Several months ago, I bought a dirt-cheap table off of Craigslist in SF.  The top was a kind of tile/mosaic thing, and we took the top off and used it to make another table.  That left the iron base, which I washed, then messed with (using vinegar, baking soda, and WD-40) to hasten rusting.  We promptly forgot about it and left it out in the rain for most of the winter.

This past weekend, though, my girlfriend (who is a creative sort, and terrific at building stuff) decided to make a top for the table with an opening in the middle so that we could plant succulents in it.  Always one to embrace a challenge, she used 100 percent scrap wood.  Of course, this means that things can't be perfectly even, but I actually think it looks super cool this way.  I "helped" (by which I mean, I watched and occasionally procured cold beer). 

When we were was done, I planted the top with succulents, starting with a large, lovely echeveria subrigada (the big green one) and adding from there.  Here's a picture of the table:

And here's a picture of the surface of the table right after we were finished with it:

A buddy of mine graduated from her PhD program a couple weeks ago, and I wanted to make her something special and interesting.  So after thinking a while, I decided to try my hand at making a succulent arrangement.  I chose a gorgeous purple pot from Ladera Garden Center in Portola Valley, CA, and went to town with it, focusing on purples with some light blue, pink, and green accents.  I mostly used echeverias and semps (with some aeoniums in the middle, largely for height), but there are a few surprises, too, including a graptoveria silver stars (I love those!), haworthias (cymbiformis), and a couple crassulas and senecios.

Click on each of the pictures below for a larger version.  (And no--that's not my purse.)

Most of the plants are at least partly rooted; only a few of the echeverias are straight-up rootless cuttings.  I also focused on plants that can (roughly) tolerate a similar amount of water as one another.  It was a lot of fun to put together, and best of all, it seemed to be a hit with my friend!

During my visit to San Diego, several succ-ers told me not to miss the San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas.  I did as instructed.  Despite the $12 entry fee, it was well worth a visit.  The place is huge--I spent two hours there and covered less than half of it (concentrating, as you might imagine, on the succ-heavy portions). 

The garden is arranged into several smaller sub-gardens, some arranged by theme (e.g. undersea; children's; landscape for fire safety) and others arranged by region (e.g., Australian; Mexican; Canary Islands).  Here are some pics I took in particular gardens.

My only complaint was that so many of their plants weren't identified (and I detected only the scantest correlation between a plant's rarity and its likelihood of bearing a label).  So while you can come here to see a lot of plants, I think the best way to enjoy this garden is just to enjoy the beautiful displays of color, light, and shape without worrying too much about what's what.  All, in all, though--definitely worth a visit.

This past weekend, I was lucky to attend the Succulent Celebration at Waterwise Botanicals, a huge, gorgeous outdoor nursery in Escondido, CA that specializes in succulents.  It was a blast--I'm so glad I made it. 

One of the first succ-ers I saw there was Cindy Davidson of The Succulent Perch fame, who recognized me right away and greeted me with a big hug.  I felt so welcomed!  Cindy's table boasted a marvelous array of arrangements--birdhouses and beyond.  Below left is a partial shot of a miniature garden Cindy constructed, complete with a perfect mini replica of Debra Lee Baldwin's new book.  Below left is a close-up of an echeveria purpusorum that Cindy used in one of her arrangements.  I love it when people use the slightly lesser-known succulents.

I spent an hour or two just roaming Waterwise Botanicals's vast grounds, which offered up dozens of picturesque views, including this:

And this:

I took over 100 photos with my trusty iPhone (admittedly, I regretted leaving my Nikon at home).  Here are a few of my favorites.  And by "a few," I mean "eighteen.  Click on any of them to see a larger version.

In all, an lovely weekend of sunshine, succ-ers, and succulents.  I also attended the Succulent VIP celebration, where I met many more succ-buddies in person at a drop-dead-gorgeous home garden.  Though I snapped plentiful pics there, too, I'm strictly forbidden from posting them until after the garden is featured in some print magazine that I can't remember the name of.  (Hmm, though I bet I can post pics of me and the other succ-ers there--I'll look into this.)

I'll post more soon about my other San Diego succulent adventures, which included the San Diego Botanical Gardens and more succulent nurseries than you can shake a stick (of fire) at!

Just a quick post: It rained a few days ago and I went out that afternoon and snapped a few pictures of these droplet-covered beauties.  Enjoy!