Bring the desert to your backyard with a succulent garden in a pot.

These drought tolerant beauties are perfect for gardeners who don’t want the watering rigors of traditional container gardens or live in areas with watering restrictions.

Keep these plants performing their best with the proper planting mix. Add vermiculite, rice hulls or other drainage material to your regular potting mix. Or look for one specifically designed for cacti and succulents. Then be sure to water thoroughly but much less frequently than your other container gardens.

The texture and color of the plants make flowers a minor part of the display. By stacking the containers you gain the vertical interest that these particular plants lack.

Troughs and shallow containers make the perfect home. But so does this leaky old fountain. Scour your garage or rummage sales to find something a bit more interesting for your colorful succulent collection.

A bit more information: Prickly pear cactus is hardy and native throughout much of North America. Consider using this plant in containers or in sunny well-drained areas in your landscape. The fleshy stems called pads can be cooked and eaten like a vegetable. The colorful fruit, called “tunas”, are used for making jams, jellies and juice. Both the fruits and pads contain slowly absorbed fiber that may help stabilize blood sugars.