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Aloe Hedgehog

May 10th, 2012

I’ve been trying to come up with something unique & interesting to put in pots to flank the front door. Our porch is HUGE and unless there are a few pots of plants it looks like a bowling alley. This year, I was considering purchasing a few boxwoods clipped into spheres for this spot. When I was at Buchwalter Greenhouse on Monday with my mom I spotted these aloe ‘Hedgehog’ and knew they’d be perfect.


Our front porch is hot, hot, hot since it gets the afternoon sun. I’d love to do ferns, but they just can’t take the heat. These lovely aloes should thrive up there in those conditions.


These are certainly unique, I’m guess most of my neighbors are going to have petunias and other plants on their front port. Now I just need to find something unique that can take the heat for my hanging baskets.

What’s your favorite front porch plant? Do you have a tough spot in the garden you have trouble finding the perfect plant for?

14 Comments to “Aloe Hedgehog”
  1. Kathi Cook on May 10, 2012 at 6:37 am

    They look great on your porch. I love to see the unexpected. After the season, they make a stunning indoor plants.

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  2. Sherri on May 10, 2012 at 8:23 am

    One year, I planted my 2 front pots with a combination of ornamental grasses (purple), chartreuse potato vine, coleus and a few other non-bloomng plants. They looked fabulous and were SO easy to care for. People used to pull over and knock on my door to ask where I bought the planters and they were disappointed to hear that I made them myself, LOL. They would write down the names of the plants from the tags that I had hidden in the foliage… so funny.

    I’m doing the same this year in my front pots (different house). Flowers are beautiful, but they take up a lot of time to maintain here as our climate is VERY dry and we often have wind. We must water frequently or risk losing everything in pots so grasses, etc. make more sense. They look fantastic, too!

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  3. Sherri on May 10, 2012 at 8:23 am

    Forgot to say that I love your aloes… They look fantastic in those pots and I love the look of them – unexpected but gorgeous!

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  4. Allison on May 10, 2012 at 9:14 am

    Oh those are COOL!

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  5. Donna B. on May 10, 2012 at 9:50 am

    Those are adorable aloe(s)! Those pots are to DIE for! You’ll be able to bring them inside during the winter I’m assuming?
    Oddly enough I do not grow anything on my front porch. I have a portable greenhouse that stays on it year round though… But like yours it get’s lots of sun during the day!
    I’ve noticed something about your porch too, and I might have to do the same, [I believe you said you have a Cape Cod right?] You have no porch railings!
    … I don’t like porch railings.
    Might have to detach mine – I sort of like the clean look of just the posts and no rails. It’s unique. [Although I have a Colonial-styled home, so maybe it’s the classic look of the rails… ugh! I don’t know!]
    Decisions decisions…

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    • Susy on May 10, 2012 at 10:02 am

      Right – no porch railings here and yes it’s a Cape Cod style house. I like the open feel it gives to the porch.

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  6. Maybelline on May 10, 2012 at 11:18 am

    A suggestion for your hanging baskets. Use something with a scent that you like. Your porch with have perfume all summer long. I’ve always liked the sweet alyssum baskets at Disneyland.

    http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/080/b/9/pretty_hanging_baskets_by_shellandshilo-d4tg45o.jpg

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  7. kaela on May 10, 2012 at 11:25 am

    I’ve grown Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes in hanging planters; they do remarkably well even with the relatively tiny amount of soil in a hanging planter, and certainly love the sun.

    And how great to pop one into your mouth every time you leave the house? :) (Of course, at this point, you’d have to find a transplant I would guess; although I’m sure there are other cherry tomatoes that work well in hanging planters).

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  8. Lee on May 10, 2012 at 11:46 am

    Ficus, it simply refuses to die, perfect for difficult areas.

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  9. Paloma Calderon on May 10, 2012 at 3:44 pm

    You could try “pelargonium peltatum” for your hanging baskets (sorry for the latin name but I don’t know the english one, “gitanillas” around here). It’s the most used in the hot areas of Spain. They have all kinds of colours and just love the heat and we surely love them. You’ve made a really nice choice for your front porch.

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  10. Joan on May 10, 2012 at 7:40 pm

    Tomatoes and other edibles such as perhaps nasturtiums would be very nice in hanging baskets, and able to take the heat very well!

    Reply to Joan's comment

    • Susy on May 10, 2012 at 8:59 pm

      I did start some nasturtiums thinking they might do OK up there.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  11. bonnie on May 10, 2012 at 11:14 pm

    My mom has an Aloe “Hedgehog” (or a similar one) that someone gave her ages ago. We’ve been a little perplexed as to what to call it since it was given as an aloe but was unlike the aloe vera we have. Now I’ll know what to tell her.
    I, too, have afternoon sun. Moss rose, portulaca, is good for that situation, but it stays closed on an overcast day.

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  12. KimH on May 12, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    Those are really great!! I have 2 aloe pots that started a little over a year ago from a mama & a couple babies.. They spread like wildfire and even climb out of the pots.. Insane~

    Reply to KimH's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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