Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

'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 .

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

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

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Thanks to our sponsor!

Sites We Like

Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!