Not, as some might first assume, a neatly-arranged diorama of pine cones.

Orostachys boehmeri ‘Keiko’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

The concept of a rock garden sounds amazingly dull, like it would be a garden full of well … rocks. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Plants are imminently adaptable, and those that adapt to the arid, hardscrabble life of grappling for nutrients in a barren biome tend to be, well, really cool. Need proof? Just check out the fractal fabulousness of these Hens and Chicks in the Garden’s WPA-era Rock Garden.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

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They’re inconspicuous almost to the point of invisibility, assuming you’re looking for them in their natural habitat. You might pass an entire stand of these plants without being the wiser were you to find yourself wandering parts of southern Africa. But when a grazing animal happens by, camouflage is the best natural defense in a landscape where food comes scarce and water borders on mythological.

Picking out lithops from the patches of pebbly ground where they grow is a simple task if you’re attentive–just look for misplaced symmetry. The thick leaves of the small, bifurcated plants resemble patterned stones, as evidenced in the breakdown of the name itself: lithos means “stone” and -ops means “face” in ancient Greek. But they’re not the subjects of any geology professor. You might guess that from their sometimes vibrant patterns and strange colorations.
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If you follow the NYBG Tumblr feed with any regularity, you know my succulent fanaticism shows through like the sun. I (sort of) promise not to let it overtake Plant Talk.

Crassula perfoliata — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Frosty mornings are making a fashionably late entrance! I wonder if this little succulent anticipates the return of warmer weather as much as most New Yorkers…

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen