Before I moved to Miami, Florida, I lived in cold-winter climates (Minnesota, then Iowa). I enjoyed a variety of hardy succulents, including sedums and hens-and-chicks. But I never really thought about using tropical low-water succulents outdoors as annuals. I wish I had; it could have saved me a lot of time, effort, and watering.
If you're planning your garden for next year, consider easy-care cacti and succulents (such as our Desert Escape collection) for your yard. They offer fantastic textures and fun colors, too. They're not all just green or gray; you can find varieties that show off shades of purple, red, yellow, and even orange in their foliage. And many will produce flowers over the summer, adding more color (while attracting hummingbirds and butterflies).
Cacti and succulents are fantastic for those hot, dry spots in your yard -- such as in a parking strip between the sidewalk and street or near a concrete or asphalt walkway. They're also first-class plant picks for raised beds. In most areas, natural rainfall is enough to keep these low-water plants thriving, so you can just sit back and let nature do the watering. You will need to watch for weeds, but a 2-inch-deep layer of mulch will typically knock most of them back.
If you want to give your landscape a consistent look, you can plant a few container gardens using cacti and succulents, too. Happily, container gardens with cacti and succulents are even easier to care for. You usually don't need to water OR worry about weeding!
Not sure where to get started? Some of my personal favorites include panda plant (Kalanchoe), which offers silvery-gray foliage covered in soft, fuzzy hairs; echeverias, which look like little heads of lettuce; and aloes, which are a little spiky, but not too spiny.
If you're planning your garden for next year, consider easy-care cacti and succulents (such as our Desert Escape collection) for your yard. They offer fantastic textures and fun colors, too. They're not all just green or gray; you can find varieties that show off shades of purple, red, yellow, and even orange in their foliage. And many will produce flowers over the summer, adding more color (while attracting hummingbirds and butterflies).
Cacti and succulents are fantastic for those hot, dry spots in your yard -- such as in a parking strip between the sidewalk and street or near a concrete or asphalt walkway. They're also first-class plant picks for raised beds. In most areas, natural rainfall is enough to keep these low-water plants thriving, so you can just sit back and let nature do the watering. You will need to watch for weeds, but a 2-inch-deep layer of mulch will typically knock most of them back.
If you want to give your landscape a consistent look, you can plant a few container gardens using cacti and succulents, too. Happily, container gardens with cacti and succulents are even easier to care for. You usually don't need to water OR worry about weeding!
Not sure where to get started? Some of my personal favorites include panda plant (Kalanchoe), which offers silvery-gray foliage covered in soft, fuzzy hairs; echeverias, which look like little heads of lettuce; and aloes, which are a little spiky, but not too spiny.
Written by Justin Hancock
