I recently visited the home of Diana, my girls' vocal instructor. Normally, my sister Peni would sit through the girls' lessons every weekend, and I would only stop by afterwards in order to ferry the kids to other destinations. Lately, there have been periods of time when I averaged four to five hours on the road daily, since none of my kids were driving themselves yet and they all had their own circles of friends with different activities and hang-out locations. Some days I felt more like a chauffer than a mom!
Diana bought her spacious rambler in a nice and quiet Santa Ana neighborhood a few months ago at the bottom of the market downturn in Southern California. Homeowners were short selling left and right and it seemed like the inventory of distressed sales would never cease to grow. She had been watching this house like a hawk from the time it hovered around the low $700's to when it plummeted to just under $300,000. Diana made her move in the nick of time and secured a sweet deal for herself. The prized one-story had its own long driveway (important since Diana had lots of students and visitors), and even a mother-in-law unit in the backyard which she counted on renting out to a friend to help with the mortgage. But her home purchase was not without its own drawbacks... the property was a century-old fixer-upper that required a lot of sweat equity to bring it to life. Fortunately, Diana had many handy friends ready to lend their remodeling advice or contractor's expertise. One of her students even gave Diana leftover hardwood from her own home improvement project, so Diana's master bedroom and hallway were finished with a beautiful wood floor.
I was elated to see Diana settle into her new home. She is a talented and hardworking woman who has always juggled three jobs to create the life she wanted... working "normal" hours at an office, giving private voice lessons from her home, plus performing at weddings, church functions and other local venues when she could book a gig. It was a real victory for Diana to be able to make the purchase on her own especially because she's recently gone through a difficult divorce and as everyone knows, buying a house as a self-employed single woman in pricey Orange County is not an easy feat. It got me thinking about how things have gone topsy-turvy with the real-estate market. Five years ago, my brother and his wife bought a beautiful new house in Temecula for around $500,000. Now they'd be lucky if they could sell it for $300K. I recently visited his family in Temecula and was struck by my confirmed memory of how beautiful his home was... in many ways nicer than mine... with quality upgrades and tasteful appointments, for less than the price of Diana's fixer-upper, which ended up costing much more because she had to spend big bucks to remodel it! Nevertheless, location is what tags the price for real estate. I'm sure many people living in the desert counties have sometimes had the passing thought of transplanting their houses onto Orange County parcels if they could!
But back to Diana... she was so busy with work and interior remodeling that she had no time to patch up her existing landscape. Much of the greenery in her front yard was withering away in the summer heat. I offered, and she allowed me, to repot her plants. One tree in particular has outgrown its container and was badly in need of a new home. I wondered how it managed to survive seeing how coarse and dry the old soil was when I took the tree out of its planter. Diana's sole plant stand on the porch looked forlorn with a dead specimen on it. I thought about a suitable accent for that particular spot and came to the conclusion that a succulent basket would be the ideal choice. Diana could only provide minimal care, so I needed to pick a low-maintenance and water-conserving plant variety. Succulents seemed perfect. They're not the kind of plants for which you need a care and feeding manual. The link below speaks well of their hardiness:
I first began my search for a sturdy hanging basket at my local garden centers – Lowe's, The Home Depot, and Armstrong. Surprise! The nicest looking basket, at the lowest price, was found at T.J. Maxx, for only $7.99.
I had the most fun picking out the succulents that would go in my basket:
Echeveria 'Curlylocks'
(This is a showy specimen for its size, so I decided to make it the centerpiece)
(This is a showy specimen for its size, so I decided to make it the centerpiece)
Same for this one... destined for a second basket to avoid competition
Smaller cuttings are for accent only. They will be spaced around the basket's perimeter.
Crassula Perfoliata
One perfect rosette!
What's the name of this baby??
Even though these "candy canes" are tiny plants, they've already produced prolific blooms in vivid hues...
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana... 'The Candy Canes' ...
In pink...
Or red...
On Sunday, my cousin took me to the Orange County Swap Meet to check out more succulents. They sell there for about half the price at my local garden centers... a dollar for the smallest pots and two fifty to three dollars for the medium-sized ones. I couldn't resist adding a few more varieties to my stock. It wouldn't cost me much to make a second succulent basket for myself!
I filled my coir basket with Miracle-Gro cactus mix. Supposedly this type of soil is fast draining and therefore suited for growing succulents.
Next, I made holes in the soil to accommodate the little plants, taking care to space them around the basket for contrast of foliage and colors. Succulents are not privacy-minded – they do well in cramped quarters and don't mind having lots of neighbors, but I still didn't want to pack them close in the beginning, because I expected them to multiply.
I gave my basket a good mist of cool water. Once established, succulents cope well during long periods of drought. But these guys were just planted and I wanted them to feel nourished and at home in my basket!
My finished succulent basket, top view
To provide contrast for the low-growing succulents, I decided to feature a climbing vine in my next basket. The Black-Eyed Susan (Thunbergia) won me over with its tiny price tag ($5.97 at Lowe's) and abundant blooms for its small container. The plant tag said this was an ideal vine for planting around mailboxes, fences, posts, latticeworks, and trellises, which made me feel confident because it sounded like it might be a versatile climber. This vine likes full-sun exposure, so I won't have to worry about its suitability for my backyard, which takes in all of the afternoon sun. Together with the T.J. Maxx basket ($7.99) plus soil, I spent under $20 to make this hanging basket, which took only 5 minutes of preparation.
Thunbergia Basket
Close-up of Black-Eyed Susan blossoms
This is how the finished baskets looked on my plant stand. The two on the ground will be given to Diana when my girls see her next for their lessons.
There's something about greenery in coir baskets that can make any previously barren patio corner look lush and romantic!
Hopefully my succulent basket will make it through the summer at Diana's!
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