Green Wall Update

In 2010, tired of the bleak wall I was viewing from the kitchen window, I put up several succulent green wall contraption, and I've been quite happy with them over the years (see these posts).

Admittedly, the plants don't always look their best in summer - but there is no time when they look truly terrible. And now, after an infusion of succulents that were gifted to me during a plant exchange, things look pretty nice.

I changed the mix in the soil pockets to have a little more sand and a little less lava rock, and the plants seem to like it. 

All that's needed is a bit of water once a week, or every 2 weeks -- and sometimes, as a special surprise, I get blooms!

Yes, as plants are want to do, they don't always form a picture perfect arrangement - but it's just exciting to see the blossoms. And sometimes, they are rather fetching.

Are this California native succulents? Most of them, regrettably, are not. California native succulents live in very narrow ecological niches that are difficult to simulate. Many of them prefer coastal conditions, maybe fog - that's not what I have on offer.

So, while I do grow a few California native succulents, among them the Santa Barbara Live-Forever and the Chalk Dudleya, I'm just using what my friends bring for my green wall - and enjoy the different shades of green and the blossoms.