In late July, I published a post on the
succulent beds my friend Lynda created at the front of her house. Lynda, an artist, strives for perfection when she creates something so it's to be expected that she'd fiddle with her garden beds, seeking to match the image in her head with the one before her eyes. Earlier this month, the two of us took yet another succulent shopping trip and Lynda went back to work on her beds.
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| Again, only half of the contents of this trunk are mine! |
Inspired by the following video, Lynda removed the rest of the shrubs from her front beds, packed her succulents more densely, and used rocks and other tools to create height variations. Her most novel approach was to place groups of succulents within frames created by the tops of large bottomless black plastic pots, hiding the raised hedges with rocks.
Lynda's revamped beds look great. Here are the beds to the right of her driveway:
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| Lynda added drought tolerant Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' here and there (as shown in the upper right) for a touch of softness |
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| Both Lynda and I coveted the Opuntia violacea 'Santa Rita' (shown here at the center of the photo) but only Lynda was brave enough to handle it (although, despite precautions, she did pay the price) |
And here are the beds to the left of the driveway:
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| Lynda used black Mexican beach pebbles to give herself a path for use in maintaining the bed |
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| We both bought a large Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' (shown here in the foreground) on our last nursery run - like mine, Lynda's came with lots of pups |
You'll note that there's still room for a few more additions. I expect we'll make another trip in search of succulents before the year is out. Inspired by Lynda's efforts, I've been working on my own street-side succulent border. I'll provide a post on that work-in-progress soon.
*Note: All but the first photo are Lynda's own.
