Echeverias

I have a fondness for growing succulents. I like the rosette form of the leaves; the way they form a cushiony mound and send off 'baby' off-shoots, and most importantly, the colour, particularly those with that delicious glaucous blue hue. The flower is really unimportant as far as I'm concerned when it comes to growing these plants. I had these two antique wire 'baskets' just the right size for popping a couple of Echeverias into, with enough space down the sides to arrange a lovely selection of shells and pebbles.

I photographed them against a backdrop of my latest shell collage and a piece of stonework hand-carved by my partner J. Here is another of his beautiful carvings:

His dream has always been to work on cathedral building, but his epilepsy has sadly meant that those doors have been closed to him. 

When I work it's all about colour......this collage has very pale tones of delicate pink, beige, brown and off-white. I've used a quotation from a piece of writing by Maggie Barratt called, 'At the water's edge':

"Spending summers by the sea, we learn to live by the tide instead of the clock. We decorate our tables and ledges with beach treasures and live well in sparsely furnished cottages, rich in spirit and happy to have no distractions but the sea outside the window; and each time we look out to sea, we rest a little deeper, grow a little stronger, sleep a little more soundly."