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'Art of Succulents' inspires creativity

Green Acres hosts Instagram Live event Friday

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED AUG 11, 2020

Create a living masterpiece with succulents during

Green Acres' Instagram Live event Friday.

(Photos courtesy Green Acres Nursery & Supply)

Succulents inspire creativity. Their sculptural shapes and unusual shades of foliage bring out the artistry in any gardener – or garden. “Paint” with them in the landscape or a tabletop arrangement.

Learn how to make the most of these colorful and interesting plants during “The Art of Succulents,” a special Instagram Live event hosted by Green Acres Nursery & Supply.

Set for 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, this free and fun-filled garden party features a live guest DJ (plant fanatic Lani Love) as well as a signature cocktail (The Smoky Agave). Find the links to join instantly here: https://bit.ly/30KkjIr

Star of this party will be succulents in all their fleshy-leafed glory. Green Acres experts will demonstrate how to create a “Monochromatic Masterpiece,” using succulents of similar hues.

“Succulents come in all colors, shapes, and textures; you can grow them both indoors and outside; and with a little bit of knowledge about what they like, succulents are generally easy care,” Green Acres posted to its blog.

“During our live event, we'll show you how to build your own monochromatic masterpiece and the basics of caring for your succulents. So gather your supplies, select a palette that you like, and plant right along with us.”

To plant along with your host, you’ll need a container or planter, cactus and succulent potting soil, starter fertilizer and (of course) an assortment of succulents.

As for the cocktail, it’s more involved. True to the succulent theme, this drink uses three ingredients derived from agave (which does grow in Sacramento). Here’s the recipe:

The Smoky Agave is the signature drink of Friday's

Green Acres event.

The Smoky Agave
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1 ounce tequila blanco

1/2 ounce mezcal

3/4 ounce mango juice

1/2 ounce pineapple juice

1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

1/3 ounce agave nectar syrup

1/16 teaspoon smoked chipotle chili powder

1 extra large ice cube

Paprika salt mixture for rim (recipe below)

A chili powder-dusted dried mango for garnish

Recipe for paprika salt:

2 tablespoons good quality sea salt or kosher salt

1 tablespoon black volcanic salt (found at high-end specialty grocery stores)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Instructions:

To make salted rim mixture: Combine all ingredients in a shallow bowl and mix. If the salt crystals are large, it is good to crush them into smaller pieces using a muddling stick, pestle, or wooden spoon.

To make cocktail: Taking a glass tumbler, rub a piece of lime across the rim of the glass to moisten it. Dip the rim of the glass in the salt mixture to coat it. Drop one extra-large ice cube into the glass and set aside.

Combine tequila, mezcal, all three juices, agave syrup and smoked chipotle chili powder in a cocktail shaker with a good amount of ice and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds. Strain into the glass tumbler and garnish with a piece of the dried mango.

Recipe courtesy of Green Acres

More details: www.idiggreenacres.com .

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Keywords:

succulents drought-tolerant plants gardening Sacramento events low-water plants summer events container gardening Green Acres Nursery & Supply drought tolerant gardens

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Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

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