We started working on our house last weekend, trying to get it ready so we can move back in. It’s so late in the season, and we have so much still to do in the house, I grudgingly conceded that my little garden is going to have to continue to go untended until I can get myself together in the fall. But though my planters are full of weeds and most of my perennials gave up the ghost after two seasons of inattention, when I went poking around underneath the weeds, I found to my delight that both my carpet and stonecrop sedum varieites are still holding their own. It made me feel a lot less disoriented to see something I planted hanging in there. Thank goodness for succulents!

Etsy maker Julia of SucculentArtWorks creates beautiful, unexpected, 3-dimensional living works of art. She describes her home of San Marcos, California, as the succulent capital of the world. I’m not sure that’s true, but her plants are certainly gorgeous! She turns them into all kinds of intriguing shapes including wreaths, custom-made vertical planters, kokedama, and cake toppers, but it’s her living wedding bouquets and boutonnieres that I find especially lovely. Imagine a wedding keepsake that you can watch grow and thrive for years after the big day. They make me want to go back in time so I can carry one of her wonderful bouquets at my wedding.

In addition to creating beautiful living decorative pieces, Julia teaches classes in succulent growing and design. That would be a fun class!

You can see all of Julia’s beautiful work in her Etsy shop and on Facebook and Instagram.

All images property of SucculentArtWorks, used with permission.