Echeveria 014

I am crazy for echeveria and sempervivum plants. I swoon whenever I see them. There is just something about the pattern of the leaves - like a flower or starburst - that cheers me.

At Cathy and Matt's wedding, years ago now, the centerpieces on the tables were low, clear glass vessels with echeveria floating in water - there might have been flowers too, but my memory is all about these delightful plants.

Ross and I were among the last to leave because we were really dancing and having fun - so when it appeared that the centerpieces were going to be tossed, we intervened.

Every year since then I move them outside in the summer where they become strrong and healthy and multiply (because a new plant will come from leaves simply put on soil or from cuttings of stems). Over the winter they have to come indoors where they survive but generally don't thrive. Luckily each spring when they return to the pots outdoors, they once again thrive.

I offered Cathy and Matt some of them and they laughingly said I should keep them because if they took them, it would be a death sentence. So partly I feel like the echeveria belong to them and I'm just the happy care taker.