Give them a sunny position, keep the dogs (and children) out, unless your chosen plants have thorns to do that for themselves.  They’ll keep their part of the bargain by looking good in their corner of your garden!

Yes, a small cutting handed over the garden fence, sometimes even just one fleshy leaf and you have a start.  A little care, a sandy site with the minimum of watering and your new living partner is on its way!

The world is becoming warmer due to the carbon habit of humans.  Drawn-out drought lies ominously in our future.  The aloe and its succulent brethren like the sun and the dry conditions, in fact they eagerly await our desert destiny in their botanical hearts!   They are key to the hot gardens of tomorrow!

So, discover and plant the many attractive and socially responsible succulent plants that adorn the world’s growing deserts of Saint Everywhere!  You’ll be loved by the water authorities and bring hope and comfort to the people around you who won’t like what they see of the emerging world we’re promised!  If gardeners can’t save the world from bulldozers and global warming, they can at least make the latter days aesthetically pleasing!

The succulent is winning spectacularly already against the leafy water gluttons of the southern hemisphere.   Africa is growing desert like never before in human times.  Australian cities have biting water restrictions after many years of drought and the succulent is already replacing softer options where people care to garden with enthusiasm.

Succulent gardens can be big, because they’re easier to maintain, small as a window sill, thrive on diverse soil types including the poorer sandy soils where other plants may battle.  They can follow you upstairs into the smaller flat, to the balcony or inside where a tiny or unexpectedly flashy flower can make your day!