I’m Ebony, and I’m from southwestern Louisiana. I’ve been growing succulents for nearly six years, and it’s been such a great hobby for me. I’m a wife, mom, and pharmacist, and caring for my succulents has given me an outlet to relieve stress and care for myself. Here are some of my favorite photos of my plants.

As if the leaves weren’t perfect enough, a single orange bloom opening puts this little Echeveria ‘Lola’ over the top.

Succulent leaves are often compared to flowers, but usually they aren’t as colorful. Echeveria ‘Red Velvet’ gives blooms a run for their money with bright red patterns on the leaves.

This very healthy Aloe selection has thick green leaves lightly streaked with yellow variegation.

Echeveria chihuahuaensis, as the name suggests, is native to Mexico. The silvery color on the leaves, called “farina,” evolved to protect the plant from the intense desert sun. We gardeners get to enjoy just how beautiful it is.

The exact pattern on the leaves changes with the seasons, but Graptopetalum paraguayense (aka ghost plant) is always an incredibly beautiful plant. It is easy to grow as well.

Ebony grows a few cacti along with the other succulents. While most succulents adapt to dry climates by storing water in their thickened leaves, cacti skip the leaves altogether and store leaves in their thickened stems.

The leaves on this Echeveria ‘Blue Surprise Variegated’ are so beautiful and delicately patterned that it almost looks like they were painted with watercolors. The normal blue-green color of ‘Blue Surprise’ is mixed with soft peachy-yellows in this variegated version.

An aloe forms a magnificent living sculpture.

This stunning succulent, × Graptosedum ‘Francesco Baldi’, is a hybrid between Graptopetalum paraguayense and Sedum pachyphyllum—and is the result ever stunning, with leaves blushing a brilliant shade of pink.

If you want to see more of Ebony’s beautiful succulents (and some funny videos about life as a plant lover!), check out her Instagram: @cherishyourroots

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.