Succulents for the Holidays

I love succulents because of their wide variety of shapes, textures and colors. Succulents are great year round plants to have in the garden. You can pick them and they last for weeks. Cottage Gardens in Petaluma, CA, where I recently hosted a succulent demonstration, has a wide variety of succulents. For more info about visit them at www.cottagegardensofpet.com

Here a few arrangements from Veranda Magazine which highlight some of my favorite succulent looks.

In this arrangement there’s a beautiful combination of acid greens and purples playing off each other. Their varying shapes make the arrangement more interesting. Notice the big blooms alongside the smaller feathery ones.

For more contrast, add some succulents with red tones giving it almost a holiday feel. The varying shapes and textures give the arrangement a unique look.

Adding other flowers to the succulents create a unique, one-of-a-kind look and feel for your succulent bouquet. I like the way this arrangement has combined white flowers and other greens.

For the holidays I’ve put together my own arrangements using various colors and shapes of succulents. This year I’m using succulents, red and white roses, pyracantha berries, crabapples, rose hips, and eucalyptus leaves. The green from the succulents give a lush and vibrant look to the arrangements, while the red and white tones from roses, berries, and crabapples contribute lovely holiday accents.

Be sure to check out my upcoming article by Ahn-Minh Le on holiday succulents in the San Francisco Chronicle this Sunday, December 12^th. It discusses succulents and how to design your own arrangements with a personalized look and feel.