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If you are not familiar with using succulents for a touch of color, may I recommend ice plant, dew plant, and Autumn Joy sedum. The advantages are that they don’t wilt when you take trip for a few days and have no one to water them, they grow relatively fast, they love full sun, they can stand up to our wind, and they are provide lots of color. Depending on the variety and the severity of the winter, they may even actually come back in the spring.

Autumn Joy is a tall sedum of the stonecrop family that comes in several colors which tend to be some shade of red/pink/lavender. The rosy red one’s color has intensified and become a deeper red since I took this picture. The lavender one below it makes a nice contrast. Autumn joy happens to be one sedum that is a perennial, so you can expect to enjoy it without replanting.

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I discovered a variegated dew plant this year, and it has a red bloom just like the dark, solid green variety. Dew plant, aptenia cordifolia, also called hearts and flowers, won’t make it through our winters, so you’ll just have to see how it does for you.

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Ice plant, delosperma, has been around a long time and now with hybrids, comes in many colors. The neon red and yellow below are just two examples. Some ice plant is hardy; some is not. You’ll need to check the tag when you buy it or ask other gardeners who might have given you a start how it has worked for them.

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Just to be on the safe side, I always root a cutting of my ice plants and dew plant and keep them in the greenhouse over the winter so i will be sure to have a start when the weather warms up.

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Consider some of these plants for your garden next year.