Succulents: a growing passion

Submitted by Lorraine on Mon, 04/02/2012 - 13:19

Africa is growing desert like never before in recorded history, and there seems little hope that this trend will be stemmed anytime in the near future. Traditional gardening with leafy water gluttons is a thing of the past with succulents winning increased popularity around the world.

Succulents are a group of plants that have developed intriguing water storage systems to enable them to survive adverse conditions, many of them originating from the western half of the country where summers are hot and dry and drought is almost a way of life.

Although the majority of these succulents originate from our country, South Africa lags far behind in adapting to dry gardening, now commonly known abroad as 'xeriscaping'. Much of the reason for this is the manner in which succulents were relegated to what my mom used to call ‘dog’s graves’ - rockeries consisting of a random heap of soil and rocks, often placed awkwardly on a lawn or in a remote corner of the garden, planted haphazardly with neglected spiky plants. The fallout of this is that many of us have developed an aversion to succulents, often to the point of loathing. But twenty or thirty years have since passed and succulents are fast becoming the first choice for gardeners as they watch their beloved lush green gardens turn brown and stark.

Then...

The general impression that many of us have of succulents is of prickly or spiny plants with tiny flowers. Although the majority of these succulents originate from our country, South Africa lags far behind in adapting to dry gardening, now commonly known abroad as 'xeriscaping'. Much of the reason for this is the manner in which succulents were relegated to what my mom used to call ‘dog’s graves’ - rockeries consisting of a random heap of soil and rocks, often placed awkwardly on a lawn or in a remote corner of the garden, planted haphazardly with neglected spiky plants. The fallout of this is that many of us have developed an aversion to succulents, often to the point of loathing. But twenty or thirty years have since passed and succulents are fast becoming the first choice for gardeners as they watch their beloved lush green gardens turn brown and stark.

Although they are remarkably adaptable plants, and survive the most awful neglect, they are then seldom seen at their best, but given suitable conditions of soil and water, they grow fast and robust, flower well and are excellent garden subjects. They are completely indifferent to wind, highly tolerant of low drought and are very useful in tricky coastal conditions.

...and now

Where choice was previously limited to a handful of common varieties, the growing fascination by overseas growers has promoted and made available a huge selection of fascinating growth forms, ranging from elegant and imposing to bizarre and even fairly grotesque, and not previously accessible to the general public. Added to this extensive list of indigenous choices, are succulents from Madagascar, Mexico and Central America.This provides a palette of options in colour, form, texture, foliage, size and functionality, from which to create a captivating garden display. In addition to their intriguing leaves, forms and colour, many succulents provide an added bonus in the form of striking flowers.

Take a look at the following very small sampling of succulents and you may be pleasantly surprised.