Succulent Expansion

In response to our persistent drought, I've been trading out thirstier plants for more drought-tolerant ones where I can.  That's involved the introduction of more succulents.  In some areas, that's just meant the substitution of one or two plants; however, in one section of the back garden I've let the succulents take over.

This is the area in question after I replanted it earlier this week.  The bed is roughly 10 feet long and 4 feet wide.  It's located at the north end of the back garden. 

This is a "before" shot taken in late June.  The white-flowering Argyranthemum shrubs had become woody and were just blah.

This is a more recent "before" shot taken in late September.  I replaced the Argyranthemum with an Echibeckia and coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Rustic Orange') in July, filling in with Dymondia margarete and Gazania 'Yellow Flame'; however, the Echibeckia needed way too much water and the coleus never developed well.

The area is shaded about half the day so I focused on Mangaves as my focal plants as they can take a bit of shade here.  I selected smaller succulents of various kinds to complement the Mangaves.

This photo was taken in late afternoon after I finished replanting the area on Monday.  I left most of the existing Dymondia, Gazania, Cerastium tomentosum (snow-in-summer), and Thymus serpyllum (creeping thyme) in place.

View of the same area looking east.  I transplanted all the orange coleus into the bed beyond surrounding a Melianthus major I cut back last month.  So far it's hanging on!

On the north end of the bed, I used three Mangave 'Frosted Elegance'.

I received 3 'Frosted Elegance' Mangaves I'd ordered by mail last week.  The specimen on the right is a plant I'd ordered from the same source a few months ago to give you a better idea of what it looks like after it's settled in.  I love this Mangave.

Clockwise from the upper left, I filled in the gaps around the 'Frosted Elegance' Mangaves with: Haworthia limifolia (1), Haworthia 'Savanna' (1), Sedum acre 'Elegans' (5), Sempervivum 'Bernstein' (1), and several cuttings of Aeonium 'Kiwi' (not shown) 

I used a potted Mangave 'Crazy Cowlick' in the middle of the bed to provide some height.

'Crazy Cowlick' is surrounded on 3 sides by one of my favorite succulents, Crassula orbiculata var rosularis

On the south end of the bed, I used a mix of three Mangaves.

Left to right are: Mangave 'Blazing Saddles' (I think), M. 'Freckles & Speckles', and M. 'Lavender Lady'.  'Freckles & Speckles' is new to my garden but the other 2 are not.

What I've decided is probably 'Blazing Saddles' (left) was labeled as 'Red Wing' by the seller but I'm fairly certain that's an error.  I have several 'Red Wing' (one of which is shown on the upper right) and it doesn't have speckles.  The underlying red stripe in the middle of the leaves is what led me to conclude that it's probably 'Blazing Saddles' (like the stressed specimen on the middle right) even though it bore some similarity to 'Painted Desert' (bottom right).

Comparison of the new Mangave 'Lavender Lady' (left) and my older specimen (right)

I filled in between the 3 Mangaves on the south end of the bed with: Echeveria apus (1), Echeveria 'Hookeri' (3), and Kalanchoe marmorata 'Partridge' (3)

I did a little replanting in my south side garden as well, removing a couple of unhappy daylilies and adding succulent cuttings.

This is an "after" shot

Clockwise from the upper left, the cuttings included: Aeonium 'Kiwi', Aeonium 'Sunburst', Agave attenuata 'Raea's Gold', and a noID Aloe

I've still got lots of holes in my garden but I haven't been able to find some of the plants I had in mind to fill those vacancies and I'm still looking for inspiration in other instances.  I may have to wait until spring to get what I want but I'm continuing the hunt, at least for a time.  I'm off to yet another garden center with a friend today!

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party