My Own Sci-Fi Movie Set

Although I struggle to keep up on my own blog, I somehow find time to read all of my favorite plant-related, gardening blogs on a daily basis (and - shh, don't tell - the Perez Hilton blog too.) In following these, I've read about and seen a lot of succulent gardens, and to be perfectly honest, the idea of such a garden just didn't really excite me. Until Ben and I were out and about the other day and came across a very interesting variety of succulent plants that seemed as though they were from another world.

Now, you have to understand something here... and it helps if you already know my father. My dad worked at a movie theater when he was in high school at the height of all of the greats, so I have grown up with all the great sci-fi flicks of the 50's and 60's, and have come to share his affinity for such classics... Night of the Living Dead, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Blob, IT Came from Outer Space, Tarantula, my personal favorite The Day the Earth Stood Still, and the ever fitting to my recent gardening pastime, The Day of the Triffids. For those of you that are unaware of Triffids, they are plant-like space aliens that are capable of moving themselves around and attacking people, whose spores arrive on Earth in a meteor shower. It is a truly great feat of 1960's sci-fi kitsch. Rent it and watch it. You'll laugh until your sides hurt. (But please, think of me as a child, scared to death, while you watch it. That will increase the level of humor just a bit.)

Ok, so now that you have this little bit of background, you should be able to grasp the feelings I have for my new succulent garden. It's almost as though it's straight from a bad (or awesome depending on how you look at it) sci-fi movie. I have to say though, aside from the outer-space vibe, the succulent plants are pretty sweet. They're just so different than any plant you might see in everyday life. I especially like the "ET fingers" that are front and center. (Note that they have a translucent tip to allow more light in - like ET's glowing "go home" finger - I mean, how cool is that?!)

And now for a little fun with Photoshop... I just couldn't help myself... neat!