So-Easy Succulent Container Gardens

Potted succulents are perfect summer plants for a Midwest porch, patio, or deck thanks to their small size, water-saving habits and sun-loving nature. These tips will help you start a successful succulent container garden:

*  Select a container with drainage holes. Spread gravel in the bottom of the container to speed drainage, and top with a potting soil mix designed for succulents or cacti.

*  Plant succulents tightly in the container. They are slow-growing, so pack them into the pot from the start.

*  Let the pots dry out slightly between watering. Succulents store water in their fleshy leaves and flourish in dry conditions.

* Bring containers indoors to a bright windowsill in winter. Some succulents, such as hens-and-chicks and Sedum spp., are hardy to Zone 3 or 4 and can be transplanted into your garden. C

Fill an urn with the thick pointed leaves of hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum spp.). Some varieties, like the one used here, bear white hairs that form what looks like a spiderweb over the plants. The naturally variegated colors and tightly packed texture add plenty of visual interest to this single-specimen planting.

An eclectic group of succulents in a wooden tray creates a nostalgic combination. Our plant choices:

* Top row, left to right: Aloe striata, Cotyledon 'octopus', burro's tail (Sedum morganianum), Mexican hens (Echeveria shaviana)

* Middle row, left to right: watch chain (Crassula lycopodioides), Aloe zanzibarica, ghost plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense), crinkle-leaf plant (Adromischus cristatus var. zeyheri)

*  Bottom row, left to right: Sedum hybrid, Kalanchoe beharensis, Crassula conjuncta, string of beads (Senecio rowleyanus).

Large-leaf Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and yellow-flowering Sedum kamtschaticum pair up to create a texture-rich combination. When 'Autumn Joy' produces its pink blooms, the colorful combo is doubly striking.

Elevate Echeveria spp. on a fence post or column to better enjoy the flowers that cluster on the top of stalks sprouting from between the thick, rounded blue-green leaves. Echeveria foliage comes in a variety of shapes and colors.

Pair a tall, narrow pot overflowing with trailing variegated Dischidia spp. and a squat square container of colorful Echeveria spp.

Blue-green echeveria (Echeveria spp.) combines with white-striped zebra haworthia (Haworthia fasciata) and fuzzy panda plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa) with brown-tipped leaves. A separate container with burro's tail (Sedum morganianum) adds color and textural contrast as it drapes over the edge of the next step.

Give a flea-market find—an old beverage bottle case—new life as the home for tall, silvery ghost plants (Graptopetalum paraguayense) and burro's tail (Sedum morganianum).

Single out one of the more than 300 species of agaves, a relative of the lily family. An eye-catching plant, Agave celsii sports thick, wide, swordlike leaves with sharp tips. Colors range from bright green to blue-gray.

Mass a single species of succulent for maximum impact. Pictured, a golden-hued Sedum nussbaumerianum provides a colorful counterpoint to a gray planter.

Show off three foliage champs in clay pots: Dyckia marnierlapostolle in the pot at left in the photo, and the ubiquitous Echeveria spp. in the pots at center and right. Note that leaf tips of the slow-growing, spiny-edged Dyckia can shrivel in excessive heat.

Nestle a couple of hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum spp.) among the lush spires of watch chain stonecrop (Sedum sexangulare) in a concrete bowl. In summer, the stonecrop bears tiny yellow star-shape flowers on its lanky stems.

Decorate a garden tabletop with a trio of small potted plants—left to right, Euphorbia spp., jade plant (Crassula spp.) and Hayworthia spp.—arranged inside a shallow dish

The mottled colors of old metal compotes complement this collection of succulents. On the left, ruffle-leaved Mexican hens (Echeveria shaviana) pair with ghost plants (Graptopetalum paraguayense). In the lower tier, a collection of hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum spp.) circles the fleshy paddles of Cotyledon spp.

Focus on exotic plant forms by pairing mother of thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana, center plant in photo, with bristly rat tail cacti (Disocactus flagelliformis). The violet-flowering Kalanchoe also bears the name devil's backbone, for its serrated edges.