Succulent Saturday's Gardening Project

Happy Succulent Saturday~

Once in a while I'm asked to help out with a succulent project, and this 2-week project was definitely a fun one! Some folks asked me to pretty up their front driveway, so I got another chance to get creative! Take a look at this beautiful bounty:

I got most of these succulents from Home Depot and Sloat Gardens. I should note that this is the first time I got more than one succulent from Home Depot. I haven't had much luck with large Gardening Centers like Lowes and Home Depot, in fact, prior to this project I actively avoided Home Depot's Gardening Center because I only seemed to find sickly, wilted, gummy, or leggy succulents. This time, maybe out of sheer luck or they found a better way to take care of their plants, I lucked out. These babies actually look very healthy and plump:

As a general rule of thumb, I examine each plant to make sure there is no browning/molding, leggy stems, and gummy leaves. I'm sort of surprised that I found some nice succulents, I'll be sure to provide updates on how they look in a couple of weeks after being potted. 

So here are the finished pots, keep in mind that it isn't going to look 100% quite yet. There is a lot of room between plants, so in a couple of months I hope to see these pots overflowing with succulents!

June's Succulent Planting Party (Continued)

So last week I started what I thought was going to be a one-day project...and it didn't happen that way. I decided to continue the planting this week, armed with shovels, pebbles, succulent dishes, and a bottle of champagne. Can I just say, that this week's planting activities were way more awesome than last week?!

Most of my succulents have outgrown their original pots so I'm planning to plant them all together in a larger dish. Some of my cuttings and plants are too small, so I'm going to plant them in cute little pots.

 I love the variety of colors succulents have--some are frosty blue with lavender tips while others have beautiful shades of reds and pinks. A lot of succulents actually turn pink in the sun (that is if they don't burn, so be careful!)

 I often don't know what to do with the extremely tiny cuttings, but this time I was prepared--I went out and bought these teeny tiny 2-inch pots and clustered the little cuttings all together:

Here are the two I did so far. Aren't they cute?! I have a couple more plantings to finish from yesterday, but today's rain sort of shooed me back inside, so I'm going to have to continue this later on in the week. More plantings are coming soon, I promise!

Succulent Saturday: Cactus in Bloom

It's Succulent Saturday! Today's succulent is a beautiful (and gigantic) cactus spotted in Berkeley, CA. I often come across rogue succulents/cacti in San Francisco, but they never looked this bright and beautiful!

These blooms are so pretty!

This is the first time I've seen a rogue cactus in bloom. For some reason, I thought all cactus flowers resembled blooms on ice plants so seeing these flowers was a definite surprise. Can I just take this giant cactus home with me?!

Succulent Saturday: Outer Sunset / Golden Gate Park

I like taking walks through my old neighborhood, primarily because there are so many succulents all over the place. Today I spotted some gorgeous cacti in the Outer Sunset and not too far away I found a huge rogue aeonium cluster in Golden Gate Park. I'm sure it has to have been there for at least 10 years, it is h.u.g.e.

I like walking through Golden Gate Park, I always come across prehistoric-looking plants. There is an area along Middle Drive that has a ton of giant Cycads and fern-plants (think Jurassic Park) and I always feel like there are dinosaurs lurking behind me. Speaking of ferns and prehistoric plants, I have a hike planned in May--I'm visiting Jughandle State Reserve to see the Pygmy Forests! I don't know much about it yet, except that most of the trees are about 3-6 feet tall. I can't wait until it's May, I'm so excited to go on some more hikes and adventures!
I haven't done much hiking in the past month, mostly because I'm trying to submit my thesis and graduate on time. I'm trying to take small walks and hikes for now, but stay tuned, spring is here and everything is in bloom. Remember to go outside :)

Succulent Saturday

One thing I love about succulents is they seem to thrive on neglect. I still have some succulents at my parent's house and it's so nice to see that most of them still look pretty healthy.

Rogue Succulents

Aloe succulents growing rogue, untouched by people in a secret spot.

I love making terrariums, but I also love to see succulents growing wild. I'm pretty sure that this aloe colony(?) has been around for years because each plant is so large and there are tons of baby aloes emerging from the soil. This will always be one of my favorite spots that haven't been primed and pruned by people.

Succulent Saturday: My Revived Aloe

A couple of months ago this aloe was shriveled and thin due to lack of water and bright light. I don't even want to post a photo because it will just make you sad. Anyway, after spending some time outside in full sun it's looking plump and healthy, the tips are even turning pink!

Succulent Saturday: Sempervivum Cluster

This little beauty made its home on Mike's garden staircase! Look closely and you'll see the patterns in the leaves!

Succulent Saturday!

Today's planting:

Succulent Saturday!