A few years back I adopted some plants from an ex-neighbour who was moving overseas. Among them was a rather healthy succulent. I’ve been keeping it on an outdoor table under some shade cloth. Well, I’d noticed a while back that the tips were going a bit pale, and I assumed that it was not getting enough water (as you do when you live in a drought-stricken country). I moved it so it would get more rain, but it didn’t seem to be recovering.

I should have taken a much closer look. One day I glanced out the window and caught a splash of vivid orange-pink. So I went had had a look, and found the pale tips were actually flower buds. It now looks like this:

I’ve really come to love succulents in the last few years. Not only are they survivors, but sometimes they can transform from sculptural to spectacular.