Splendid succulents

Before the last summer rains which culminated in the devastating January floods, Brisbane had been languishing in an extended drought over a number of years. This led to a major reassessment of how we used water.

Like many gardeners I had a water tank installed and followed council restrictions on water use. Of course, this also impacted on plant choice and my plans for a lush, tropical looking garden were revised to include drought tolerant plants and a 'Mexican garden' theme.

This time last year I potted up a selection of succulents. They have performed brilliantly, and many are quite transformed at the moment as they are covered in clusters of flowers at the ends of whimsical antennas.

Onslow inspecting the outdoor setting I bought at Easter with 'pot plant display out of puppy reach" in mind.

These gorgeous rosettes are three different types of succulent: golden Sedum nussbaumerianum, blue graptopetalum and green echeveria.

As it looks now, in bud.

The same type of graptopetalum in its own pot.

Now cascading down the side of the pot.

Echeveria 'Doris Taylor' planted in one of the side pockets of a strawberry pot.

Other inhabitants of the strawberry pot: Sedum pachyphytum, not sure what the rosette is, and Portulacaria afra 'Variegata'.

Loved the effect of a morning shower on these three different rosettes.

Detail of the flowerhead on the echeveria in the mixed pot.

This book has been a brilliant introduction to gardening with succulents, and has been a great help with identification. Many I bought weren't labelled, or else just had a very generic (and unhelpful) 'succulent' tag. Hope I got them right!