Xilman's Journal: Two purchases

For a reason that is too complex to go into right now, we bought an old church pew a couple of days ago. It's longer than average, very close to 2 metres, and very heavy. It's in very good condition but needs patchy wax and/or varnish and decades of human grease removing from it.

Accordingly, I went to a Homebase store this afternoon to buy some very fine steel wool (00000 grade for those interested in these things) and a pot of furniture wax. In their pot plants selection, they had a very nice succulent for only £2.99. It's obviously an aloe and, I thought, A. Ferox. The identification was confirmed when I got it home.

The aloe has dark green fleshy leaves completely covered in lumps and spines. Apparently it may grow 3m high and 2m across when adult, though as I don't have that sort of space available it may have to be rehomed before then.

The monkey puzzle is now 3cm high, has around a dozen leaves open and the distinctive cluster of unopened leaves around the growing tip. It's now very obvious what it is. Better, another seed has lifted its case above the compost, so there's another treelet in there!