Design
Succulent White-Pot Pairings
White pots are a simple, effective way to display your prized succulents and cacti. Here I’ve paired colorful, geometric cacti and sculptural succulent euphorbias with an assortment of white-glazed containers. Solo or in groupings, succulent white-pot pairings would look good on your patio, deck, entryway or sunroom. See the 4-min. video: Succulent White-Pot Pairings. #1…
Read MoreLaura Eubanks’ Top Ten Tips for Succulent Garden Design
Laura Eubanks of Design for Serenity is a celebrity succulent garden designer in Southern California. Her “Succulent Tip of the Day” sent her popularity skyrocketing on social media, and her YouTube channel recently exceeded 4,000,000 views. Here, Laura shares her Top Ten Tips for Succulent Garden Design. The photos are from two videos I made…
Read More12 Succulent Bouquets to Inspire You
12 Succulent Bouquets to Inspire You ~ When wired onto faux stems, succulent rosettes—despite having no roots, soil or water—make long-lasting floral bouquets. Echeverias, graptosedums, crassulas and kalanchoes lend themselves beautifully to bouquets because of their colorful leaves and floral shapes. They’re easy to attach to stems, need no water (because they live off moisture in their leaves), look…
Read MoreTips from a Top Succulent Container Garden Designer
Melissa Teisl of Fresh Chic is the designer whose artistry I show most in my book, Succulent Container Gardens. She and mom Susan had a floral shop in Solana Beach, CA when I met them in ’07. After Susan retired Melissa and partner Jon Hawley launched CW Design & Landscaping, specializing in gorgeous in-ground gardens. But container gardens…
Read MoreEnsure Perfect Pairings With These Design Basics
Simple design principles can take your potted succulents from ho-hum to WOW. My 3-min video is a must-see if you’ve ever wondered which succulents to choose for a container—especially if it’s a collectible piece of art pottery. Apply these guidelines and you’ll be amazed at how polished your important plant-pot pairings look! Surprisingly effective Knowing…
Read MoreMy Sea-Themed Potting Demo at Roger’s Gardens
For my sea-themed potting demo at Roger’s Gardens, I combined rosy-pink barnacles with cuttings of a pink-tipped, cream-striped crassula, and did a multiplant arrangement in a seashell pot. These were something I decided to do on the spur of the moment. Roger’s Gardens (the largest independently owned garden center on the West Coast) is all about…
Read MoreCircular Succulent Garden
When I first saw fitness coach Amy Van Liew’s circular garden and spherical fountain, I envisioned how it might look replanted with colorful succulents. A great fountain and garden bed deserve to be seen, especially when in the middle of a magnificent home’s entryway. In the spring, when I took this photo of Amy, the flowers in the…
Read MoreSucculents for a Meditation Garden
If you enjoy gardening, you know how it can be a form of meditation and a treat for all the senses. But have you considered how simply looking at certain plants induces serenity? Explore this by enhancing a sitting area with succulents that incorporate geometric patterns and spirals. The Fibonacci sequence is a pattern often…
Read MoreUse Crushed-Rock Top Dressing to Enhance Your Succulent Designs
Do consider using crushed-rock top dressing to enhance your succulent designs. In the ground or in pots, your succulent compositions will look and perform better if bare soil doesn’t show. Top dressing lends a finished look, and plants benefit from the way it disperses water. In the open garden, soil exposed to sunlight is…
Read MoreGot a Pot? Elevate it!
Potted plants look better atop stands. See how this time-honored Asian aesthetic applies especially well to succulents in art pots in my new video, above. It features San Diego designer Diana Clark, who created the plant-pot pairings shown here. As you look at them, ask yourself: Does the stand matter? Would the composition look just…
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