Debra Lee Baldwin is the Martha Stewart and the Ellen DeGeneres of succulents--on one hand sophisticated and elegant; on the other, whimsical and wry.  I love her latest book, Succulents Simplified (which comes out tomorrow!) because even more than in her first two (Designing With Succulents and Succulent Container Gardens), DLB's voice comes through in her latest.  It's not an all-inclusive succulent bible, nor is it as design-focused as her previous books.  Instead, it's a fun, idiosyncratic, and informative romp in DLB's succulent-filled world. 

Succulents Simplified is divided into three parts.  The first is called "Enjoying, Growing, and Designing With Succulents."  It begins with lots of interesting succulent groupings (e.g., best blooms, picks for lazy gardeners, succulents you can eat if you're so inclined).  Then the advice begins.  There's a meaty little section with succinct riffs on topics like propagation, seasonal care, and dealing with pests.  This is followed by a section about design principles that's probably my favorite section in the whole book: chock full of terrific pictures, interesting container ideas, and short, informative blurbs with titles like "Not Your Grandma's Topiary" and "Why You Really Need Rocks."

The second part of Succulents Simplified consists of eight projects, ranging from simple to advanced, which showcase succulents.  I confess I'm not much on how-to projects; half of these were a little too Martha Stewart for me.  But reading them still gave me ideas and taught me a thing or two (e.g., that some people still own cake stands, and what good a fishing swivel might ever do me).  Plus, DLB offers plenty of tips, tricks, and fixes for making each project your own--complete with plant recommendations.

Succulents Simplified's final part features 100(!) easy-care succulents--and we're not talking about a crammed list with a couple of pictures here and there.  A photo, description, and growing tips are provided for each of the hundred varieties.  The breadth of DLB's selection is fun and impressive, and doesn't give short shrift to cacti or less-popular euphorbias (I maintain that haworthias got a short shrift, and she goes pretty heavy on the aloes, but YMMV). 

It's no secret that I'm a veritable Debra Lee Baldwin fan girl, and Succulents Simplified is sure to convert many more succ-ers into DLB-fan-girls (or fan-boys), too.  Although it was written for beginners and designed as a kind of "prequel" to her two other books, this one belongs on the shelves of novices and experts alike.  (Not to mention, it's paperback, and a bargain for $15 on Amazon.)  Even if you're a longtime succulent gardener, I dare you to read Succulents Simplified without learning something useful.

Whoa!  How have I not blogged in over a month?!  You guys never told me that this "blog" thing would be so hard to keep up...  Heh, heh.  Actually, there's been a lot going on in GS-land these days, some of which are related to succs and some of which are related to the sundry illnesses that have befallen me in the last two or three months. 

My girlfriend and I made a pilgrimmage to a couple of succulent nurseries we've been wanting to visit, and I'll give you the full scoop on those in a post later this month.  But for now, I'll just share two plantings I made last week after those trips.

The first contains sempervivums Neptune and Nightwood, with which I am equally in love.  It's a tiny little planting, as you might be able to tell.  Maybe 6 " by 3" or so:

The second contains succs I procured at each of the three marvelous nurseries we visited.  I'm crazy about the particular combination of colors in this one: 

I'm going to sign off now, and go to the "infectious diseases" specialist who will (I hope) pinpoint the cause of my recent maladies and malaise.  Stay sweet, succ-ers!

Thanks to Sweetstuff and a few other readers, my little crassula ovata gollum, which I started from a wee cutting, is making a comeback!  I repotted it into a bigger container with more drainage, new soil, and a nice long drink of water.  I also pinched off one or two of the leaves at the bottom that were the most shriveled.  On the left is a picture of what it looked like on 10/7, when I asked for your help.  On the right is a picture of it yesterday: 

Can you believe the difference?  It went from being a shriveled little plantlet to plumping up and being well on its way to a happy, well-adjusted little plant in less than a week!  Thanks for your help, fellow succ-ers!

Last night, I started a Tumblr page to capture some incredibly beautiful pictures of succulents that I found online.  Actually, I wanted to start a Pinterest page, but truth be told, I found the layout insufficiently straightforward for my insufficiently caffeinated brain.  Please let me know if you think I should be using Pinterest instead!

Last night was a first: I actually dreamed about succulents.  Specifically, I was visiting my girlfriend's dad in a nursing home that doubled as, um, a succulent store (what??).  This may have stemmed from my visit to Paxton Gate on Valencia in SF yesterday, followed by my discussion with my girlfriend about visiting her father.  But nonetheless...  weird. 

I didn't buy anything at Paxton Gate--too expensive.  But they had, as always, a cool selection of interesting things, including a bunch of succulents.  I was tempted by a tiny variegated haworthia, but since I already have one, it seemed a little silly.  BTW, it looks like Paxton Gate gets most of their succs from Succulent Gardens in Castroville and Lone Pine Gardens in Sebastopol.  I really want to visit Lone Pine Gardens...  Anyone been there?

It is unclear why I am starting this site.  I already have a zillion projects going, but my girlfriend and I have both been wildly obsessed with succulents for the last six months or so, and it appears that the obsession isn't interested in subsiding.  When I really like something, I often write about it.  I really like succulents.  So...  Y'know.  I'm writing about succulents.  I bet you $50 my girlfriend is going to tell me that this is a terrible name for a blog.  But I don't care, since I know it's awesome.  She loves succulents just as much as I do (I'm presently favoring agaves and haworthias; she's loving gasterias and cacti), even though she sometimes pretends that she could take them or leave them.