Seduced by Succulents

I have to admit that slowly but surely the lure of the carefree succulent is taking hold of me. Having killed season after season of potted plants on my deck, this year I'm investing in a charming assorment of succulents with the hope that I won't be sifting dead roots out of next year's pots once more.

I'm not quite sure why my potted garden suffers so. I had a tom-thumb phormium which was supposed to be really happy in a pot, and it rotted. The culinary sage I planted died within a month of being transplanted. I even did-in a Meyer lemon, granted it took nearly 5 years, but I finally killed it after finding the roots bound in compacted soil, then adding pearlite only to create a situation where the soil could hold no water. Ahhh, the art of over-compensation.

So, without further ado, here is a list of the succulents I'm enamored with at the moment, and a few other plants thrown in for added shape and texture (the composition is really what draws me here, though the plants on their own are lovely, it's the chunky angularity and richness of color that really grabs and holds me). Also that they are so slow growing, it's always a suprise to see them spreading out. Maybe I'm finally becoming a patient gardener.

Pot one:
Aeonium 'chocolate'
Haworthia
Sempervivum dwarf hen and chickens
Libertia peregrinans
Crassula 'Pagoda plant'

Pot two:
Echeveria
Echeveria 'copper roses'
Haworthia

Big Planter
Leucadendron salignum 'Summer-Red'
Crassula 'babies bracelet'
Sempervivum hen and chickens
Echeveria

Still to be planted:
Euphorbia rigida