What source of light will these plants be receiving and from what direction will the light be coming? (i.e. North, South, East or West window?) If a north window is the only option, invest in a 4' fluorescent fixture to provide light. The haworthias and gasterias should get along quite well together, I would guess, since they come from fairly similar growing conditions. If growing in a window, how far from the window will this garden be? The distance and the exposure will pretty much determine what plants should be tried and whether the garden has a chance of success. I've grown haworthias and gasterias under fluorescent lights in my basement for 30+ years without a problem. Under fluorescent lights, there is never a cloudy day and the light is coming from directly above the plants so they grow very symmetrically. Growing the plants in a window will require turning the garden occasionally to keep the plants from growing toward and leaning into the light. If you're concerned about cultural conditions for individual plants, you could always keep the plants individually potted and sink the pots into sand or gravel to hide the pots from view. This would allow watering each plant individually and allow plants that like different watering regimes to be grown close together without affecting the neighboring plant. Individually potted plants will also allow plants that may not be doing well, or those plants that may have gone to the big greenhouse in the sky, to be be removed and replaced with a new plant fairly easily. Good luck! I hope you'll post a photo once you get this garden put together so we can see the results of your vision and the plants you decided to grow. Mike

The requirements of different species vary, and cold + wet very often means rot for succulents, especially cacti. If you have to put them out in the ground, you might have a chance of saving them if you cover them up on nights when you expect it to be really cold. I cover things up loosely with flannel-backed plastic tablecloth material when temps in the low 40s are predicted, and I have some plants (notably, my sansevierias), which prefer not to get wet and go below 60, which I keep indoors all winter. For actual freezing, you might want to put a large upside-down flowerpot over each plant and then cover that with some warm fabric and maybe something waterproof over that (make sure it won't blow away). Without IDs for your plants, having them in the ground is risky, so if I were you, I would take all possible precautions.

Plant in open run, the will grow faster, and larger, make sure the soil drains well, perhaps create a hill of soil for them to live on with a lot of rocks in in the mix. You may need to put nurse plants along north side of them. Or Dump a mass of large rocks, and plant them in the pockets that they leave, Try dumping soil on the top or the rock mass, water in and it should make a nice niche for them to grow in. I am just giving you options how to plant them out in cold weather. Norma

Barb...both happy and sad....Happy he is moving forward with his life. Knowing he will go far as long as he stays focused on his studies, and learns to quit being so wasteful. Sad because he is moving on and we will be seeing very little of him in the next 4 years or so. We havent made any new life adventures yet. House needs some TLC. I suppose first we will get used to having a home with just us and the critters and go from there. Chell I used to be a dog and cat groomer. I loved it too. But my employer was a deedeedee. Never had the money to pay me each week and always "owed" me. And she never gave me my tips either.Then at the end of the year she reported more earnings for me than what I had really made.Fortunitly I kept records and proved my case and won, so make sure you don't let the same happen to you. I have kept my clippers, blades and accessories and still will do a neighbors dog or two once in awhile to keep my skills up.....but don't miss the hair stuck in places I did'nt know existed....lol. Love all the pictures the everyone post. Always enjoy seeing ya'lls babies. Regina