How Succulents Can Help Solve Common Garden Dilemmas
Taking photos of succulents in a hidden garden in California.
I have a love affair with succulents.
There are so many reasons for my passion, but the biggest reason is that they are easy to grow, and a low-maintenance way to add beauty to the garden.
The popularity of succulents is taking off and nursery shelves are filled with numerous varieties to tempt gardeners. Many people are beginning to replace high-maintenance plants with fuss-free succulents.
Sticks on Fire Euphorbia and Elephants Food
Succulents can also be a great choice for solving common gardening problems. For example, they make great container plants and require a fraction of the care that flowering annuals do.
I share my favorite ways to use succulents in the garden in my latest article for Houzz. I hope that you find inspiration for solving your garden problems by adding these lovely plants.
How Succulents Can Solve Your Garden Problems
Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
That hidden garden in California is superb. I love succulents and there are a lot of reasons to use them, but I find it difficult to add them to an already established non-succulent garden, they just don’t seem to mix well.
Hello!
It’s nice to hear from you. You are right, that can be a problem. I would recommend adding succulents to the top of a slightly mounded area or in a pot that sits amidst the non-succulent plants, which should help protect them from being overwatered. I hope this helps 🙂
This is an old post that I’m seeing as I go through your website, which I love. I’m new to AZ, moved from Orange County and have been an avid gardener everywhere that I’ve lived, including the Pacific NW and Connecticut. AZ gardening is so different from any of those places. The succulent garden pictured is gorgeous but I’ve been told that there a very limited number of succulents that can survive the very hot summers here. I have a good number of Aeoniums that are now in pots but can they survive during the Summer months? I’d love to know what others have experienced.
Hello Joni,
We can grow a number of succulents in the desert garden but not as many as California. Here is a helpful link from a desert garden expert who has grown them successfully in the desert – https://www.joyusgarden.com/aeonium-arboreum-care/