to withstand long periods of dryness. There used to be a sharkskin agave here. It died but not before leaving behind three little pups. We'll see how they do. There is no longer any shade from a large oak tree above the retaining wall. It was lost during the extended drought and terrible heat a few years back. More sunshine means more plants are growing there. Texas sedge is establishing itself. It's also a place to send some of my pruned cactus pads. Miraculously these plants received some protection from the hail by the hillside with large mountain junipers.

I think that some of the plants are trying hard to get into a more favorable location. This Cane cholla, Opuntia imbricata, has produced three new shoots. It has to be all the rain we have had in the last few weeks. I wonder if it will flower this year.

Because this area is outside the walls it is visited by deer and a very annoying turkey. This lone male caught sight of himself in the window and now parades through here every day, scratching at the ground and trampling my fragile blue gilias. He certainly is a handsome fellow but I wish he would join the other turkeys down at the bottom of the hill.

So where are the favored places for my cactus and succulents. The sheltered area on the fireplace is one.

These plants were lucky to be in such a sheltered spot during the hail. Several pots blown off the shelf landed on others down below.  A few new plants and a little repotting and things are looking good again. This area receives morning sun and is protected from the summer afternoon sun.
Then a little further over plants that receive sun until late morning.

On the steps morning sun and late afternoon sun.

Then there is the side entry. That's the place for more agaves and cactus which have proved themselves to be deer proof. Furthermore they were sheltered by the high wall during the hail storm and those close up had most of the damage to the lower leaves, which I have cut off. I have done a lot of snipping and repotting this past few weeks.

Unless you are up close it is hard to see the damage on this A. desmettiana. It fared better than the one out by the garage which was a total loss. A second one still needs a lot of pruning as do the ones outside the front gate. Eventually.

Things are starting to get back to normal and the rain we have had in the past 3 weeks has been a blessing. Even the Gulag isn't such a bad place right now.

Do you have a Gulag? I bet you do.