oh. my . god.
that is amazing! i wouldnt be able to control myself in there! i dont know how you did it mara. those are truely amazing, old plants. especially love those Astrophytums! and those pseudolithos... oh my. hopefully my collection will be like that someday.

Amazing collection indeed, I just spent three hours admiring them and your photos on your flicker page.
make me want to visit Texas. Your photography and plants are just outstanding,thanks for sharing.

Richard

Wow! Gorgeous plants! Thanks for sharing. You brightened my day :)

@ Zeck.. The collector graduated with his advanced degree in Some biological subject in '65 and has been living here in this house since '72 so , Yes, he has been doing this for awhile. You know, Zeck, I was thinking of you when I took these pictures and your young collection and picturing them like this. . Young is all relative. None of these BIG guys and gals were for sale , just some of the babies.

@ richard, You must have woken up early on a Sunday. And Zeck, teisa, Glad I could brighten your very late night. LOL.

My restraint was due to the fact that I am having to blow my wad on work related tools and hospital bills ( husband had op and cut part finger off) .AAAH life.
- Mara

Just like the title said...Amazing..! the Agave Victoria reginae and lithops
are my favorite. I also love and enjoy your photography and pictures of plants
on your Flickr Mara. TFS :)

Natalia

Just delighted you were able to go, Mara, and get some heirloom plants - such a fantastic collection.

Many many years of love & passion! Great collection of some wonderful plants. Wow, that it a treat.

I picked up three 4 inch pots, A. tewoldei, A camperi , a. longestyla and he gave me tiny a euphorbia tortirama and a small a. pictifolia . They are not heirloom plants yet. I have to die first.

this is pretty amazing. not quite as amazing as the self control shown by you. lol

WOW ..
TFS your pictures!!

I couldn't have left there without the smaller pseudolithos cubiformis, that orange-ish gymnocalycium mihanovichii, and like half those Astrophytums..

I wonder how he keeps track of what and when to water them.

All the great stuff was not up for grabs. Just to drool over. Really he had some nice astro. and great hawothias, aloes and other stuff , but the really lust over stuff was not being offered and what was offered were babies. I am not complaining. If the other stuff was being offered, I am sure that I would be found growing them under the montopolis bridge with all the other homeless people.

I bet he has watering down to instinct. These plants were all perfectly grown.

What a thrill that must have been to see all those beautiful specimens. Thanks for all the wonderful pictures even if I don't know enough about succulents yet to appreciate them as much as you do. It was probably about like me when I was able to see the rose gardens in California and Oregon when I was growing roses.

Don't know what he had for sale but my wallet would probably be on oxygen buy the time I left. What a fantastic collection and your pictures are also outstanding. Thanks for sharing.

Lovely! What a great time you must have had... thanks for sharing. Hahaha, you can't let your plants kick you out of your home! That's where I draw the line! They don't even pay rent, not to mention the water bill.

One has to have a house to have houseplants. Who ever heard of bridgeplants.'

@ roselee: I do not see this as gardening. That is done outside with rocks,dirt,wind , rain, dogs, deer and turtles. I see this as a collection. it is more like curatorship of a art collection. But sometimes I do lookat my "collection" and on a bad day it reminds me of a concentration camp. My imagination does run away at times..

Are you kidding me? That collection is amazing. What a great opportunity just to go and see those beautiful plants. Thanks for sharing all those pictures on Flickr.

My comment aout the concentration camp was about my plants imprisoned in their pots, NOT his. His are art.

Ok,
As a water color painter as well, which brushes did you buy?
Chris

I bought some 2 ", 3" wash, Different mops and filbert and a filbert mop. Some small pointy things. Some were Windsor Newton, some were Loel and something else, some were natural bristle. most were an orange synthetic. I am not a water color artist . I restore furniture, a conservator of uncertain training, but people seem to think I know what I am doing but I make it up as I go along. . I have a Belter etagere here that is in sorry shape and I normally use shellac brushes from france but I ran into an article written by someone who teaches at the Smithsonian and he recommended the orange synthetics watercolor brushes so I went out and splurged since this and the next several pieces I am working on scare the bejesus out of me. I am trying new things in a state if discomfort.

Wow, absolutely breathtaking! Does he sell anything online? If so, do you have an email address?

It's a big time amazing indeed! wow.... wow.... I wish .....

It's a big time amazing indeed! wow.... wow.... I wish .....

He sells at sales locally, mostly to support his plant habbit.