Succulents are today’s retro plants. Once the fashionable must-have for 1960s-style rockeries and collectors, they have made a comeback – their funky shapes, textures and colours add designer flair to today’s gardens.

The term ‘retro’ can find itself on the fashion catwalks, indoor décor and even motor cars. And yes, it has found its way into gardens too! Succulents, with their funky shapes, textures, colours and eye-catching forms, have made a striking comeback, minus their 1960s-style rockeries though. Their resurgence in popularity is probably due to a number of factors:

• They are slow growing and need minimal care and watering (they are extremely water wise plants), so there is no need for excessive maintenance in today’s fast-paced world.

• Most succulent’s clean lines, striking forms and dramatic silhouettes fit into today’s modern and simple styles of homes and décor.

• The increased interest in indigenous plants and the environment means more attention is focused on many of our unique South African aloes and succulents.

• Most succulents tolerate extremes of climate like baking sun, strong winds and even frosts and so are very adaptable and easy to grow.

Follow these tips for using Water Wise succulents in your garden:

Grouping

Group or mass the same succulent for the best effect. This is a simple tool for the low maintenance gardener, who wants the greatest impact with the least amount of work.

Repetition

Repeat the same plant in the same pot to create a striking feature. This could be small low bowls with echeveria (succulent roses) on a window ledge, or huge modern pots with aloes or euphorbia.

Contrast 

The succulent world has an amazing array of different textures and colours. Clever gardeners will combine contrasting succulents to add extra interest to their gardens. Spiky, toothed, spongy, and rounded shapes or foliage of gold, copper, silver, bronze, red, green etc can be very appealing.

Simplicity 

The simple shapes and forms of many succulents lend themselves to being used as focal plants in very minimalist landscapes, window boxes and pots.

Accessorise 

Much like wearing jewellery, succulents are even more eye-catching if paired with accessories. They work well with different colour pebbles, gravels and stones. They work easily with modern materials like glass, stainless steel and weathered copper. They add emphasis to ethnic style gardens and pots, and highlight modern space age design.

With the infinite variety of Water Wise succulents today, they are a great way to add a modern chic look to update your home, patio or garden. It is all in the creative way in which you can use them.