APRIL TOUR & PROGRAM RECAP • SHARING SECRETS The SCHS April meeting took From there, he walked us through a in full flower. place at the , Art part of the that had many S t e v e Collections, and Botanical , more succulents in full flower, including Gerischer and consisted of a private tour of the 10- various aloes, Crassulaceae, and cacti, rounded out metz acre Desert Garden led by John Trager, pausing to take questions under a large the evening’s Curator of the Desert Garden and Desert Caesalpinia cacalaco. Trager concluded program Collections at the Huntington, followed the tour with some growing tips the with slides by a panel discussion on succulents with Huntington uses for different conditions featuring Laurel Woodley and Steve Gerischer in (i.e.: adding a mixture of and well-placed the Brody Botanical Center. silica to new planting beds or using succulents

Guests gathered at the main crushed lava rock as an amendment in designed Stein Sabine Photo: entrance to the Huntington, and were in flat areas to aid with drainage), and landscapes as well as in their native led down to the California Garden then took the group to the Brody Center habitat, to serve as inspirations for for the start of Trager’s walk and talk. for the panel presentation by two local home gardens. Gerischer is the current He mentioned that some of the aloes designers and succulent experts, Laurel president of the SCHS and owner of planted in-ground in the gardens began Woodley and Steve Gerischer. Larkspur . He has an as test subjects in pots in the California Woodley, a past SCHS Horticuturist extensive knowledge of succulents and Garden, like Aloe striata. of the Year recipient, is a retired biology their myriad uses, which he shared Following the path near the Orbit professor from Los Angeles Harbor in his presentation. He discussed Pavilion, he pointed out Ethiopian aloes, College, who has been involved in the need to plan garden spacing for Mangave ‘Macho Mocha’, Agave titanota Southern California since eventual growth as well as for and a ‘Blue Glow’ agave that was in full the mid-1960s, and was past director and plant replacements; shared thoughts on bloom. Additionally, he spoke about president of the Cactus and Succulent using containers, such as hypertufa, to dealing with aloe mites, and suggested Society of America, where she currently showcase specimens; and offered design the best treatment is to trim off infested serves as advisor. She shared slides from suggestions for mixing different varieties leaves and burn them, saving any clean her personal collection of gardens she in one location to avoid having sections off-sets for future planting. considers to be examples of good design, of the garden look like “plant ghettos.” which integrate other elements with Additionally, Gerischer shared design to create a harmonious landscape. tips for combining plants with other

metz She shared pictures of the Patrick elements, such as including containers Anderson estate in Fallbrook, where with groups of in-ground plants the yellow color of his house is used (Judge Hall Garden in Pasadena), or as a unifying background for a variety incorporating personal items among the of plants in colored pots selected for plants (Woollcott/McCarthy Garden in their compatibility with the house. To the Hollywood Hills), to create unique create additional interest, plants are focal points.

Photo: Sabine Stein Sabine Photo: chosen based on varying shapes, sizes He concluded his talk by citing some Walking down the main road and heights. Sculpture, a pond and of his favorites, such as Agave attenuata surrounding the Cactus Garden, Trager the repetition of orange and turquoise ‘Boutin Blue,’ and also suggested South continued pointing out plants of interest, accents throughout the garden also tie Coast Botanic Garden, the Cactus and like Kalanchoe luciae and a blooming Agave various areas together visually. Succulent Society of America’s website marmorata. This brought the group to a Other slides Woodley showed (cssainc.org), Desert Creations and the large installation of Echinocactus grusonii, included Sherman Gardens in Cactus Ranch nurseries in the San Fernando or golden barrels, artfully interspersed Corona del Mar which uses miniature Valley, plus speciality garden club sales as with a variety of “old man” cactus. First sempervirens to maximum effect, and some resources for home to find brought from Mexico and planted at the shots of some favorite plants such as the the more unusual specimens they might Huntington in 1908, the golden barrels are Agave lophantha ‘Tricolor,’ Euphorbia want to try in their own gardens. now endangered in the wild. ‘Snowflake’ and a beautiful Aloe castanea d Sabine Steinmetz Members submitted a variety of in the near future. Check online and in SHARING SECRETS alternate meeting places, which the the newsletter for updates, or speak to SCHS board will be researching for one of the board members. RESPONSES feasibility (room capacity, cost, location, We are always happy to receive Do you know of any venues we could use for our monthly meetings? We etc.) in the coming months. member participation in our ongoing are considering rotating locations to We thank you for your many efforts to improve the SCHS experience improve accessibility to more members. thoughtful suggestions and hope we for everyone, and encourage you to keep d will be able to implement some of them contributing... Thank you! v