2020 Succulent Calendar

Every year I create a calendar so I have to do a dozen watercolors. Painting is a cherished hobby, but—maybe you can relate?—I need a deadline to do it. In August, I hadn’t picked up a brush for nearly a year and had lots to relearn.

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Concrete windowsill pots

Recently updated! I couldn’t resist adding six more “finds.” — DLB. I ran across these while shopping online for succulent-specific tools and special gifts for friends. They’re worthy of any succulent lover’s wish list

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Silver succulent pillow

When you shop at Succulent Chic, my online Zazzle store, you’ll find hundreds of gift and decorative items based on my very best succulent photos and paintings. In addition to my 2020 calendar, there are succulent throw pillows, mugs, greeting cards, coasters, and stretched canvas prints. 

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Want to launch a lifelong love of gardening? Give a basket of baby succulents. When in my 20s, I had 30 houseplants. Before leaving on vacation, I asked a neighbor to tend them. To make it easier for her (ha), I labeled each with a number corresponding to a hand-drawn map of my apartment’s interior, and…

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Gifts for succulent lovers

Much of what follows is my own wish list, but these items would likely make great gifts for you and other succulent lovers as well. Some I already own and figured you’d want them too. If you’re the giftee, consider forwarding this to the gifter. Note: Some links go to Amazon, where I’m an associate, so…

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2019 Watercolor calendar cover

I’m pleased to show you my 2019 Succulent Watercolors Calendar! It features a dozen new, vibrant watercolors based on my favorite photos of succulent plants. Last year I was so busy with the launch of the second edition of Designing with Succulents, I didn’t pursue my watercolor hobby. This year happily I found time. I try to…

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Is there really an easy way to paint watercolors? Yes, if you go straight to painting and don’t spend time laboriously drawing the image first. I learned the technique described here from San Diego watercolor artist Diane Palley McDonald. Step by step: Select a photo that inspires you. Print the photo on 8-1/2 by 11 paper.…

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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…

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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…

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Book plates are autographed and personalized, peel-and-stick labels that go inside a book’s cover. Mine have my publisher’s logo and my artwork. Book plates are $2.50/each (free to newsletter subscribers)*,

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Succulent bouquet with echeverias

When I need a hostess gift, thank-you present, or an arrangement for a special friend, I make a bouquet of succulents.   I start by selecting a coffee mug or glass container (usually a jar, thrift-store vase, or clear bottle), the size of which determines the size of the arrangement. Then I head into the garden with…

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Succulent coloring book

I’m proud and pleased to announce the release of my latest book: “Sensational Succulents, an adult coloring book of amazing shapes and magical patterns” published by Timber Press. The line drawings, based on my photos, are by illustrator Laura Serra. Succulents beautifully illustrate nature’s artistry. By immersing yourself in the patterns and geometry of succulents, you’ll discover yet another…

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