NATURE’S BOUNTY
BY LISA VERHAEGHE
OBSESSED WITH SUCCULENTS
Succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with thickened, fleshy, and engorged features enabling them to retain water in arid climates or dry soil conditions.
I ’ve always loved plants — mostly typical houseplants, like ivy and fig, because I knew how little attention they needed. At some point though, I was browsing my local nursery and a section of colorful cacti and succulents caught my eye. I decided to give them a try and buy a little cactus. I put it in a decorative pot, added some rocks — to give it that finished look — and set it close to a window so it would have plenty of sun. I soon noticed my little cactus was doing really well on the window sill, so I decided to put one just like it outside my front door. At the time I was living in a townhouse where my only options were indoor plants or plants that would fit on my front steps. To my surprise, the one outside (which got even more sunlight) grew twice as fast! I was hooked, and I started to accumulate more pots filled with a variety of colorful cactuses and succulents outside my now fashionable front door/welcome-to-my-home area — but
I quickly realized that this high-sun area was going to require special consideration. It was time to use larger pots! I put a decorative container on each step and filled each with a variety of succulents. Before long, I had my own flourishing garden — without even having a yard! Soon I was buying a colorful variety and making succulent bouquets! I love the beautiful colors and different flower shapes — and my neighbors enjoyed them too! Pro tip: tightly surround your succlents with small rocks to give them a little touch of elegance. Today, I like to give them as gifts, since they don’t wither and die, like petal flowers do. Instead, they fill out, reproduce, and grow to be more and more colorful! It’s fun to watch them blossom and thrive, and they remind the recipient of your gift for months, if not years, to come. The perfect gift that keeps on giving.
If you’ve ever wanted a plant that accepted, or even thrived, under the least possible care, then a succulent might be just the plant for you! Here are some of the most popular succulents you can find at your local home supply store or nursery:
Mexican Firecracker Mistletoe Cactus Moonstones Plant
Agave sp Aloe vera Ball Cactus Bunny Ear Cactus Burro’s Tail Chinese Money Plant Cobweb Houseleek Crinkle Leaf Plant Hens and Chicks Devil’s Backbone String of Dolphins Dwarf Jade Plant Easter Lily Cactus Flowering Kalanchoe Jelly Bean
Mother of Pearl Old Man Cactus
Panda Plant Pencil Cactus
Pickle Plant Red Pagoda Ruby Glow Peperaomia
Snake Plant Stone Crop
String of Pearls String of Buttons Zebra Plant
16 WESCHE JEWELERS MAGAZINE
Powered by FlippingBook