Designing with Succulents

I do not live in an arid climate but Designing with Succulents by Debra Lee Baldwin makes me wish I did. I did not ever read the first edition so I cannot comment on how this second edition has changed. What I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed Designing with Succulents.

It has beautiful, inspiring illustrations with practical information that made it interesting for anyone who loves plants and gardening. It is very readable which is not always the case for a nonfiction book of this nature. I especially loved the “dry lily pond” which has a fairy garden feel. While I do not live in the zones listed for the succulents in my landscaping, it did give me pause for how to perhaps incorporate some of these varied succulents in containers within the home.

The publisher through Net Galley provided a copy.

Debra has included a lot of essential care and growth advice in the book as well as planter use within garden landscapes of any size. We also find how they are a great addition to ponds or areas filled with stones as well as incorporating them into use around garden furniture/statues.

We see succulents used in gardens by the sea, in their natural desert setting or just at home they add a touch of something different to any normal garden as they can also produce flowers too in some cases.

There's an encyclopaedia of images with their names and brief description of the type of succulent they are.

The photograph's used are clear and show off the succulents in all their delight within gardens and show the variety of colours they can come in as well as their most common greens.

A very useful guide I'm using to begin with succulents in my home garden I fully recommend!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

What do you plant when you live in sunny (sometimes very drought-y), Southern California at the beach? You plant Succulents, Baby!!! Oh and should I mention...what do you plant when you do not have a particular thumb of greenness variety and kill every plant, and your husband wonders when will the sacrificial plant madness stop? You plant what.? Succulents. And, which book do you get? You get "Designing With Succulents" by Barbara Lee Baldwin. Can I say that the pictures alone are so incredibly gorgeous that you will want to run out to the local nursery and buy up every succulent and start planting straight away. Going so far-for instance, if the nursery happened to be closed, calling up the shop owner in the middle of the night just so you can get your (hopefully from potting soil) dirty, little hands on all the gorgeous varieties of the plants. I didn't do that by-the-way...or maybe I did...no not really. Don't judge me.

And, I'm being all quote-y from the description of the book, "Succulents offer dazzling possibilities and require only minimal maintenance and very little water to remain lush and alluring year-round. No one knows them better than the Queen of Succulents, Debra Lee Baldwin.

This new, completely revised second edition of her bestselling classic is a design compendium that is as practical as it is inspirational. Designing with Succulents shares design and cultivation basics; hundreds of succulent plant recommendations; and profiles of 50 easy-care, drought-tolerant companion plants. Lavishly illustrated with 400 photographs, you will find everything you need to visualize, create, and nurture a thriving, water-smart succulent garden.".

Now, do yourself a favor, arm yourself with this book. Your Drought-Resistant Garden will thank you, your significant other will thank you for not killing yet another innocent little plant (I'm sorry, Rupert the Non-Succulent Plant. I had such high hopes for you), your coffee table will thank you. Green up your life with these dazzling beauties. No two are alike. It's like a fabulous unicorn snowflake plant that you just can't kill.

Debra Lee Baldwin is a renowned garden journalist who has designed this book to assist those who wish to garden with succulents. The first half of the book is focused on sharing as many examples as possible of how succulents can be used in gardens. Basic design principles are emphasized, as is the versatility of succulents. The section on "Succulents: A to Z" provides profiles of many species of succulent plants, accompanied by beautiful photos. And, finally, the last section of the book shows 50 companion plants for succulents, also beautifully illustrated. I would recommend this as an "idea book" for those who'd like to garden with succulents but aren't sure where to begin.

What I liked about this book is that there is a description or an encyclopedia of every plant. I found this to be exactly what I was looking for. The hardest part is to identify plants that I do not know, and this book answers those questions for me. It also has ideas about planting in pots and around your garden, and even if you are doing a pound what vegetation or plants that would be good. The ones that are good for large amount of water and the ones that don’t need it so much. I also liked how she termed some of the plants cacti before describing them as succulents. Growing up in the desert I always looked at them as cactus even though some could hold water. Now everyone wants to lump them all together, so I was happy about the difference. The photos are very good quality, as are all of the descriptions of the designs and helpful suggestions in landscape. Overall this is an excellent book for any gardener or beginner.