Create a successful, low cost succulent garden

With the revival of interest in growing succulents, there has been a flurry of magazine articles, books and TV programmes about how to go about creating a succulent garden. Innovative ideas are presented and glossy pictures illustrate stunning views of pristine gardens, rich with amazing specimens, sculptures and boulders, with spaces and pathways covered with a variety of coloured stones and gravel. The optional word here being 'rich'. Little or no attention is given to the average gardener who drools over these wonders, knowing full well that such displays cost thousands of rands (or dollars or whatever), and even converting a small corner of the garden is well beyond their ability to finance.

Let's look at how to go about it in the least costly way possible.

Next, consider a focal point. This could be a group of interesting rocks or boulders, a large aloe, a container or three at different levels, a wooden barrel, a few logs or railway sleepers, a piece of driftwood or even an old wheelbarrow. Keep a lookout at second hand shops, boot sales or your neighbour's and friend's trash. Garages are often storehouses for unwanted articles and people who are moving house will often throw out all sorts of useful items. Poke around - something you can use will catch your eye. 

While setting out the garden, take note of the background. An open area or unadorned wire fence will rob you garden of its impact. For a small patch, a quick- growing low hedge of a small to medium-sized shrub may be the answer for a backdrop. Alternatively a trellis, wall, hedge or a variety of shrubs can be used to show up the succulent area, while connecting it to the rest of the garden.

If you have the finance, cover pathways and bare spots with gravel or pebbles to prevent erosion and weeds. I just use chipped bark or straw as a top-dressing to achieve much the same result. The use of a mulch or gravel allows the soil to retain water and provides shade for the roots.

Succulents are extremely easy to propagate. You often need only a cutting to start off a plant, so buy wisely. The easiest and least expensive way to accumulate a variety of species is to beg pieces of succulents from friends and neighbours. Take a walk around your area and keep your eyes open for succulents. If you see something you like, approach the owner - most people are very obliging and will gladly give you a sample. If buying from a nursery, a single clump or pot of most succulents will give you enough to start with, and you will soon have spares to swap  with other gardeners to increase you own varieties. To propagate most succulents, take a cutting, clean off any dead leaves, leave a short stem and allow the cut to dry out in a shady spot for a couple of days. Plant the cuttings straight into the ground where you want them to grow or into a container of sandy soil.Water only when the soil is almost dry as too much water will rot the stems. The cuttings will root in a couple of weeks to a month.

As you develop your succulent garden, you will probably want to incorporate some succulents that cannot be so easily propagated and these you may have to buy. Aloes, Haworthias, Faucarias, Stapelias and many members of the Vygie family will add interest and become mini-focal points. But these can come later. Establish your garden with inexpensive, easy growing plants first, so that by the time you begin to add more costly plants, your confidence and experience will ensure that they are properly cared for and will thrive.