Succulents are fantastic floral design option for the fall season. Our summer gardens are finally fading away and these quirky little guys are popping up on porchscapes, pots, window boxes, and dinner parties centerpieces. KDHamptons popped over to my designer friend Zoe Hoare’s adorable Sagaponack cottage for a little class on Succulents 101.  Zoe shares great tips and takeaways about this mysterious desert flower in her new KDHamptons Garden Diary below:

KDHamtons: Why have succulents become such a big trend in the Hamptons?

Zoe Hoare: Succulents are in the cactus family, and over the last few years they have become incredibly popular both in landscaping patio pots, as a flower, or for dinner parties.  There is a wide variety of species that are now available, and they have become popular with designers & stylists like me for long lasting and unusual displays of color and texture.  I call them the thinking mans plant….they have a mystery about them, an unusual quality of hardiness and delicacy together.

KDHamptons: Are succulents easy, or tricky to care for?

Zoe: Easy!  Succulents like lots of light, not a lot of water.  That’s pretty much it. Although mine thrive on organic plant food, which you can pick up at any good nursery. Gardeners refer to plants liking, or disliking, having “wet feet”.  Succulents definitely like to keep their toes dry! The greatest part about these plants is that they are quite easy to care for in pots, as long as they are in a porous soil and don’t get over watered!

KDHamptons: How often do they need to be watered ? Sun?

Zoe: Yes, they need lots of light, water once or twice a week, as long as they have good drainage. In the summer, you could water them alongside your other potted plants…..just don’t drown them.

KDHamptons: What are the names of a couple of your favorite succulents?

Zoe: I adore all types of Sedum, and Echeveria Elegans for their soft green, grey hues.

KDHamptons: We’re crazy about the vintage vessels you plant the succulents in ~ Where did you find them?

Zoe: The zinc chicken feeder [above] I found here in a thrift shop, and the piglet troughs [below], and vintage terracotta pots I find in England! I have a friend who lives in the countryside and goes to all the country auctions for me…

KDHamptons: Do succulents thrive best indoors, or outdoors? If you plant them, will they come back?

Zoe: Some varieties will come back, look for “Perennial “on the label.  I’ve done well with Semperviviums, and Sedum Cauticola.  I move mine from indoors to out, and back again…if I haven’t got fresh flowers for my dinner party, I’ll line up some succulents on the table….they almost look edible!

**To shop English Country Antiques, go to:

http://www.ecantiques.com/search.php

Stores locations: 26 Snake Hollow Rd, Bridgehampton; 631.537.0606, or 53 North Sea Road, Southampton; 631.204.0428

*Photos in this feature by Kelli Delaney Kot