Something Simple...

One fun thing I love about summertime gardening (even though summer is still technically 3 weeks away), is how you have to challenge yourself to be inventive. With the impending heat, it's always questionable what to plant next that will survive.
Instead of wrestling with flowers, and keeping them watered, and fertilizing them, and deadheading to keep them blooming, and wondering when they will finally fade away, etcetera, etcetera....
I thought I'd try something interesting with succulents.

This is an old antique wheelbarrow with the bottom rusted out. It used to be filled with geraniums (a few times throughout the year because they would die from lack of watering, too much drainage, and harsh sun exposure).
First I converted it to a stone garden with a couple cactus. Not quite impressive, I then added another plant or two. Finally, I put together a plan using some small scale succulents, a few cuttings, and a couple feature specimens (in the end, about $15 on plants). It took less than six months to entire planter to fill in, and this photo was taken just after pruning. The planter is located under a large elm tree and receives midday filtered sun and then about 3hrs of full afternoon exposure. It is quite a conversation piece in this downtown Phoenix garden.