Vinyl Wraps Make Utility Boxes Succulent Artworks

Lauraine's boxes, AFTER

Watch photographer Lee Sie wrap a utility box with laminated vinyl, transforming it from ugly to lovely. Succulents are a favorite because their geometric patterns work from any perspective. Lee explains the benefits of wrapping versus painting utility boxes. The power company loves it because taggers leave wrapped boxes alone.

Read More

Create a Wall Christmas Card Tree

Christmas card tree

Creating a wall Christmas Card Tree is an annual family event. Guests express surprise that we receive so many cards. Actually it’s not a lot, considering some date back to the ’70s…

Read More

My New Favorite Succulent Pumpkin

Succulent topped pumpkin

I love its loose, airy look, which Pat told me came about because her original design needed something. “I wasn’t thrilled with it,” Pat said. “After I glue-gunned all the cuttings,

Read More

My Top Three Succulent Holiday Projects

Topiary Christmas tree (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

It’s time to decorate with your favorite chubby plants! Here are three succulent holiday ideas. Take photos of the results and use for your season’s greetings. And when you post photos on social media, kindly tag yours truly! 

Read More

Decorate a Cactus with Holiday Lights, Step-by-Step

Cactus decorated with lights

A Ferocactus in a gold-painted, terra-cotta pot glows with mini lights Inspired by my friend Sabine’s holiday succulent garden, I decided to light up a succulent of my own. The resulting potted Ferocactus glaucescens is the holiday centerpiece for a patio table visible from my kitchen and dining room. The plant’s translucent spines glow when light…

Read More

Showcase Succulents in Large Pots

Gallery of large pots of succulents

For a dramatic, memorable enhancement to a garden or patio, showcase succulents in large pots. Big containers are both sculptural and eye-catching. Add succulents and you have a dynamic, ever-changing display as plants grow and seasons shift. Examples here are from my own garden and others I admire. Find more great ideas for succulents in…

Read More

Succulent Centerpieces

Learn About My Online Class! Succulent centerpieces last months and look good long after the occasion you made them for. Shown here are ideas for tabletops, floral-style arrangements, groupings and more. Follow the links for additional info and how-to help. Above: Jeanne Meadow of Fallbrook, CA, keeps this succulent centerpiece on her patio table. Jeanne’s…

Read More

Succulent Desk Buddies, DIY

“Desk buddies” are succulents that look good on your desk and require almost no care. They’re cute and classy, and visitors invariably ask about them. All you have to do is dribble water on them twice a month (which also keeps them dusted). I chose haworthias for my desk buddies because they do great in…

Read More

Ten Predictions for the Succulent Decor Marketplace

April 13, 2018 ~ At the 2016 Succulent Celebration, I told my audience, “You heard it here first: Textiles and decorative items themed with succulents would soon be commonplace.” Back then there were a few T-shirts, socks, pillows and posters, but not much from major retailers except fake succulents. (Gotta love the irony: Succulents already are the closest thing to plastic in…

Read More

Did I Find the Perfect Succulent Pillow?

Recently I embarked on an intensive, two-day hunt for the perfect succulent pillow. I wanted it for the love seat in my home’s 5×5 entry, where I keep 40 small, low-light succulents in a dozen containers. These are shades of green, bronze, brown, terra-cotta, and rose. Little did I realize how many succulent pillows are…

Read More

Use Colored Sand for Succulent Bouquets

I like to display bouquets of succulent rosettes in clear glass containers filled with layers of sand. Practical as well as pretty, the sand lends color and interest, and serves as to anchor the stems so top-heavy rosettes don’t tumble out. A jay appears interested in the spring succulent bouquet I made for the 2018 Super…

Read More