Succulents look good next to large rocks, so perhaps put a few of them into position first. Then for starters you would want a few large specimen plants to anchor the bed before you fill it in with other plants.

Hopefully someone here can post some example photos.

What do you mean to anchor the bed?

Mary

By anchor I mean if you look at professional landscapes, they always feature several large specimen plants that go with the theme and provide the element of height and depth.

In a succulent bed, something like a large columnar cactus/ euphorbia, a large agave, a tree aloe or a tall yucca would be an example.

A little later I'll post some photos I took on a recent trip to Palm Desert so you can see what I mean.

x

Thank you very much, xerophyte.
Somehow I understood the steps you explained above. But it would be a lot better for me if I could see some of your photos, please.

Xuan

I took a look at some of my photos but they don't quite show what I'm trying to describe.

Hopefully this link will work, a thread from another forum. You should get some good ideas here.

x

That link works well, xerophyte.

Thank you very much for taking your time to help. I do have much clearer idea of what I should do.

Let me now recap what I have learnt from the above:

1 - place some big rocks to define the bed;
2 - put in a few big plants to anchor the bed;
3 - fill in with other smaller plants;
4 - mulch with 'native' gravels/small rocks (I add this step since I saw that in the photos on the link.)

I will definitely start this bed of succulents when I find enough big rocks.

Thank you again, xerophyte, for all your instructions.

Xuan

is it ok to mix other plants into the bed like say somthing like a bleeding heart plant or even a lila tree?

Mary

Spectacular, Xerophyte!

Here's a picture of my best one, but it probably changes its looks faster than those some others here have created, as it is full of smaller, faster-growing plants. Plants are forever trying to increase their coverage of the ground or are shrinking and getting hidden by others, or--especially in the case of Bryophyllum fedteschenkoi--changing where they bloom in the succulent bed in different years.
{{gwi:502812}}

biwako, that one bed is so lush! Thanks for sharing.

Yes, xerophyte, I was wondering too if I could put in some other types of plants, those that didn't require much water like, say bromeliads and tillandsias?

Xuan

Certainly, some Bromeliads would work in a succulent planting, as long as you can match the growing requirements. It would probably have to be the terrestrial types like some of the Aechmea.

And there are many non-succulents of course that would compliment the bed. It's all a matter of personal preference but there are countless combinations of color, shape and texture that are available. As you can see in the photo above from biwako, a mass planting of one species arranged side by side can have a dramatic impact.

x