succulents in low water italian garden design There are many plants available to the italian garden designer and, increasingly in recent years, there has been a growing emphasis placed upon plants that do not require water. One of these groups of plants is the succulent group, a group of cactus like plants that really require very little water once established in an italian garden. My favourite succulents are those that occur wild in nature in most parts of italy. These include Sedum acre, Sedum rupestre and Sempervivum tectorum, all of these can be found growing quite happily on old walls, sunny, rocky slopes or even just by the side of the road. They are fantastic plants for Italian gravel gardens or any italian that receives lots of sun and has rocky areas or stone walls in full sun. They creep slowly through cracks in old walls or over gravel and soon become very effective ground cover plants with their lush, evergreen foliage. These little Mediterranean plants can be very useful if one is attempting to apply a Mediterranean character to an italian style garden because they are native to warmer, mediterranean regions and they will suggest this feel perfectly! As well as providing interesting, mediterranean vegetation, they also produce bright yellow flowers (in the case of Sedum acre) that will suit the warmth of a an old italian wall wonderfully. they also flower at the same time as poppies and can therefore look superb against the bright red of the tuscan poppy (as it is widely known). Other succulents, like Sempervivum tectorum produce long spear-like pink flowers that rise above their spiky foliage in may and june, providing added interest to their already eye-catching foliage. These plants have to be investigated if one is thinking of creating a dry italian garden that requires little water in italy's harsh Mediterranean climate.