As you all know, I have been waiting for Debra Lee Baldwin’s latest book to come out for some time. And I am here to tell you that Succulent Container Gardens lives up to all of my hopes and expectations for the book. So many gardening books skimp of good quality color photographs. This book is overflowing with them. But the abundance of photos didn’t preclude Debra from including plenty of useful information as well.

My review copy of Succulent Container Gardens was delivered to my office, and once I saw that it was from Timber Press, I shredded the cardboard, I couldn’t get the packing off fast enough. A coworker and I giddily flipped the pages, practically drooling over all the inspiring ideas in the book. Honestly, it is an absolute steal at Amazon’s $19.77 price.

I don’t want to overemphasize the photos though, because there is plenty of text describing ideas for matching succulents to the right pot, different topdressings, and suggestions for creating miniature landscapes in each pot. There are ideas you’ve seen before, though done better or with an interesting twist. And then there are ideas that you probably haven’t, like placing colored balls on the tips of Aloe leaves (don’t knock it until you check out the photo on pages 190).

One thing I’ve been attracted to lately are landscapes and pots that pair succulents with other xeric plants, and Debra included page after page of possibile succulent companion plants. For example, I would have never thought to combine geraniums (pelargoniums) with succulents, but Debra points out that pelargoniums do best when crowded, which is how most people like to plant succulent pots. And once established, they can be pretty drought tolerant. The photo of aeoniums and geraniums spilling out of a low bowl certainly proves they look beautiful together.

Also useful is the section on growing and caring for succulents. It will certainly help beginners get started growing succulents, but it has enough depth to teach seasoned succulent aficionados a thing or two. Not that I am a succulent expert, but I was surprised to learn that most succulents prefer 3-4 hours of direct sun, max. I thought most liked much more sun than that. And I know that I will be referring again and again to the sections on repotting, grooming, pests, and propagating.

If you’d like to make your own succulent containers, as opposed to borrowing an idea directly from one in the book, Debra included useful lists in the back that recommend plants for height, fillers, cascaders, and succulents organized by color. I’m sure professional gardeners will particularly find that section useful.

To sum it all up, if you’re thinking that 2010 will be the year you give succulents a try, this book will help you create a unique and beautiful pot or two or ten. Not to mention give you enough information to keep your new plants alive for many years to come. And if you already have succulents on your balcony or patio, you will be inspired to try new things and find your passion for succulents renewed.

p.s. To give you an idea of the quality of photos in the book, all the photos I’ve included in this post were taken by Debra, but were among some 350 amazing succulent containers that did not make it into the book. So I’ll leave it to your imagination just how inspiring the photos are that made it into Succulent Container Gardens.

I just spotted this video promo of Debra Baldwin’s latest succulent book called Succulent Container Gardens. I have been excited about this book since I saw the cover several months ago, but this video has really got me salivating. The photography is gorgeous, and the combinations of plants and pots are stunning. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

UPDATE: The book is on the shelves. I repeat, the book is on the shelves! You can order Succulent Container Gardens from Amazon or your favorite bookseller.

Definitely follow Debra on Twitter or Facebook so that you’ll know when her book comes out (sometime in February). I can’t wait to read the book and get to work creating beautiful succulent containers. Of course, I also hope to review the book here too. Can you tell how excited I am? A book, container gardening, and succulents pretty much hits my trifecta!

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• Check out Design Sponge's post on edible container gardening, if for no other reason, to see her beautiful photos. http://bit.ly/15EhmR #
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After seeing Louise’s post on her latest succulent container, I decided to see if my Home Depot had gotten in a new shipment of succulents. And they had! With three varieties of succulents I had never seen before.

I love variegated foliage. I appreciate it when a plant is more than just a flash in the pan with gorgeous flowers and nothing else to offer. These are definitely more than a flash in the pan.

Aeonium arboreum ‘Tricolor’

Aeonium spp.

Crassula obliqua ‘Tricolor Jade’

Earlier this week I noticed that an extra sedum I had purchased was not looking very happy in the pot it was in. I decided that it probably needed more light than the location it was in and also, was probably root bound. I gathered up some other leftover succulents and decided to combine them in a container my aunt had given me (I think it was formerly the home of a bonsai).

This container isn’t as “full” as I normally like, in part because I was using what I had and also because I wanted to give some of the smaller plants room to grow. Also, I wouldn’t normally have planted such a large sedum (the plant on the left, marked ‘A’ in the photo below) in this size pot, but as I said before, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Anyway, I thought I would explain my thought process on this container:

1. I first planted the Sedum (A) in the bottom left of the pot because it was the biggest plant and it is usually easiest to get the largest guy in the pot first, and then work around him.
2. Next, I planted the Crinkle Leaf Plant (B) in the upper right corner, because it is the second largest plant and also because I wanted it in that exact spot for visual ballance. It is also the tallest plant and I thought it would look best towards the back.
3. Next I planted the Andromischus marianae (C) and turned it around in that spot several times until I thought it had its best face forward (as this pot is going to be primarily viewed from the front). I chose to put it in the back because it was taller as well.
4. Next, I plucked a bunch of babies from a Mamillaria fragilis cactus (D) and made a little cluster in the middle of the remaining space. This particular cactus reproduces by making tons of babies around the edges of its clump, so I know that these guys will eventually be a bit larger and will fill in the rest of the exposed dirt.
5. Finally, I placed the “chicks” from an unknown variety of Hens and Chicks (E) in the corner and gave each one a bit of room to grow. The “hen” is a little smaller than a baseball, so I know these guys will get bigger and might even outgrow the space.

Here are some more examples of succulent containers I’ve planted with a similar strategy. I think you’ll get the best results if you think about how you want to plant the pot before you start, keeping in mind how the pot will be viewed (from the top, the side, the front, from all around, etc) and trying with a goal of how you want the pot to look (balanced, symmetrical, off-center, etc).

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In my post last week about my Grandma I mentioned this weird cactus that she’s had for decades. When she relandscaped her yard, she put it in the garage and forgot about it, only to find in three months later, still alive! I was over at my grandparents’ house today and I snapped a photo. Does anyone know what kind of cactus it is?