So Succulent

It might be in vogue to be succulent nowadays? I’m not talking about our bodies. I’m talking about our plants! Succulents are popping up all over Pinterest lately. (Actually someone could probably make a career out of being a trend-spotter on Pinterest. Any takers?)

We live and garden in zone 5 in the Chicago suburbs. Some succulents are fine year-round in my gardens – they make it through the winters and survive through the lack of watering attention in the summers. They’re pretty and tough. But what’s most interesting to me are the succulent gardens people are making in containers, which you can keep indoors or outdoors, probably anywhere in the world. (And I can see, this blog gets visitors worldwide!) Let’s take a look …

Found at Armstrong Garden Centers, this combo of succulent shapes, colors and textures inspired this entire post. It’s beautiful:

I should note I may mix succulents, sedums, aloe and cactus here. I don’t get into plant classifications enough to know exactly what is a succulent and what is not. For this post, maybe I’m looking for the sensual side of a plant that “looks” succulent as we think of the word – the thick juicy leaves, the textures from fuzzy to thorny. Something about succulents appeals to our senses when we look at them and sometimes we can’t help ourselves but reach out and touch them. And the baby succulents – they’re so cute, they have the appeal of puppies. You want to take them home and take care of them and grow them. Maybe that’s why people are liking succulents so!

I mean, seriously, don’t you just want to pinch these little guys. They’re like little fat cheeks and toes:

Succulents can also be very grown-up and architectural. This is the coolest presentation of a Schartzkopf aeonium I’ve ever seen. I love this plant. Had one for awhile, should get another one. Via Michael Coghlan flickr:

And this, dripping with succulent goodness:

Mmmmmm … more succulents, from Rooted in Succulents on etsy, where you can get your own letter full of succulent plants:

Okay I could just repost the entire internet’s supply of succulents in containers. And let me tell you, that would be a looong post because there’s a lot of succulent garden gorgeousness out there. If you like what you saw here so far, trust me, you will want to visit this container succulent gallery at Houzz … and this gallery at Better Homes & Gardens. Enjoy!