Harmony in the Garden Blog

Succulents and Shells

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What do you do when a friend tells you to ‘take all the cuttings you want’?

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And your uncle gives you a beautiful old clam shell he’s had for years?

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You drill a few holes in the shell for drainage, fill it with potting soil mixed with perlite and voila!  An ordinary rock wall becomes a little less, well…ordinary!

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16 Comments

  • I take old cowboy boots, cut holes in toe and sides. Plant succluents, drapping down sides and coming out the top, a couple in the foot. Great gifts, my friends love them. One year I sold them at a craft fair ($20.00) and they went like hot cakes. My plants are free, I have alot in garden and take clippings. Boots, I never pay more than $5, usually less; thrift stores and yard sales.

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  • Looks really beautiful. The whiteness and shape of the shell focuses the eye, doesn’t it?
    And what is that Aloe, anyway. It’s a stunner!

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    • Thanks hb! I have a variegated aloe (not sure of the name) that seems to be somewhat rare. I’d give you a ‘baby’ if you lived closer!

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  • Love the way you gave the vignette an undersea look by adding gasterias and Senecio vitalis behind the shell and amid the rocks. I suspect that’s what you were aiming at! (Helps that the rocks are wet, too.) I grow that variegated aloe, too, and am a little surprised it’s available in the Bay Area. I thought it was sold only at succulent specialty nurseries here in Southern CA.

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    • Ahhh…Debra. You’ll see when you visit, I have a connection with the ‘black market’ of succulents out here. Say the secret word and I’ll hook you up….

      Thanks for the compliment! Yes, I was aiming for the ‘sea weed’ effect behind the shell!

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  • my friend, carey, (from http://www.onelagunalife.blogspot.com) did just this for me just last week. it was so fun just climbing around all her plants, and i went home with such a fun assortment of cuttings i tried my best not to be greedy!) then i tracked down as many of my empty vintage pots as i could find, and went at it. it was SO fun.

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    • Lucky, lucky You! Can’t wait to see what you do with all of your cuttings – a blog post will be coming, no doubt?

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    • Don’t you just hate that? I’m just as impatient… Thanks – I’ll still take the compliment!

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  • I have had the experience of a friend telling me to take all the cuttings I wanted – it’s heaven! Love your abalone shell – I wish I lived on the ocean…one day!

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  • Only you would appreciate this. I am STILL in my dirty gardening nightgown! How about you? I straw mulched most of my garden. Four inches of gold for the sun baked earth. The strawberries are smiling. Had to dig deep holes for my rhubarb and artichoke so I could set them inside those danged wire cages. Lord they’re ugly. I’m hoping that everything grows quickly and hides them.

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    • You’re right – I DO appreciate that! There’s some days when I never even get around to brushing my teeth until around 2:00 when I crawl back in the house, so exhausted. Gross, I know. Your garden feature in Country Living was so darn charming – I know those houses well, having lived in San Luis and Los Osos for several years, and I just love them. Your garden is exceptionally beautiful!

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    • Lotusland is on my ‘bucket list’ – can you believe I lived within 30 miles of there and never visited? You have to make reservations so far in advance, and I was young and dumb. That’s my excuse. But I STILL kick myself….

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