By Kylie Breon

Dreaming about an effortless landscape that’s full of color and texture -- and dazzles your friends and family? The Desert Escape collection of easy-care, low-water, super-trendy cacti and succulents might just be for you. This posse of vibrant plants makes it oh-so-easy to create the landscape of your dreams. Use our five garden design tips and you’ll soon be the subject of extreme garden envy! 

Give It an Edge

Highlight your planting areas by outlining them with unique, low-growing plants. This will help immediately draw all eyes to your landscape and garden beds and borders. What better way to achieve this than with a colorful arrangement of succulents? Our favorite Desert Escape plant for edging is echeveria. It is an absolute superstar when it comes to texture -- so be sure to display your echeverias front and center. Mix and match different varieties to showcase their wide range of funky shapes, colors, and patterns. For example, silvery Echeveria lilacina is stunning paired with purple-flushed E. ‘Black Prince’. 

Raise It 

Add texture and height to your garden with beautiful African milk tree (Euphorbia lactea). This green succulent grows up and out as it soaks up the sun in a beautiful candelabra shape. If you live in a frost-free area (or live in a cold-winter climate but grow it in a pot so you can bring your African milk tree in and out every winter) can eventually reach 8 feet tall. You’ll love how it adds drama and vertical interest to your plantings and contrasts other cacti and succulents varieties. This variety is wonderfully low maintenance, so just splash some water every now and then, and watch it grow.

Incorporate Colorful Contrasts

Golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) brings bold contrast to your planting spaces. Its round shape and decorative golden-yellow spines make it easily identifiable. Its presence gives your garden a contemporary spin. Because the spines bring a pop of color, it provides a perfect reflection of the desert sun that it loves to bask in. Add even more contrast with a dark mulch to cover the soil around your garden to make this ball-shaped cacti pop. Bonus: By spreading a layer of mulch, you’ll prevent weeds from growing in your garden. It’s a win/win.

Bump Up the Blooms

Desert rose boasts blooms that stand out among the rest of your cacti and succulents collection. Although it is a succulent, desert rose (Adenium obesum) looks like a bonsai, with a thick trunk and an array of colorful flowers at its crown. Its dramatic flair is just what your garden needs to attract eyes. The best part is this plant produces dozens of blooms without needing to be watered often. There’s plenty of variety from which to choose, as well. Look for types with pink, red, white, or purple flowers -- in both single and rose-like double forms.

Fill in the Blanks

There’s nothing worse than blank space. Prevent bare spots with variegated baby jade (Portulacaria afra ‘Variegata’) as a groundcover. Its white-variegated foliage brightens spaces, and its red stems bring in a touch of color. As it grows, baby jade extends in all directions, so a little bit goes a long way. It’s the perfect plant to do the work for you.

Desert Escape makes gardening simple. Create a garden with a high-maintenance look but low-maintenance upkeep is easy. And don’t worry: If you live in an area that doesn’t allow for a heat-loving desert garden, bring this fabulous array indoors and creating a container garden to create warmth in your home during the colder months.