Haworthia and sansevieria in The Tropical Paradise

This tiny area of The Tropical Paradise, along the walkway at the foot of the cannas, has been a problem for years. Although it gets afternoon shade, the morning sun in the summer has *cooked* pretty much everything that I had planted here. And to make things worse, it's an area that collects cold air in the winter.

What I am trying now is haworthia (that's the plant that kind'a looks like aloe) and sansevieria (old-timers will remember the term *mother-in-law's tongue* for the typical houseplant form, nowadays usually just referred to as a *snake plant*). Luckily, my association with the Arizona Palm and Cycad Association has put me in contact with some of best experts on plants, and these were all given to me as a *donation*.

The truth is, at first the haworthia didn't look so good. Before it got established, it just sat there, and got kind of purplish. Once the plants took root, which took a few months, they brightened back up to the green you see here, plus they started to pup, that is, send out offshoots. I would like to see them all grow together in this space, and it looks like they will!

Dispersed between the haworthia are the sansevieria and some rocks. The idea here is to create a pleasing design that includes low, middle, and high items. Right now the sansevieria looks a little sad, but hopefully it will take root and grow.

The nice thing about haworthia is that although it looks like aloe, it's tougher. But it isn't so sharp and spiny that it will become a danger along this path. I do, however, want to continue to discourage inconsiderate people from stepping into the planting area, so it looks like it will do the job!