When I was a kid, the last place I wanted my mom to bring me was a plant nursery.  "Not the nursery!" I would wail.  "We'll be there forever!"  What am I supposed to do at the nursery?!?!"

Fast-forward 25 or 30 years: guess whose favorite places are plant nurseries?  (Well, along with coffee shops and bookstores, and come to think of it, my mom introduced me to both coffee and books, too.)  Though a few decades elapsed before my plant obsession took hold (though there were warning signs in the form of dalliances with bonsais and jade plants), I fully attribute it to my mom.  

When I was growing up, we lived in a number of different places, and each is marked in my memory by the plants my mom tended there: the sunflowers she grew in Dallas, the olive tree that exasperated her in Sacramento, her gorgeous tomato garden in Tracy.  I also remember her mom's amazing tiered garden, which I think of whenever I catch the intoxicating scent of mint plants in the summer sun.

Some of my fondest memories entail talking to my mom in the yard while she weeded or watered or planted. I only wish I had imbibed more of her expertise when I was younger so that I wouldn't have so much catching up to do now.  She is also an expert at plant identification.  Two days ago, I texted her a picture of a strange flower I liked. She didn't know it, but googled and managed to ID it shortly after I had given up (osteospermum "flower power," in case anyone's interested).

On Mother's Day, of course, I'm thinking about my mom (and I'm super excited, because she's coming to visit me in my new Zone 5 abode soon!).  I'm also thinking about my wife's mom, who passed away a few years ago, and who also loved gardening.  Today we bought a plant in my wife's mom's honor--one she used to keep in her garden (I can't remember the name--I'm terrible with non-succulents), and I'm looking forward to making it part of our garden tomorrow.

In addition to wishing you all a happy Mother's Day, I want to share some pictures I took two months ago on a trip to southern California. It was one of the saddest and happiest trips I have ever taken. We were there for my paternal grandmother's funeral. She exited this world far before I thought she would, and I think about her every day. After the funeral, my mom and I spent a couple days together--just the two of us, which we hadn't done in ages. ​We chose Manhattan Beach and had so much fun.  When we weren't in pursuit of coffee or books or red wine or looking at open houses or eating sushi, we were obsessing over the magnificent Manhattan Beach succulent scene. 

I couldn't believe the variety and vigor of plants growing in people's yards! Observe, e.g.:

I love this next one.  On yeah, a crassula moonglow.  No big deal...  I think most people have a couple dozen of those growing like weeds in their side yards below a thriving agave kissho kan, right?  Right?  OMG.  

There is also a walk/bike path along the beach that extends the length of the city. It is clean and well-maintained, and long stretches have lovely beds of succulents surrounded by grey river rock. The pictures don't quite capture the splendor (and it was a foggy morning, so you can't see the ocean), but they'll give you an idea:

Of course, I was selfishly trolling the succulent beds for stray leaves and fallen stems, with the hopes of scooping them up and rooting them in my little succulent room back on the east coast. I thought my mom was doing the same thing for her succulent collection, and when I witnessed the scene pictured below (left), I speculated aloud that she was liberating a piece of the giant crassula mesembryanthemoides. Nope! She gave me an "Oh, puh-leez" look and I realized that she was guerilla weeding this public space (action shot below on the right). Just randomly weeding, because weeding was needed. That encapsulates my mom's generous nature.  

Restaurants and public businesses in Manhattan Beach also had some terrific plantings. For example, if I'm remembering correctly, this healthy, robust faucaria was just chilling casually in the window box of a coffee shop...

And these lush thickets of kalanchoe thyrsiflora were on a curb/median strip that appeared to be completely neglected--which the plants didn't seem to mind a bit. 

The sunsets at Manhattan Beach were also terrific.  Of course, the picture below doesn't do the sunset justice; sunset pictures never do.  But it's still beautiful. I love the kid with the surfboard running toward the ocean. Shouldn't we all try to catch as many good waves as we can before the sun dips below the horizon?

Anyhow, dear succ-ers, today I wish you many succulent pups, abundant time for gardening, and a very happy Mother's Day.

I love you, Mom!! 

​

Last August, I did a little post about guerilla gardening--that is, planting plants on public or pseudo-public property.  Many of my guerilla gardening attempts failed--frost killed off my haworthias in front of the post office, and overaggressive pedestrians demolished the crassulas I stuck into a planter bed.  But one of my efforts paid off particularly well.  I hadn't thought about this little echeveria for some time, but I remembered it today and dropped by.

On the left is a photo from the day I planted it last August.  On the right is a photo I took today.  Doesn't it look happy?  Seeing the pictures side by side totally made my day:

For good measure, here's a closer-up shot:

A friend just sent me this article, which details the Bay Area trend of selling/having succulents in cafes, and of selling coffee in succulent shops.  My favorite example of this is Flora Grubb, where there's a Ritual Roasters coffee shop conveniently located inside.  (Because, seriously, why would you ever leave Flora Grubb?  Only to get coffee.  Now you never have to leave!) 

In my unsecret fantasy life, I own a succulent nursery that propagates its own stock and brews its own, high-quality pour-over coffee.  High-quality coffee free with any purchase.  Oh yeah--and it's also a used bookstore.  And a dog rescue sanctuary.  And there are chickens.  Now I just need an independently wealthy investor and about 50 more hours in every week...

Have you noticed the coffee + succulents trend, dear readers?  What's your favorite beverage--or other thing--to combine with succulents?

Do your succulents ever speak to you?  I woke up this morning, and this semp shouted, "Greetings, Earthling!  Take me to your leader!"

Pebbles, sand, and rocks are all common "top dressings"--that is, materials spread on top of the exposed soil in a potted plant.  In addition to making an arrangement more colorful and decorative, top dressings have the practical effect of making plants easier to water, keeping moisture in, and preventing leaves from touching wet soil, which can lead to rot.

But conventional top dressings can go for as much as $5-$15 for a tiny bag!  So in this post I thought I'd share some of the top dressing "hacks" I've discovered through other succ-ers' recommendations, as well as my own experimentation. 

The first place to look is in your very own kitchen!  Small objects with interesting textures make the best soil covers.  As you can see in the picture to the left, I've combined raw peanuts with an aloe seedling.  Be sure to use unsalted peanuts, since salt will change the ph level in the soil and can actually kill a plant.

In addition to peanuts, I've experimented with wasabi peas (successful, and makes for some fabulous color combinations--just be sure to get the msg-free kind, which you can find at Trader Joe's), water chestnuts (which look cool but tend to decompose within a few weeks), M&Ms (yellow ones look especially nice, and the candy shell keeps the M&Ms in tact, so no worries about melting), and chia seeds (which were fabulous until the second watering, when the seeds began to sprout).

As you can see in the picture to the right, larger items can work as well--the key is to make them bold and bright.  For this composition, I've chosen kumquats.  I made this back in October because I thought the bright orange gave the aeoniums an autumnal feel.  The kumquats don't decompose because being placed directly on soil causes them to "chlorophate," meaning that they retain their shape, smell, and color.

You might recognize this next plant from my last post, where I mentioned that it was labeled as "Euphorbia sp."  I've come to suspect that this was a mislabeling, since it does not seem to contain the trademark milky white "sap" for which euphorbias are known.

In any case, though, it's a lovely plant, and I think it's made even lovelier by the addition of discarded pharmaceutical pills.  Because I didn't know if the chemicals would harm the plants, I didn't place the pills directly on the soil.  Instead, I first sprinkled a layer of conventional jade pebbles.  Then I scattered random expired pills on top of the pebbles.  The result may not be for everyone, but I think it's both colorful and whimsical!

I know this next suggestion is going to be a little environmentally controversial, but I'm going to put it out there anyway: plastic wrap.  Not saran wrap--I'm not suggesting you go out and buy plastic specifically for top dressing; that would be wasteful.  Instead, whenever you order anything from Amazon, just save the plastic insulation that comes with it. 

And I know what you're thinking: but I'm supposed to recycle!  Yes, sure, I know.  But you can think of this as a form of recycling.  The only caveat I should mention is that water runs off of the plastic, so to water plants with plastic top dressing, just lift up the plastic, water, and put the plastic back on.

This last one is going to strike you as a little weird, and perhaps even a little gross, but hear me out, succ-ers--not only does this work, but it's good for your plants.  If you have a dog or a cat and feed them hard kibble, take just a small handful and spread it atop the soil of any potted plant.  It has kind of a cool texture, and an effect similar to lava rock--but I haven't gotten to the best part yet.

Most high-quality dry pet food is supplemented with vitamins and minerals to keep our furry friends healthy.  Water helps these vitamins and minerals act as fertilizer.

After multiple waterings, the kibble will begin to soften and decompose.  It may look a little gross at first, but over time and multiple waterings, it will turn lighter in color and form an attractive "crust" over the top.

The picture to the left is the same plant and the same kibble top dressing from the picture above, taken after six weeks of once-weekly waterings.  To achieve the clay-brown hue you see in this composition, I prefer to use Iams.  If available, choose a low-sodium variety with mineral supplements.  (It's healthier for your pets, too!)

So what do you think, succ-ers?  Have you ever tried any of these creative top dressings?  Maybe you have some suggestions of your own?  Did you read this all the way through without remembering that it's April Fool's Day?  Haha!!  Gotcha!