afternoon succulents

Ever since I was introduced to succulents (geophytes - but of course you knew that), I was enthralled. "You can just snap a piece off, plant it...and a new plant grows?" Heck yes. "You only have to water them once a week?" Yep. Simply put, they're rad. Big thanks to my honey's mom, Torrie, for sharing her love of these neat plants with me.

Speaking of love, there is a lot to love when it comes to succulents. They are drought friendly - perfect for our Southern California environs, pretty tough to kill (yes, you can go on vacations - they'll live!), and there is such a wide variety that I spot new ones all the time. Not to mention to beautiful colors that they come in. Plus, ignore them for a while and guess what? They just might surprise you and sprout a stalk or two...and maybe even some flowers.

Suffice to say, all of my friends are now as stoked as I am on these neat little guys. My girlfriend Liz from Seigel-Thurston Photography came by this afternoon to get her plant on with me. First, we stopped by Tuesday Morning in Pacific Beach to find a great (bonus: inexpensive) pot for Liz. This was my first time scoping out pots at Tuesday Morning and I was surprised by the selection. So, check it out sometime the next time you feel inspired, but your wallet doesn't. My crackled yellow pot is from Anthropologie (one of my favorite places to grab fun pots).

We sauntered over to Green Gardens in Pacific Beach to pick up our goodies. I love this nursery. Right now, they house all of the smaller succulents in the front with the big guys in the back. Be sure to walk around the whole place - you never know what you'll find. We each spent about $15 and picked up a cool 4 or 5 succulents. Liz also snagged a few on a location scouting session in Old Town (sweet).

To add a bit of character to our plantings, we included pebbles and moss (all from Green Gardens, naturally). You can try sand (on top of the soil - do not use it as your mix), larger rocks or bark as well. On to the fun part: I love the deep eggplant purple of the spiky succulent in the front and the softly jagged edges of the tall leafy fellow nearby.

You can spot one of my new favorite succulents hidden among the larger ones - they're light blue-green and look like tall nodes, coral, or tiny fingers. If you ever use these, be sure to plant them far enough in the soil or the ones along the edge of the planting will dry up. I have found that when I put a new home together for my succulents, colors that compliment one another really work best. I tend to use blues, light yellowy-greens and anything with a hint of purple or fuchsia. A pop of color is absolutely necessary. The lime green of the floral pointed guys in the back looks gorgeous against the deep purple of the one in the front. The light sages and sea foam green accents ground the more saturated succulents nicely.

So, go get some succulents (nursery or scavenger style, I don't judge) and get started! Send me photos of your latest. I'd love to see what you've made.