Looking for some adorable little potted succulents for your windowsill?  If you’ve gone nuts about these trendy plants you are not alone. There is so much demand for them that they can be found almost anywhere right now, even brides are choosing to pop them into bouquets.  Why can’t we get enough of these amazing plants?  

For one, they have such easy going “personalities”. With some porous sandy soil, good light and mild attention to their watering needs these beauties can thrive in the perfect garden spot or on the shelf in your bathroom. Other reasons to love them?  They self-propagate! And, they come in all shapes and sizes with a variety of wonderful colors (hmmm, kind of like people!).

One more bonus: they can add fresh oxygen to the room. Unlike most plants, succulents don’t release carbon dioxide at night. Instead, they continue to produce oxygen – it’s like having a constant flow of fresh air in your house!

So, we’ve got ease of care, air-freshening abilities, lots of sizes and colorful choices. But that’s not all! These plants also have a history, says Brown University.  A team of biologists and colleagues found that rapid speciation of cacti and succulent groups occurred and exploded around the world somewhere between 5 & 10 million years ago. Wow, that’s old!

With such a long life span, of course there is going to be some cultural symbolism attached.  In Asian Cultures succulents represent prosperity.  And that’s exactly what succulents are: lush with water which also happens to be the symbol of wealth.  In western cultures succulents symbolizes timeless and enduring love reflective of their ability to persevere in harsh environments. Oh, if only we could all do the same (stress eating, anyone?)

Now that you know a little bit about these darlings of the plant world, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and have a little fun.  Check out these 5 creative ways for planting and showing off your own succulents…

1.  DIY Wall Mounted Succulent Letter

2.  Succulent Bookends

3.  Succulent Tea Cup Garden

4.  Succulent Sphere

5.  Succulent in a Frame

Once you’ve got a nice little family of succulents make it bigger by learning how to propagate your own with this handy infographic…

If we’ve piqued your interest, try adding a jade plant or aloe vera to your desktop. Aloe Vera is the absolute best for cleaning the air in a stuffy office or workroom, and you get to look at them while you work, see you in the next blog!

Deb Fries is a freelance designer and writer, she has worked with Julianna Rae in graphics and customer service and now writes lifestyle pieces for the blog http://www.juliannarae.com/blog