Succulent Gardens | Garden Design

Unique for their ability to store water, succulents are well suited for climates with high temperatures and low rainfall. Many people think of them as desert plants, but they also thrive in coastal locales. Gardeners love them for their drought resistance, architectural forms, vivid colors and ease of maintenance. Succulents are especially popular for use in containers.

Whether you need a groundcover or a specimen plant, there is a succulent for every situation. Some form small rosettes, some trail up to 3 feet, while still others grow to resemble small trees. When healthy, many will produce pups or eye-catching blooms. Additionally, they work well in a variety of garden styles including modern, Mediterranean, tropical, rock gardens, xeriscapes and more.

This section is filled with ideas for growing succulents in your own garden. Browse the articles and images to see how top designers incorporate these plants into their gardens.

Birdbath Container, Sempervivum Container
Pot Incorporated
Vancouver, BC

Succulent Container Gardens

Debra Lee Baldwin reveals insights from two designers who use succulents as living adornments to create their distinctive container gardens.

Succulent Video
Garden Design
Calimesa, CA

Grow & Propagate Succulents

In this video, Master Gardener Deana Rae McMillion talks about growing succulents to reduce water dependency and how to start new plants from cuttings.

Succulents, Container
Debra Lee Baldwin
San Diego, CA

Succulent Care

Discover six secrets for growing succulents successfully in your own garden.

DESTINATIONS

for the Succulent Lover

Succulent Cafe (Peter Loyola)
Oceanside, CA

Visit the Succulent Café

Next time you are near Oceanside, Calif., be sure to check out this charming spot offering coffee and a delightful array of plantings everywhere you look.

Oaxaca’s Ethnobotanical Garden

When traveling to Mexico, be sure to visit one of the world’s most original public gardens created in a defunct monastery complex, filled with agaves, organ pipe cactus and more.

FROM AMAZON

books about gardening with succulents

Succulents Simplified

Growing, Designing, and Crafting with 100 Easy-Care Varieties (by Debra Lee Baldwin)

Succulent Container Gardens

Design Eye-Catching Displays with 350 Easy-Care Plants (by Debra Lee Baldwin)

Designing with Succulents

Succulent plants offer dazzling possibilities for garden design and require only minimal maintenance to remain lush and alluring year round (by Debra Lee Baldwin)