I have the book, Guide to South African Aloes, and it actually does reference where each Aloe is native, and whether it is a summer or winter or year round rainfall habitat. There is some limited mention of garden care, but its mostly in reference to whether the species is tolerant of winter rainfall conditions of the Western Cape, and will often say whether a particular species has proven adaptable to garden culture in South Africa, or is better left to experts. A few of the species they mention as less easy to cultivate, such as A. plicatilis and A. polyphylla, actually seem to thrive with our foggy, cooler summers and relatively balmy winters. In general, almost all of the winter rainfall Aloes do just fine here in Berkeley, and I have had no problems with giving Aloe plicatilis year round irrigation as long as it has sharp drainage and full sun. Aloe dichotoma, although from a winter rainfall area, only tolerates near desert rainfall amounts unless it has excellent drainage, so would be one that needs protection from too much rain, as you can rot this one out at the base before you realize it is damaged. In general, Aloe species that are from the areas within the Eastern Cape that are borderline between winter and predominant summer rainfall would also be extremely adaptable to Berkeley conditions as long as they got good drainage. The only Aloes I've had problems with in my own Berkeley garden are usually due to poor drainage/not enough sun in winter, for summer rainfall species such as A. chabaudii and A. glauca and others that prefer a drier and warmer winter. Of the others on your list, it is worth mentioning that A. vanbelenii and A. cameronii seldom color up in foliage unless you keep them dryer from late fall into winter. They need full sun and drought stress, or else the foliage merely stays green. I'd also suggest that you grow A. polyphylla with morning sun or cool sun if all day long, and plant it tilted slightly so it can't collect and trap water in the foliage under high rainfall conditions, or it may rot out. It also seems to hate consistent 80F and above temps for lengthy periods in summer, which can weaken the plant. All the other plants on your list seem pretty reliable, as I've seen them growing well up at the UCBBG. I've never tried growing A. cryptopoda myself, but would assume with good drainage as it gets up at the botanic garden, it does well here. You may find that the Aloes that come from the more tropical/further north locations of South Africa are often more touchy about too much winter rains here, and are often more freeze sensitive as well.

The Cucurbita moshata winter squashes (butternut, cushaw squashes) have a solid stem and aren't bothered much by squash borers. I grow Seminole squash here and it is highly productive and has no insect problems. Around here, summer squash quickly gets overwelmed by borers, squash bugs, and powdery mildew and is gone by mid-July, so in the spring I also plant Cucuzzi squash (Italian edible gourd) which isn't bothered by pests and is still going strong with the first fall frost finally takes it out. Its my summer squash for the last half of summer.

Thyme - The bamboo is a clumping bamboo, not a running bamboo, so I didn't plant it in anything to contain it since it's not needed with this type of bamboo. I planned this bed to be low maintenance, so I wouldn't want a runner that needed close watching. Because it's at the northern extreme of its hardiness range, it has gotten no bigger since I put it in. At the end of some winters it looks worse than others. It is a Fargesia rufa which I found at Cole Gardens in Concord 3 falls ago. According to the tag, it is supposed to be tolerant of wind (which fits with my experience,) wants part shade (probably not important this far north - mine is in pretty much full sun, though in moist, well-drained soil and well-mulched) and should reach 8 feet (it hasn't exceeded 4 feet for me in the two growing seasons I've had it.) I did buy the Stewartia at their end-of-season sale. It's in the first photo . . . you can see the white tag and a few branches to the left of the dark green arborvitae at the far end of the bed. Tree Oracle - Thanks for the feedback on the Fat Alberts. I guess they will be coming out again in 15 years or so since there are solar panels to the north of this bed a ways that I don't want shaded. But 15 years of that lovely color will have been worthwhile. Defrost - Consider starting a new thread with photos of your area along with a description of the conditions and see what suggestions you get.

terryr, we live on a small lot too, and there's only room for one car in our small garage, so I definitely understand what you mean about lack of room for a dead tree. (We're smack dab in the city, and everyone around here has small lots like ours.) When trees die on our boulevard, the city would never consider letting it stay there, even if we protested. But someone nearby has to have a dead tree in their yard, because I've been getting various kinds of woodpeckers at my suet feeder. What bugs me is that the power company, or telephone company, recently went through our area to trim trees that were reaching the overhead lines. They ended up chopping down some live bushes we had in our back yard that had been there for ages and used as a sanctuary for birds. And the branches were growing sideways, not up! elly, thanks for mentioning that flickers eat ants. Didn't know that! I've heard that solitary bees, nesting beetles and carpenter ants are sometimes in cedar siding, and that becomes a feast for woodpeckers. ghoghunter, that's amazing and delightful about the woodpeckers eating bread! I always throw some out for the birds too, but have never seen any woodpeckers eating it. I wonder if they would if I didn't have suet out. Doubt it, because they never came before I started hanging any, and just had seed feeders. Dang it, I'm really worried about this issue of less and less dead trees being around. Even chickadees build their nests in them! But what's the solution, if don't want to drive cavity nesters out of the city and back into the woods, which are also disappearing?