Part 1 of my recap of the 2014 Succulent Extravaganza held at Succulent Gardens in Castroville, CA at the end of September had 80 photos, and part 2 isn’t going to be much shorter. But I promise you, you’ll be amazed.
For this year’s Extravaganza, Succulent Gardens invited a select group of landscape designers to create demonstration gardens that focus primarily on succulents while still reflecting their own aesthetic. With few exceptions, all the plants came from Succulent Gardens’ inventory.
The gardens were installed in various spots on the nursery grounds. Robin Stockwell, the former owner of Succulent Gardens (the new owners took over in early October), led tours of the installations that gave the designers the opportunity to talk about about their work.
The gardens will be maintained by the Monterey Bay Master Gardeners, and volunteers will document and chronicle the gardens’ progress over the course of the year. The 2015 Succulent Extravaganza will built on these installations although no further details have been revealed yet.
Stacked flagstone bench by Andrea Hurd
Overall, I found something to admire in every garden. Some are more to my liking than others, but that’s how it always is. The most important takeaway is that succulents can be successfully incorporated in virtually any garden, no matter what your style or design preference is. We live in a state where water is precious, and it’s everybody’s responsibility to use it wisely. And that includes the way we landscape our properties.
Let’s take a closer look at the various gardens.
