always living

I did end up planting one of those little cedar boxes I hammered together last week.  I don't think I can leave it this way for long, though.  Everyone just looks so crowded together.  Cozy and sweet, but definitely crowded.  I'll go through and divide the clusters a little bit, and I think I'll end up with enough to plant all three of the containers.  I thought I should take some family photos, though, of everyone together, before I started breaking things up.

Like a lot of the other beautiful things in my life, the sedums came from my favorite farmers' market.  I bought them from a lovely gentleman at the Phocas Farms stall.  Before I left with my shopping bag full of sempervivums, he took me aside to show me the tiny packets of saffron that he's grown.  Saffron.  In Washington.  Who knew?  They don't have a website, but if you're ever in Port Angeles, you should look up Phocas Farms.  I know I intend to.

I've mentioned this before, but I do love succulents.  If we were having a different sort of wedding, I might have done something like Martha's succulent favors.  I know, I know.  It's so ten years ago.  Still, having centerpieces that do double-duty as favors for your guests to take home?  When it comes to working out the details, it doesn't get much better than that.  Martha's got it going on.

And then, there are the succulent bouquets.  I really do want one.  (When I'm not busy wanting every other kind of make-it-yourself bouquet.  Or deciding that I might just skip the thing altogether...)

Back in January, designer Britney Stiles featured some gorgeous pieces on her blog.  

You can see more photos and read the full post here.  

And if you're totally inspired, Flora Grubb's blog, The Cutting Garden, has a handy little how-to for making your own succulent bouquet.  (Just scroll down their page a bit, and you'll see the step-by-step photos...)

For the time being, I think I'll just stick with my little tabletop planters.  I'll probably spend weeks tweaking them until they're exactly what I had in mind.  It's always inspiring, though, to see what other people are doing.  And sooner or later, I'll be looking for a new challenge...