Succulents Workshops Teach Creativity with a Green Thumb

Tamara Cucchiara Sitka is passionate about succulents, which she calls the "plants of the future" because they are drought-tolerant, reproduce like crazy, and are easy to maintain.

They come in countless shapes, colors and sizes, too, which make for an endless possibility of intriguing living designs.

Cucchiara transports dozens of succulent varieties to her succulent design workshops, along with some high-quality potting soil and all different kinds of containers, from traditional pots and vases to tea cups, martini glasses and one ceramic shoe. 

"You're going to surprise yourself," Cucchiara encouraged, in a design workshop on Saturday on the West Side of Santa Cruz. 

Attending the workshop were three other women—which meant plenty of one-on-one help, and plenty of things to talk about. 

As we looked over all of the various succulents and tried to map out our designs, we learned the most encouraging secrets of them all: you don't really need to have a green thumb in order to keep succulents alive and thriving. All you need is a cutting and a little patience.

"Observation is key to being a successful succulent gardener," said Cucchiara. "Just look at them, and pay attention to how they are doing in their environment. These are the most eco-friendly plants around," she said, sprinkling a newly-planted design with just a little bit of water, all that it will need for two to three weeks. 

In her workshop, Cucchiara gives tips on how to propogate single leaves from a succulent plant, and waiting a few weeks for them to sprout roots. Propogating these plants yourself costs next to nothing, and you can find cheap containers at the Flea market and yard sales. The soil may just be the most expensive part of the equation.

The evening before the succulent workshop, I took a tip from a friend and went for a walk through my neighborhood with a pair of scissors and a bag. A tiny snip here and a snip there, not venturing (too far) into my neighbor's gardens, and voilá, I was on my way, with about eight different varieties from one street alone.

Succulent clippings can be planted directly, or you can wait for a "scab" to form, but Cucchiara, who has been planting from cuttings for years, hasn't noticed a difference in the success rate.

"Except if you're planting them in a wreath or to hang, then you may want to let the scab form," said Cucchiara. 

We each picked out a pot and filled it with potting soil, making sure to fill it all the way to the top, so that the succulents don't sink later. Poking holes in the soil, we laid out our designs. Cucchiara instructed us on important design principles, like keeping the taller plants in the middle of the designs, picking out colors that match eachother and the pot, and learning how to use the rule of threes, which is more intriguing to the eye than even numbers..

Eileen O'Halloran, a geographer at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, attended the workshop because she was looking for a creative outlet—something she realized she had been craving after she took a one-on-one watercolor class in Guatemala.

"It just made me so relaxed and it made me use the right side of my brain," said O'Halloran, who is excited to attend another workshop.

Once you have a knack for basic succulent propogation and care, you can move on to more advanced plantings, like wreaths, vertical plantings, and companion plantings, which are also taught in Cucchiara's workshops. Cucchiara is looking forward to implementing food and wine into her future workshops, so stay tuned!

Tamara's next succulent workshop is April 21, and will be a Mother's Day inspired workshop with a focus on making hanging succulent wreaths. Her workshops also address companion planting and arrangements that mix flowers with succulents.

For more information on this workshop, or to book Tamara for a custom workshop, email her at tas8286@yahoo.com, and be sure to check out her Pinterest for a glimpse of her latest creations!