"Baby, its cold outside!" SoCal virtual warming

I have been meaning to get outside, do some clean-up, bring in some aloes (yikes... I still havn't done it!), set up some precautionary protective measures, and all the other things I should be doing this time of year. But brrrrr.... its cold!  So far all my summer loving, sunshine and happiness friends, I shall bring some virtual warmth with some more SoCal plant lust!

So in the spirit of sunshine, turn up the heat, strip down to your summer gear, drink something tropical, and soak in some warmth!! (Sun lamps and vitamin D3 are your best friends this time of year!).  An alternate plan could be to decorate your Christmas palms - or holiday palms.

When I was in SoCal, one thing was cemented into my brain. I don't just dislike cold, I loathe it. So in the miss-quoted words of Judy Garland: "If there's anything I hate, loathe, despise, and abominate, it's [cold]."   I could get used to evening sunshine warming my face.  I could get used to sights like this.

Or this.

What agave is this? I am now convinced that I need Greg Starr's "Agaves: Living Sculptures for Landscapes and Containers"

But back to cold hating ... errr ... virtual sun soaking.

This is so epic it hardly looks real.

I have been trying to think of gifts for friends that evoke sunshine and happiness.  It has to in some way reject all sense of winter.  This is the year of summer after all.  Maybe some giant bromeliads!?

Tropical plants can be festive too!!!

I think one of the redeeming parts of the holidays is all the red and green you see. I like red, and I LOVE green!!!!

but there is a tender soft spot in my heart for the green....

An even more special place for green and blue ....

And an ultimate happiness from green, blue and orange together! Ah! Epic! Happy sun soaking!