It’s hard to believe it’s been over ten years since I first jammed some extra succulent cuttings in a wagon we snagged at a garage sale for super cheap, or maybe even nabbed it off the street I don’t remember. I’m not going to make you look at the boring picture of it with holes drilled/violently smashed in with a big nail, but all containers need drainage unless you’re growing carnivores. I’ll get in a fight with you if you tell me a layer of gravel at the bottom is the key to drainage success. It won’t help and can often times make situations worse. Looks like we were quite the succulent hoarders back in the day, but if you live in Outer Sunset, SF how can you not be? It’s so easy, you literally have to do nothing to get them to grow and procreate. It’s hard to overwater sand. Please don’t be stealing stuff (taking cuttings) from your neighbors without asking, just ask. They’ll most likely give you way more than you would have snipped anyways.
Yep, I did this and thought it was great. It’s not like I didn’t have a bunch of cool stuff to choose from, I just sucked at arranging them. Thank goodness I got better at it and accumulated more plants, for a better selection. Here are a few early shots.
About a year and half later and it looks weird. Not in a good way. It’s not the worst succulent thing I’ve ever seen, but it doesn’t look like anyone put any thought in to it.
I think it was jammed in a location where this growth looked more normal, but the poor thing looks pretty lame in the middle of our gopher salad.
Remember that first picture? It took me almost two years to figure shit out. I used more small scale succulents, instead of big honking ones. I also utilized some of the rocks Matti would bring home from beach walks with Max to hold the plants in place and look nice while the plants grew in.
You can read about making your own succulent grill here.
Not too bad, considering it was only planted about two months ago. Another reason why using small scale stuff can be more rewarding.
Still looking good amongst our weird garden stuff of yesteryear. The wagon was later relocated to my aunt’s place in Alameda when we moved back to Wisconsin and was given a face lift or two over the years by my plant nerd cousin. Most succulent containers no matter how well planned out in advance need a little reorganizing every now and then to keep looking fresh.
Far Out Flora 