After my early morning hike up a hill that was found just across the road from the Anja Reserve, I began my journey to Andringitra National Park. My goal would be to summit the highest climbable peak in Madagascar – Peak Boby. Like everything in Madagascar, you have to get there first, and that never comes easy. There…
After a great visit to Ranomafana National Park and Mount Vatovavy, it was time to leave the rain forest for good. The rest of my trip would take me from the east to the west across the high plateau and to the spiny forest. My next major stop would be to climb Pic Boby in…
After saying goodbye to all who attended the International Palm Society’s annual board meeting, it was time to get on a plane and fly back to Antananarivo and start my journey south. Ten days in the rainforest and it was time for a drastic change of scenery. My destination? Mount Ibity—just outside the second largest…
My wife wanted to do something different from our yearly routine this 4th of July weekend. I told her that if she wanted to plan something, I would temporarily relinquish my role as the Family Event Coordinator. So what does she plan for her first family trip with the new title? Palm Desert. In the middle of July! Not sure…
This past weekend the San Diego Cactus and Succulent Society (SDCSS) had their annual Summer Show and Sale at the Casa Del Prado in Balboa Park. A year and a half ago I went to the Winter Show and Sale and really enjoyed myself. One of the highlights of that first meeting was that I was introduced to so many…
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post showing off a bunch of my larger aloes that were in bloom. I mostly included the stem-forming varieties along with a few larger, non-stem-forming types. This week I will show some of my small aloes that were in flower around the same time. When growing dwarf or…
While aloes have been planted in Mediterranean climate gardens for centuries now, they have started to explode in both abundance and variety thanks in part to homeowners’ desire to plant more water-wise plants in their gardens. Here in Southern California we have seen water shortages lead to large water rate increases. With the current drought showing…
Readers quite often request updates on the various post that I have made in the past. Sometimes it is because a post may have been left open-ended, but most the times it is because someone wants to know how things turned out. In looking over the last year of post on Married To Plants, these were the ones that I believe needed some updates. Many might…