The Only New Year’s Resolution You Need Amazing tips

The only New Year's resolution you really need is effortless and costs nothing: Find beauty. In her newly released Sacred Elements Guidebook, author/photographer Karina Aldredge shows how momentary joys add up, creating a happier, more grounded you. What better way to start a new decade?

The Nature Diet

Karina explains that finding beauty in easily-overlooked aspects of nature benefits mind, spirit and body. "Soon it becomes a craving, and everywhere you look, you'll see more," she says. "It feeds you. It's the Nature Diet!"

Karina Aldredge's book is a guide to noticing and finding joy in simple, everyday things.

Karina draws us into delight by making the mundane transcendent, and she does it step-by-step. As in the excerpt below, she tells how to use all your senses to internalize natural beauty. This is more than "taking time to smell the roses." Finding beauty makes you so immediately in-the-moment that all you know is joy. Yes, you've already experienced this, but I suspect it hasn't been often or nearly enough.

This photo of frozen drops (on Euphorbia rigida in Karina's Zone 8b garden) is from her Instagram feed.

I first met Karina via Instagram, admired her photos, and when she was in the San Diego area---she lives in Portland, OR---she visited my garden (top photo).

Karina shot me showing the beauty of a backlit Gasteria bicolor. 

Sacred Elements Guidebook, Excerpt

"You wake to a gray winter morning

"The weight of the season makes it difficult to escape your warm bed. Turn and look out the window and observe air blanketed in a grayish white mist. Now glance up to notice a dense fog clinging to the inky treetops. They are pillars of strength, majestic giants. Let their energy pull you up and out of bed. Go to your window or door and open it for just a moment to allow the mist to float inside. Open your mouth and slowly inhale the thick, wet air. Let it linger on your tongue. Taste the mist. The flavor it holds inside those microscopic droplets carries a distinct essence. Feel the way it dissolves and enters your body, empowering you. You are one with the air and water elements. Let them energize your next few steps as you welcome the day ahead." 

...

This sample merely hints at what Karina offers. Like its lovely author, the book is slender but powerful. It's joy distilled: a healing balm for the overwhelmed mind.

Accompanying the book's "gray winter morning" exercise is a photo that I liked so much, when Karina initially posted it on Instagram, I asked if I could paint it. It became the December page of my 2019 Succulent Watercolor Calendar.

...

FYI, Karina's soul-nourishing practice is not a religion, but I can attest it has enriched and deepened my own faith. 

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Ten Tips for Establishing a Succulent Garden Amazing tips

These ten tips for establishing a succulent garden are from "Celebrating the Joy of Succulents" newsletter subscriber George Tabora of Riverside, CA (between Los Angeles and Palm Springs). His tips are hard-won, based on trial and error. Happily, after three years, George's garden is humming along.

Riverside's climate is similar to my own in the foothills NE of San Diego: dry, hot summers in the high-90s, and light frosts in winter. Rainfall averages 10-15 inches annually. Soil is shallow---3 to 4 inches deep---with granite underneath.

George, a former CPA who responded to my invitation to newsletter subscribers to share their succulent gardens, says his is "about 70 percent done," and covers a third of an acre. "The nice thing about being retired," George adds, "is there are no deadlines. You work until you get tired."

George Tabora's succulent garden, west slope

Want to see more of George's succulent garden? He created this video as a 2019 holiday greeting for family and friends. He (and I) would be glad to respond to comments you'd like to leave at the end of this post, and answer any questions you may have. Enjoy!

George's Ten Tips for Establishing a Succulent Garden

Having contended with less-than-ideal conditions while establishing his garden, George offers these tips:

1. He installed an irrigation system but doesn't use it, preferring to hose-water. "I water infrequently, and drench the plants, then go back and drench them again," George says. He waits "seven to ten days, even in summer" before watering them again.
2. Rain isn't a problem if soil drains well. "People worry their succulents will be overwatered after days of rain, but the plants love it."
3. Gravel is a good topdressing, but---as George learned the hard way---"dark rocks get too hot in summer and can burn the plants."
4. Start with small succulents. "They grow fast and they're easier to plant."
5. Plan to buy plants at first, then use cuttings to fill in. You should have plenty after a year or two.
6. It's better to root cuttings before planting them. Start them in 4-inch nursery pots you keep in bright shade.
7. Design your garden with mounded planting areas supported by rocks you gather on-site.
8. In summer, he gardens in the early morning and late afternoon to avoid the midday heat.
9. Plant in 60% bagged soil and 40% pumice. "I used to buy Miracle Gro brand soil, but Ace Hardware's is cheaper and just as good," George says. And if you're in the area, "Orange County Farm Supply in Orange has 50-lb. bags of pumice for $10/bag."
10. If you've put something in the wrong spot, "dig it out and replant it rather than waiting until it's too big and too late."

George Tabora's succulent garden, north

Succulent Garden Design Essentials

Succulent Garden Design Essentials How to design and plant your succulent garden. To ensure your success and help you avoid mistakes, here are a dozen succulent garden design essentials to keep in mind. Many thanks to homeowner Nancy Dalton, whose award-winning succulent garden in San Diego is an example of smart landscaping for Southern California. …

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Succulent Basics, Must-Do’s, FAQs, and Essentials for Success

Below are succulent basics, must-do’s and answers to FAQs—the essentials for growing succulents successfully. If all this is new to you, you’ll want to refer to this page often. And even if you’re experienced, you’ll find it a great resource!

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Succulent Podcast with a British Nurseryman Amazing tips

Listen to the Podcast

Recently I did a succulent podcast with British nurseryman Alan Lodge of Newlands Nursery. We were on opposite sides of the planet, but we chatted as though in the same room. Alan hosts weekly podcasts with international gardening experts. He proudly told me that Newlands participates in Royal Horticultural Society shows at Hampton Court and Tatton Park. "We've won numerous medals including Silver Gilts and Golds."

The Brits Love Houseleeks

Clearly the British have a challenging climate for succulents---all that rain---but we found common ground in sempervivums. Could there be a plant with a more Harry Potterish name than "houseleek?" These perky little succulents grow on cottage roofs throughout Northern Europe.

Houseleeks (Sempervivum sp., hens-and-chicks) have been known since Roman times for improving the longevity of roofs. Intriguingly, they're used today as green-roof plants in cities across the US, including Portland, OR and Washington, DC.

Alan asked how the succulent craze started, so I explained that back when I was researching my first book, Designing with Succulents (Timber Press, 2007), "Southern Californians didn't want jade or other succulents. They were using roses and Mediterranean perennials to create the look of English gardens. But then the drought came along..."

The beauty of podcasting is you're able to share an intimate conversation with people worldwide

If you're curious, do have a listen. Podcasts are great for when you're doing something fairly mindless, like folding laundry, peeling apples, or sitting in traffic. This one is 53 minutes, and it goes fast.

I'd love to know what you think of my British succulent podcast. Please leave your comments below. Thanks, and enjoy!

 

Listen to the podcast

Cold Hardy Succulents: Details, Photos and Varieties

Cold-Hardy Succulents: Details, Photos & Varieties Looking for succulents that go below freezing? You’re in the right place! About cold-hardy succulents The common cold-hardy succulents shown here can handle northern winters, snow, rainstorms (if given excellent drainage) and summer dry spells. Most cold-hardy succulents are in the genera Sedum and Sempervivum. Sedum (stonecrop) Trailing varieties are lovely as…

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50 Cold-Hardy Succulents for Northern Climates

The popular and readily available varieties shown here can handle northern winters, snow, rainstorms (if given excellent drainage) and summer dry spells. There are two main genera: Sedum and Sempervivum. Lesser known are Rosularia, Delosperma, and Orostachys. Notably, certain species of Agave and cacti don’t freeze in all but the coldest climates.

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