Returned to Aloe Vera after a difficult first attempt

My first attempt at Aloe Vera failed — etiolation from insufficient light got hold of it and I didn't know what I was looking at until it was too late. I left it alone for a year before trying again.

The second attempt, with proper attention to watering only when the soil is completely dry, has been completely different. It's now thriving in a fairy garden or miniature landscape and water-storing fleshy leaves in geometric rosettes is on full display. dormancy and reduced watering in winter this year was a genuine reward for starting again. If you failed first time, the plant isn't the problem — the conditions probably were.