Welcome to Spring – we made it through the dark days of winter to the glorious, sunnier side of the new year.  The daffodils are teasing hints of yellow, and the unmistakeable sight of buds adorning bare branches suggests that spring is here, the growing season is upon us, and the fun can really start. Turning our attention to our houseplants, and in particular our succulents, you may notice that some of not faring so well, or at least just not looking quite like their former selves. Symptoms of insufficient light levels usually manifest themselves as distorted  growth, loss of ..read more

Books – can you ever have too many? To me, there is nothing cosier than curling up on the sofa, with a mug of hot tea and a good book. The bookshelves in the small house I share with my boyfriend Sam are absolutely crammed with various titles and act like a catalogue of our lives and interests, both before and after we met. I still have my chunky anthropology textbooks from university; Sam has various manuals on running and outdoor activities. We’ve collectively added to the medley of travel guides. And I have my beloved books on flowers and plants – a whole shelf: I frequent this shelf a fai ..read more

If someone were to ask me what my favourite succulent is, they would likely soon regret asking because my answer may take a while. The truth is I probably have about 20 different ‘favourite’ succulents at any one time. I appreciate the huge range of form, colours and textures available in this plant group and so whittling it down to one solid choice feels like an impossible task. However, when I was making and selling succulent planters to the public, I did have one go-to succulent that I knew I could rely on, and it never fell from grace, so I suppose this is as close as I could come to picki ..read more

I’ve been having something of a love affair with this succulent this year, and the combination of the dark blue-purple rosette combined with its orangey-red flowers makes it the perfect choice for Halloween. Pachyverias are hybrids of Pachyphytums and Echeverias. While trying to research the parentage of this particular cultivar, I really struggled. There was talk on the International Crassulaceae Network of this cultivar acually being a cross between Echeveria affinis and Sedum craigii. Indeed the flowers of Sedum craigii are strikingly similar to those of Pachyveria ‘Blue Mist’. Who knows, p ..read more

Autumn is my favourite season. I like driving along the country roads near my house and seeing the contrast of red, yellow and brown among the tree tops, I love the gradual additions of outdoor clothing as the days get crisper –  a jacket, a scarf, my beloved fingerless gloves. I look forward to the feeling of cosiness – the return of logs in our wood burner and long, lazy Sunday roast dinners. Unfortunately, as far as my succulents are concerned, it isn’t as simple as adding a wooly hat to keep them happy over winter. Autumn marks the beginning of shorter days, lower light levels and low ..read more

I like to think I use Succulent of the Month to talk about less well known succulents. This month’s succulent is one that I have wanted to discuss for a long time and makes a firm favourite in my collection. When I came upon Euphobia obesa two years ago, I knew I wanted to buy it straight away.  It was weird, wonderful and mysterious and I was curious to see what it did. Truth be told it hasn’t done much except get a bit bigger and a bit more cylindrical. Sometimes it half-heartedly produces a few flowers – but despite its apparent lack of enthusiasm I still love this plant. I admit I hav ..read more

We’ve all been there – you see a weird and wonderful plant and you buy it without hesitation. You get it home and then realise you haven’t got a clue exactly what it is, except that it is a ‘succulent’ , according to the very minimalist sticky label on the pot. Maybe this isn’t an issue for some  – you like the plant, you know it’s a succulent and so you have a general idea of its requirements. If it dies, it dies. If it doesn’t then great! If you are anything like me, your whole life will depend on knowing what you have on your hands. I’m fairly sure I am not the only one that feels the ..read more

I’ve been getting into succulent propatation recently. Nothing particularly complicated, just a few stem and leaf cuttings from leggy individuals or those that obligingly shed their leaves. I have to say, at the risk of sounding very twee, watching mini rosettes form from discarded leaves really does fill my heart with joy. It makes me feel so invested in nature, because what you put in, you get back. Thinking about August’s succulent of the month was an easy one – Kalanchoe daigramontiana is made for propagation, by producing little plantlets along its leaf margins that freely drop and root t ..read more

When it comes to plants, July is always an expensive month for me. I go to the RHS Hampton Court Palace show every year and every year I see lots of garden plants that I like, I splurge and then I spend the rest of the summer desperately trying to keep them hydrated until I can plant them in the Autumn. That is before I even get onto succulents – since I usually buy succulents year round, I try to hold back in July. Not this year… and this doesn’t even include a bunch of semps and sedums I bought too! I think its because there are so many more stalls popping up that sell succulents at Hampto ..read more

I don’t own many Echeveria, mainly because I find the range available to UK collectors somewhat limited. The Echeveria I do own I pay particular attention to, especially as they stretch so easily when they aren’t getting enough light. I’m currently debating whether or not to give my Echeveria a little summer sun and pop them outside in the garden for the season, as they are in active growth now and will likely really enjoy the extra rays. One in particular really likes the sun, and that is Echeveria lauii. I hear this one is quite rare – I don’t know if that is true. I bought mine from Southfi ..read more