There is more to a nice garden than just an assortment of pretty flowers. Contour, color, shape and texture also are important components to gardens.

Varieties for the garden Here is a list of notable succulents that one will find at Far West and other nurseries: Aeoniums are really some of the most colorful succulents, specifically Aeonium decorum 'Sunburst' and 'Tricolor,' both of which sport a variegated cream-colored leaf and will stand out in any garden. A. atropurpureum has a bronze- purple leaf and contrasts well with 'Sunburst.' Sadly, aeoniums are among the more frost-tender of the succulents. But isn't that true of so many beautiful things? That which is most lovely is often very fragile and must be treated with great care. You will have the most luck with aeoniums if you live close to the ocean or on a southern exposure. Low-lying areas where the frost settles are not good. Aloes are far hardier and do well in the Santa Cruz area. Aloe vera is, of course, widely used for medicinal and cosmetic purpose, but can also be enjoyed for its beauty. Many aloes have toothy leaves but the teeth might lead to an occasional 'ouch' and are far more benign than, say, an agave spine or a thorny rose. The colors of the leaves vary -- some have stripes, some have spots, and the leaf formations are fascinating, Aloes also have very colorful flowers that rise in multiple stalks, and many species bloom in mid-winter. One of my favorite aloes is A. plicatilis, commonly called the 'Fan Aloe.' Its leaves look like a series of tongues all sticking out at you in a slightly comical way. A striata is a popular variety that has abundant showy coral-red flowers. Sedums are another popular and widely available succulent and come in many shapes and sizes. Some are evergreen and some are deciduous. The common name for sedum is "stonecrop" and many varieties grow wild all over the U.S. Some varieties are even edible. I remember foraging for stonecrop in an alpine meadow in the Rocky Mountains when I was on a wilderness survival trip at age 13. It took about an hour to pick about a cup of stonecrop but I was glad for the nourishment. There are more than 800 sedums in cultivation and they range from groundcovers [S. guatemalense 'pork & beans'] to hanging clusters [S. morganianum, 'burro's tail']. Agaves are spectacular plants, but -- with only a few exceptions -- they are to be handled with extreme care and can cause injury to you or your loved ones. Agaves are known for their magnificent flowers, which attract nectar-gathering birds. The drawback is that many agaves take years to bloom, hence their name 'Century Plants.' One species of agave is used to make tequila and several other varieties are used for their fibers and medicinal uses. Far West Nursery carries a rather unusual-looking plant: A. vilmoriniana the 'Octopus Agave.' Echeverias are almost guaranteed to grab the attention of any visitor to your garden. Their leaf formations are often described as 'frilly' or 'fluted' and when planted in close formation can give an undersea coral garden effect. Some have fuzzy leaves and many sport brilliant flower clusters. These succulents also fall into that category of succulents commonly called 'Hens & Chicks.' One particularly attractive echeveria is 'Topsy Turvy.' Other succulents of note include Graftopedulum, Crassula, Sempervivum, Kalanchoe, Dudleya and Euphorbias. Bryan Tabler at Far West Nursery felt that Epyphylums should be mentioned since they are a shade-loving, flowering succulent. Needless to say, there are thousands of varieties of succulents and even a cursory description of all the genera would take up one whole issue of the Sentinel.

Succulents fit that bill quite nicely. Their foliage provides a splash of color wherever they are placed, and they provide a wide variety of textures and shapes. Many succulents have rather unusual, even bizarre forms and can add that little extra bit of pizzazz to your garden.

What is a succulent? In short, succulents are plants that store water in their leaves, stems or roots, and can survive for an extended period of time without being watered. All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti.

Succulents stand up very well in hot, windy areas and also hold up to a great deal of neglect. For almost 20 years, I have been landscaping houses along the seashore just south of Moss Landing. One of the problems I have encountered there over the years is that the wind and salt air act as a desiccant, drying out the leaves of many plants and causing them to wilt and die.

[That "windswept" look that one sees on Monterey cypress is actually the result of that windy salt air killing all the needles on the windward side of the tree.]

Working along the coast I have observed that succulents have thrived and flourished in spots where even the hardiest plants have languished. This can be attributed to succulents' fleshy, thick leaves, which resist the travails of heat, wind and salt air.

Succulents are very low-maintenance. Once established, they need little watering, and there is almost no trimming or pruning that needs to be done, except for cutting off the spent flower stalks.

Incorporating succulents

There are several important considerations to keep in mind when planting succulents in your garden. First of all, remember that succulents do not require very much water. In fact, probably the easiest way to kill a succulent is through over-watering. Consequently, you probably want to avoid planting succulents in an area inhabited by water-thirsty plants that are irrigated with sprinklers. There is a possibility that you will lose your succulents from some sort of nasty root-rot. In an area where you are using drip irrigation, this is not as great of a concern since you can keep your succulents off the drip grid and just plan to water them occasionally by hand.

If you are a very busy person who does not foresee ever getting around to doing any hand watering, you might want to consider putting your succulents on a separate watering zone from the rest of your plants. There are two ways of doing this. One way is to weave a separate drip line throughout your garden that is strictly dedicated to watering your succulents, hooking that line up to its own valve, and putting that line on its own watering schedule. This is a solution if you are planting succulents in an existing garden where they are interspersed with other plants.

If you are planning a new garden and are starting with a blank palette, I highly recommend that you consider reserving an area just for succulents, as you can plan to put that area on its own infrequent watering schedule. Furthermore, succulents are especially striking if planted in large groupings, creating a different "feel" from other plants.

In other words, succulents don't really fit in when planted alongside rhododendrons or ferns.

One of the most helpful and knowledgeable nurserymen I know, Bryan Tabler of Far West nursery, had some interesting insights on planning a succulent garden. Besides possessing almost a bottomless wealth of botanical knowledge, Tabler also has some very decided opinions on succulent garden design. First and foremost, Tabler pointed out that some succulents are "spiney and pokey and can hurt people and animals." Specifically, many aloes, agaves and cacti have very sharp thorns and can cause serious injury if some poor unsuspecting creature or human was to brush up against or, even worse, fall into them.

[I can attest to this with firsthand knowledge, having once fallen over backward onto a prickly pear cactus, wearing just a thin pair of shorts. It took nearly two hours for my girlfriend to pull all the quills out of my bottom while I lay face-down, humiliated beyond belief.]

Tabler also had some interesting things to say about the use of succulents and feng shui in the gardens. According to Tabler, "Sharp plants represent swords and weaponry." Consequently, if you are interested in a feng shui garden, you probably would want to avoid planting a phalanx of sharp agave on the path leading to your front door, unless you are either antisocial, own a martial arts studio, or are landscaping a prison.

This is not to say that "spiney and pokey" plants do not have their place in the landscape. Many of the sharp aloes, agaves and cacti are very striking and beautiful plants, with showy flowers and leaves. Since some of them grow to be rather large, they are really best planted in the background or on a hillside, away from pathways and play areas.

There are also many succulents with shiny smooth [or fuzzy] leaves that are cute and sprawl and meander and are excellent for softening straight edges on borders, and in corners. Sedums, echeverias, sempervivum and aeoniums are all succulents that present no prickly danger and can be used to great effect to soften your garden.

Succulents require well-draining soil. I recommend a mixture of sand, organic material and small lava rock or gravel. Many succulents can be periodically divided or are easily rooted from cuttings or leaves. Tabler recommends leaving your cutting unplanted for a week or two to allow any open wound to dry out and callous over. This prevents the newly planted cutting from developing a rot.

Far West Nursery, with its wide selection of plants and helpful staff, is at 2669 Mattison Lane in Santa Cruz, and is open seven days a week.

David Walzer is the owner of Earth Art Landscape Design and can be contacted at 234-9472 or visit his Web site at www.Earth2art.com.