Awesome succulent garden visit

I'd recently arranged a plant swap with a local succulent grower Christine (another Facebook contact...yay for Facebook!!), and on Friday past I got the opportunity to drop off the plants with her.

From seeing the pictures that she had shared online I was really looking forward with great anticipation to seeing what she was growing.

Arriving at the front of he lovely red brick house I was greeted by this planter, so I knew things would be good. 

These Echeveria stay out all year, and from what I could see they are also growing in shade which was interesting.

Christine has already started planting out her succulents for the summer, which has meant a bit of covering and uncovering with horticultural fleece to protect from the occasional low temperatures that we can still experience.
It was an incredibly sunny day (quite warm and sheltered in her walled garden) which made taking pictures on my phone difficult.

 Many plants are in the ground, but at least as many if not more are displayed in containers.

I'm not even gonna attempt to name most of the succulents, I'm never going to remember what they're all called, but I'll attempt some of them.

An upcycled display created to show off some of her collection.

Aeonium 'Zwartzkop' is so common these days it's easy to almost overlook it, but it's such a good dooer and a great dark colour.

'scuse my shadow...

Loved this container of Echeveria 'Purle Von Nurnberg'/'Duchess of Nuremberg'

Graptoveria 'Fred Ives', a new favourite of mine! These are a hybrid cross between Graptopetalum and Echeveria, chop the names in half, and stick then them together and you get Graptoveria!

One of the curly leaved Echeverias, stunning.

Rhodiola, a hardy little succulent.

Sempervivums

Echeveria 'Black Prince'??

The orange pot and steely blue leaved Echeveria provides an inspired colour combination.

Attached to the house is a covered growing area, in which Christine overwintere plants
including the Jade plant, Crassula, which is enormous, and I'm jealous!
Awesome choice of colour on the rear wall too!

I didn't leave empty handed of course, gardeners are such generous people.
So many young plants that I'm going to have great fun with this summer when thinking up uses and combinations.

I hope to be able to revisit again in late summer to see how the plants which Christine has planted in the ground have grown and flourished. 

I find that they relish getting their roots down into real soil and grow so much more luxuriantly than when confined to a pot.

I can't wait to get back!