Here's what the front of my house looks like these days. It looks a little different than it did in early 2012 when I first posted a picture of it here. My front door is now painted a nice blue, and I have a gutter to catch rain water from the front part of my roof and a cistern to collect the water. It's nice to have this water for washing clothes, various kinds of cleaning, and watering plants.
I have some vinca rosea (also known as periwinkle) plants in a bed next to my front door. They thrive this time of year with all the rain.
I also have quite a lot of aloe plants (which you can just make out on the centre left in the house picture above). The gel inside the leaves is very helpful for treating burns. The aloe also loves the rain and has been multiplying like crazy. New little plants sprout up from the roots of existing plants. In April I transplanted quite a few small plants out of this bed and gave some away, but now it's overcrowded again.
The aloe is in the midst of a flowering blitz. The long stems shoot up from the centre of the plant and the flowers form at the top of the stem. Each individual flower sticks out horizontally at first, then droops down, opens up, changes colour and then falls off.
I have some vinca rosea (also known as periwinkle) plants in a bed next to my front door. They thrive this time of year with all the rain.
I also have quite a lot of aloe plants (which you can just make out on the centre left in the house picture above). The gel inside the leaves is very helpful for treating burns. The aloe also loves the rain and has been multiplying like crazy. New little plants sprout up from the roots of existing plants. In April I transplanted quite a few small plants out of this bed and gave some away, but now it's overcrowded again.
The aloe is in the midst of a flowering blitz. The long stems shoot up from the centre of the plant and the flowers form at the top of the stem. Each individual flower sticks out horizontally at first, then droops down, opens up, changes colour and then falls off.
My parents used to have both plants at their house - the periwinkles and the aloe vera, so good for treating AZ sunburns. So glad you have a rain-catcher!
ReplyDeleteMe, too! I always regret it when the cistern is full and it rains--I hate seeing water go to waste when I know there will soon be many months without rain.
DeleteBeautiful!! I love your blue door:)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle!
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