deva
Very nice! Plants look great. I have similar experience with PvN. Topsy Turvy has nice blooms, hope you post when they open.Btw, is that a pepper plant in the railing planter behind succulents?
Rina

All the growth looks very healthy!

ez

Deva- You know those are among my favorites!!! And *gasp, is that basil I see?? lol.

Yes Neil, that is basil. Rina, I think that is the same plant you were asking about. I have two of them in there. One I recently pruned back pretty good so it'll get bushy for me. I need another basil inclusive meal so I can cut back the other one now.

And I will update this post when the blooms open.

I also wanted to share a pic of my Huernia. It's not giving me any blooms right now and it's usually loaded. I've been wondering why and all of a sudden I noticed all these little nuggets of growth and they are bigger or mor elf them every day. Guess that's why I'm not getting any blooms

Ok. That quickly and I have to take back what I said about the huernia blooming! I just watered everything and noticed several little blooms shoots coming! I'll post when they are more visible. Right now they are pretty tiny.

Hi Deva, those echeverias are getting big. All is lookin' good!

Speaking of herbs... this is a tricolor sage. Too pretty to eat, lol.

Nancy - I didn't know such a plant existed! What do you eat your sage with? I have one that is growing like crazy and all I know is that it is good on turkey!

Deva, I think someone should invite us to her house for some din din! But, i'm with you I've only used sage for the stuffing.

deva
I did see the basil on left, but the pruned one looked like a pepper plant with that woody stalk - I didn't even think of it being pruned basil. I love smell of basil, and grow few including the purple ones - gorgeous color and smell.

Neil is right - wee need to be invited by a culinary expert...

Rina

LOL you guys make me laugh (sometimes : )) Hey Rina did you get a message from me? I don't know if I sent it properly.

Neil
I just checked - yes, you sent it properly. And the answer is yes...(not sure if I should say that here:-D)

Rina

Rina - it is an older plant, about 3 years old now. So the base is quite woody. I'm wondering how much longer it will produce for me. My parsley is only wanting to bolt now and that is irritating me!

Neil - I agree. I'm always down for fancy dinners!

Rina- Just saw this. (cracking UP) LOL

Nanzjade- I don't know about the others but, it would take me 3 days to drive to you. I would definitely do it for some home-made ravioli! Are you near n.b.?

Neil, just pick me up on your way, ok?

Nancy, thanks for the website! I will check it out!

LOL Deva

Can anyone spot the new bloom stalk coming out on this guy?

Here's a hint

Lol. I know it's super tiny right now. But this is the first year any of my succs has bloomed exec pet my heurnia. Ps. The shoot on the topsy turvy is getting bigger everyday!

Deva! I want updates on all your plants (when you have time of course : ) )

As long as we're sharing pictures, here's my first ever cactus. Is Agave technically a cactus? What a fool I am trying to grow this in Western Oregon, but the weather has surely been helpful in that respect, horrible for everything else. I do have access to a greenhouse I can use for November-February. I figure I'm just hedging my bets against global warming.

TCSTOEHR- It will be quite challenging to grow succulents in Oregon, but, if I could do it in Tacoma, so can you. Using light shade cloths and indoor grow lights when you have to..which is most of the time. There is a nice nursery I used to go to near Lloyd Center Mall area..they have a really good shade cloth they sell, almost see-through fabric. I opted for the vinyl to let in as much light as possible and of course to keep the rain away.

by the way just because you asked, an agave is a succulent, not a cactus. there is a saying: All cacti are succulents but, not all succulents are cacti.

Hey Neil. Most of my plants are doing well. The only one that is having trouble is the blue sky. I have a couple other posts about it.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3239618/are-the-blooms-sucking-the-life-out-of-it

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3265527/echeveria-blue-sky-is-dying-and-i-cant-see-why

But u there are some fresh photos. This is my full collection minus a few cuttings that are in my bedroom window sill

And be some close ups I think you'll appreciate

do these here look Familiar?

The little cuttings you gave me are in a propagation tray I have. When I moved these outside I was afraid of them getting burnt up. But I got a special new pot for them. I just need to get some holes drilled in it. But how cute is this?

I also have have an aloe I'm going to make a separate post about. I would like to get an ID on it. It was labeled as an aloe Vera but I was told from others on this site that it isn't. It was growing with the leaves directly across from each other, but now they are going around...

I keep it in the shade because it gets stress colored very easy, and just looks like it doesn't want direct sun

Deva- I really like the blue ones..are those owl eyes?? Is the slipper a real planter?

Yes, those are little owls it's actually one pot of two owls that are attached

I don't know if the slipper is a real planter. I don't know what else anyone would do with it though. I was trying to think of someone that would be little and soft looking, that might dangle, and have shallow roots. I was thinking those little ones just might do the trick. It's probably only 2" deep or so. What do you think?

Also those Yellow Sea shells will be planters too. Again, just gotta drill some holes. I'm thinking of putting my Haworthia mutica in them, but I'm worried they will out grow the pot too quickly. So I may need to get some little babies to go in them

thanks, that pic is way better. do you use a diamond-core drill bit on your ceramics?

Yeah. I think that is what it is called. It's a hollow circle and I remember something about diamond on the package. It's what they use to put holes in tile.

Today my drill crapped out, so I have to go buy a new one. Then I can put some holes in the new pots. I also got some black & white ones for my brother. He has a little windowsill he's wanting a few succulents for, so I'm the supplier.

Deva- Bummer..I recently bought a ridged lithium cordless..happy with it so far. Now I need that diamond-core drill bit! It sounds like you're a really good sister!

Thanks Neil. I think I am :-)

My drill was a little black and decker. I don't do any heavy work with it so I don't need anything fancy. I will likely go shopping for one later today. And maybe a new blue sky!

Deva - I've seen two types of tile bits, which one would you recommend for pot drilling?

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/5-16-in-diamond-drill-bit/991593

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/bosch-4-piece-glass-tile-drill-bit-set/913150#BVRRWidgetID

Deva- This is the set I bought a few months ago at home depot. Lowes did not carry this brand. It's the 12 piece kit with attachments, and extra battery.

Try to go with the 18v not the 12v as its more powerful. I got a coupon for $50 off store coupon plus another $100 mail-in-rebate making the final price $649. It's better than $799!

Sorry, forgot to mention one thing...I had to purchase standard drill bits separately. I was told that's how these sets are usually sold. You think they could have thrown in some at these prices! I got a 31 piece for about $10, but no diamond or masony ones were included.

They are 'specialty' bits, sold separately. Good idea to use coolant (water will do) to have them last longer.

Nice set Neil...you can build and grind and anything else.

Sage can be used for a ton of things beyong cooking. Its tea is very good for sore throat because it kills bacteria, also can be used as a mouth wash. It is an antioxidant, a preservative used by our ancients, to prepare meat and prevent food poisoning. It lowers glucose levels in blood. Cleanses blood, and keeps skin healthy (prevents too dry or oily scalp) and efficient against hair loss.

MsGreen- I could have used this knowledge 40 years ago! Where were you then??, lol

Neil - that is quite the set! And what a deal you got on it! $150 off, nice job! However, I wouldn't know what to do with all those attachments! Although I am sure I could find something. As for the drill bits, Rina is correct, they are specialty bits. I actually found mine back by where they sell tile, not by the drill stuff. And mine is like the first picture, not the second. Its circular with a hole in the middle. I keep water on it while drilling, and gentle pressure. You have to be patient! Also, I think the water may be the cause of my drill giving out on me. The chuck was stuck. I could not get it to move for nothing! I tried CLR (I noticed some rust inside of it). I also tried WD40. I could've just replaced the chuck but I couldn't get the hex screw driver down the middle. The chuck was stuck with a bit in it. :-(

And MsGreenFinger - thank you for the information! I tried a taste of it alone, and I did not like it!!! So I don't know if I would like anything with just sage (e.g. tea, mouthwash, etc.) but I am going to try it on some pork soon, and maybe even some chicken. :-)

Deva

Deva, you need to keep the surface being drilled wet, not the chuck; just the tip of drill bit. Either using a spray bottle to spray the surface (not easy with just 2 hands!) where drill bit is touching the container being drilled, or submerging the pot/container so the coolant is just covering the surface - not deep. Not a good idea to get water on other parts of the tool/drill - it's like leaving them in the rain.

With proper use the bits will last.

Yeah. I know that Rina. It was more accidental or not realizing I got it wet. My comments were more of a warning than anything. I think with the drill going the water splashes around a bit. From now on I will just make sure I get everything dry before putting it up.

...yes, you are right Deva...most often I learn the hard way too :)

Neil,

there is a lot of info on the internet and there are many books about natural remedies. These plants can be grown in any garden or harvested in the wild. Its never too late to try them :)