Dream Garden Comes True

Steve Miles, Colorado
Photos by Steve Miles

Close-up of thriving cacti and other succulents, many in full bloom.

Photos: Close-ups of thriving cacti and other succulents, many in full bloom.

Some people dream of having a year round outdoor succulent garden.
This nature lover made his dream come true ……

I’m a life long lover of Mother Earth and anything that roots in Her and an addict of Desert flora starting about 7 years ago .. to me a source of nutrition for the soul.

I have taken the 300 sq. ft. strip of space along the South side of our dark brick home. 30ft.x 10ft. where everything I used to plant would bake each summer. I brought in about 10 tons of our native metamorphosed sandstone (flagstone),3-4 cu. yds. of scoria and made a mini desertscape, with a lot of vertical texturing and terracing.

Half of the length I cover with a homemade lean-to of PVC conduit with a plastic skin that rolls up like a bamboo shade with a pulley system, kind of like half of a Quonset hut. I leave it open if the temp. is above 25 deg. F. Last year I let it go down to 10 deg. for a few nights. I want to see, of course, what plants will make it here with dry, dry roots in the winter on both sides.

I arranged the flagstone in mostly a vertical fashion to aid drainage and to act as solar collectors. Half of most rock slabs are underground. It’s a young experiment, but I’m excited so far with some of my success. I’d love to share the results as time goes by. Thank you, Marina, for your wonderful site. I’m beginning to see what a huge number of “fanatics” share my love.

Article and photos rescued from The Wayback Machine of April 6, 2001.