Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
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Debra Lee Baldwin has prepared her succulent blog with information on succulent design, news on succulent plants and designers working with succulents. Succulent book author, expert, "Queen of Succulents" Debra Lee Baldwin's FAQs, photo galleries, care tips, succulent design ideas, videos, news, more.
Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
6d ago
At this Southern CA destination garden, life-sized topiary figures of Mexican mariachi musicians and dancers wear colorful, ingenious costumes planted with succulents.
Topiary dancers in the SDBG's Mexican garden
The skillfully made, well-maintained figures are worthy of a Rose Parade float. But they're not in Pasadena; instead, 100 miles south at the San Diego Botanic Garden.
Succulent cuttings used for the figures suggest hair, pearls, lace, ruffles, and patterned fabric.
Hats and instruments are made of brass. This guitar player's curly hair is ripple jade.
Nonsucculent embellishment ..read more
Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
1M ago
Josh Allen is making his dream come true: Developing a nursery and botanic garden specializing in rare succulents and cycads.
“There’s a big market for beautiful, hard-to-find plants,” he says, adding that creating new hybrids and "playing with plant genetics" are what he does best. He especially enjoys Aloe hybridizing and breeding rare and desirable species.
Mesh bags catch seeds and ensure that bees and birds don't disturb hand-pollinated aloe flowers.
Josh chose a three-acre, rocky hilltop in Southern California for his “Fairview Nursery and Botanical Gardens” because of ..read more
Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
1M ago
Photos show the garden six weeks after installation. Just want plant names? Scroll to the list below.
This long, narrow succulent garden alongside a busy street presented challenges many landscape designers might find daunting. Not so Hannah Eubanks, a lead designer for owners (and parents) Laura and Greg Eubanks of Design for Serenity.
In a streetside garden near a busy intersection, utilitarian items are inevitable, but with a little ingenuity, they needn't be eyesores.
The succulent-scape Hannah recently created for Grangetto's Farm and Garden Supply's Escondido location sho ..read more
Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
2M ago
Gray-green calandrinia (Cistanthe grandiflora) shrubs sit quietly, building their strength, from late summer until spring. Then, like the fireworks they resemble, they explode with neon-bright blooms.
Here and in my new video you'll find out how to keep calandrinia healthy and flowering, and how to use it to enhance your own garden.
Calandrinia is native to Chile. Rising above its oval, gray-green leaves float masses of magenta, poppylike flowers. Buds along spaghetti-thin, branching stems open successively.
The 2- to 3-foot-tall flower stems of calandrinia are unusual among succulents ..read more
Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
3M ago
One of the most widely grown succulents in California from the coast to the foothills is Aloe arborescens (torch aloe).
There’s no need to buy it. It’s so common, it’s a “pass-along plant,” meaning friendly neighbors who grow it will likely give you cuttings.
But before you go knocking on doors, here’s what you need to know to grow Aloe arborescens and keep it thriving.
Easy-care aloe
Aloe arborescens is from southeastern Africa. Its found from Mozambique to Cape Town in South Africa---regions climactically similar to California from the Bay Area to San Diego.
This is one of the easiest l ..read more
Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
3M ago
Kalanchoe luciae, commonly called paddle plant or flapjack plant, is a highly popular succulent due to its bright coloration and flat, rounded, pancake-like leaves. These are green near the stem and red on the edges.
Kalanchoe luciae, perfectly colored
Shades of red in paddle plants vary from rose and magenta to burgundy; greens go from lime to teal blue.
Here's how to select and grow pancake kalanchoes and keep their colors vibrant.
Those red leaves!
It’s true of Kalanchoe luciae---and many crassulas and aloes---the more light, the redder the leaves and the tighter the growth ..read more
Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
4M ago
I love a good succulent plant hack---a clever solution to a common problem---especially if the hack utilizes something unexpected. I offer a dozen here.
And if you have a hack, tip, or workaround that has to do with succulents, would you kindly share it in the Comments? Thanks!
Carry cacti with firewood tongs
Eileen Haag of Lakeside, CA notes that a friend who donated "some sections of fence post cactus" to a charity plant sale she was in charge of, transported them with "fireplace log tongs. They make handling the large pieces so much easier and safer than my bailing twine method," E ..read more
Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
4M ago
Seeing a spiral aloe (Aloe polyphylla) is an unforgettable experience, and to see one is to want one. Under ideal conditions, these rare succulents can attain 2 feet in diameter. They're challenging to grow, but not impossible. Like lithops, if you understand their requirements and limitations, they'll do fine.
Spiral Aloe Essentials
Climate: Spiral aloes are native to the Drakensberg mountains of Lesotho, South Africa. They grow on steep slopes with their roots bathed in snow melt, in low humidity with excellent air circulation.
Soil: Use any commercial potting soil, providing it has no co ..read more
Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
4M ago
Order the Calendar
Get it for 50% off with this code up until Thurs., Nov. 24: EARLYBFDE1WC. The code also is good for all items from Succulent Chic, my Zazzle store.
A Brilliant Idea
We have one of my newsletter subscribers to thank for this smart suggestion: Adding timely succulent care tips to each calendar page. It's something I hadn't thought of, and everyone loves.
More than a calendar
Enjoy colorful succulents year-round along with monthly care tips for keeping the plants happy and healthy. This wall-art calendar is perfect for gardening enthusiasts and succulent lovers. B ..read more
Succulents and Succulent Garden Design | Debra Lee Baldwin
4M ago
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, including my own! Let me know if you agree in the comments below. Note: Most links are affiliate.
Plush Succulent Pillow
Above: Made of soft "micro plush" material, this three-dimensional rosette succulent pillow makes a beautiful, super cushy accent piece. Hand-sewn and flat on the underside. Weighs 1 lb.; size is 14 x 11.8 x 8.5 inches.
Succulent Shower Curtain/s
One of many succulent shower curtains
Did you know that for under $20 ..read more