Balcony-greenhouse and more...

Hello readers of my random blog! How are you all doing?! I'm doing just fine. Actually I'm doing great and I hope you do too (depending on who you are and if I like you or not). Today was just one of those Saturdays that I've had nothing scheduled. Nothing wrong with that! I actually like it when there is finally a day in the week that I don't have to do anything. Well... That's not completely true, because these days I'm a family-man, as you might know, and there is always something I have to do. But I like it when I'm not obligated to do other things than being a family-man. I won't type down everything I have done today, because it's all quite simple and regular. It started with a cup of coffee and ended with a beer and a Country Gentleman filled with Black Vanilla.

Why writing another article for your blog when there is nothing really different to mention? Well... I have no idea! Here is a video of my Balcony-greenhouse:

Why should we always do something "special" and "different" and why do we always want others to know about it? Probably we human beings do that because it's in our nature to be accepted by the rest of the herd. Everyone wants to be different and that is what makes us all the same. Kind of ironic, ah? Why not just be happy and satisfied with the regular things we do and appreciate the simplicity? Don't get me wrong! I believe that it's useful and enriching to think outside the box and do stuff we normally don't, but what is it worth and where is our identity when we're only focusing on being different and forget to stand still and appreciate the little things? I'm dreaming away here on a philosophical wave again... You don't have to agree with me and we can still be friends! I'm just writing down  my thoughts...

Ah! Back to cacti! Here are my 2014 seedlings that I've sown in April this year:

Seedlings 2014

If you want to know what these green blobs will become, you should check THIS article. This year I'm keeping them in an aquarium, so that our dear friend Wonnebald can't pulverize my plants while stepping and jumping on them. I'll take some better photos when they're bigger and really look like cacti.

Here is a photo taken in my living room:

Cacti-bowl

This bowl looks interesting, right?! It's kind of growing out of hand! Now what do we have here? The thin, columnar cactus is a Cylindropuntia imbricata (the famous Cholla), the spineless one is my first Lophophora williamsii (Peyote), the one on the right is the famous Carnegiea gigantea (Saguaro) and the one that grows everywhere where it shouldn't grow is a Selenicereus grandiflora (Queen of the night). Now that is a handsome bowl, right?~!

And now we're going back to the balcony-greenhouse, a couple of weeks earlier:

A flowering Gymnocalycium saglionis

And that's about it for today. Take care and for the metal heads: I'm going to see Obituary tomorrow! HAH! \m/

Last week on my favorite cacti-forum

Last week on my favorite cacti-forum - on Cactiguide - I've asked a question about cold-tolerant species that might survive the wet and cold winters we have here in Holland. Within a day some people replied to my question and named me some species that are worth it to try and also some some that already have survived here in Holland. There are a couple of species around that can stand extreme cold (up to -20) and are often covered with snow, but none of them can stand cold and wet together... So one person named me two species; Gymnocalicium bruchii and Maihueniopsis darwinii. I could find some Gymnocalicium bruchii seeds very quickly (on ADBLPS, where else?!), but Maihueniopsis darwini is one of those that are a little bit harder to find. Then someone from the forum offered to send me some Maihueniopsis darwinii cuttings...

Within a day the following package arrived and... Well.... It contained a little bit more than I was expecting!

Maihueniopsis darwinii

 This is one of the Maihueniopsis darwinii cuttings I was talking about. He has sent me another one, but that one I gave away to my friend and fellow cacti-collector Bob. As you can see, this little friend can cut you up with those huge and sharp spines! If you don't believe me, you should ask my friend Bob about it. ;-)

And... There was more... A lot more!

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa, the Buckhorn Cholla

The following cacti are all in pots of the same size;

Echinopsis subdenudata

Notocactus sellowii

Eriosyce subgibbosa

Mammillaria nivosa

 I have never liked the Mammillaria family a lot, but this one has changed my mind about them! If you're wondering what I'm talking about, I suggest you to just google Mammillaria nivosa and if our taste is similar, you'll understand me.

Matucana aureiflora  (aureiflora means golden flowered)

Trichocereus pachanoi

Hey! That is just nice! Two San Pedro cacti! This, my friends, is another 'medicinal' species that is also used - just like Peyote - in shamanistic ceremonies. I already have one in my collection, which was a cutting that I've bought from the Azarius webshop, but these two are grown from the seed. It takes a little while for them to speed up their growth, but when they start, they do start and grow around 30 centimeters a year. (a little wiki-link for those who would like to read a little bit about this magical plant!)

Gymnocalycium berchtii

Gymnocalycium berchtii, my favorite of the package! A dark flattened species that seems to like dirt.

That's it for tonight. Only wine and Jazz is what's left for me to end this weekend. Ow! And of course my lovely wife that's making her homework in the living room right now! She's becoming better and better in Dutch grammar and sometimes when she asks me for a little help, I have to check fucking Google to be 100% sure that I give the right advise! Can you believe that?! Soon her vocabulary will become richer than mine! Ah well... It keeps me awake and in this way I can refresh my memory about my own language once in a while. ;-). Aahhh... Actually I'm very proud at her! Her Dutch is getting so pretty and... Aah! I'm lucky with her and I love her so fucking much! Back to wine now...