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I design and sell succulent dish gardens so I can really appreciate the trial and error you (both of you) have gone through to find what works. Pumice isn't available out here so I use turface instead. Perlite has that annoying habit of floating to the top of the pot when you water. I have to be sure to use a deep layer of gravel or sharp sand on top to keep the perlite down. In spite of all the rain we have had this summer I have not had any problems with rot. I only use unglazed terra cotta for the tender succulents or hypertufa for the hardy stuff The cram-it-all method can look really nice, but like you say, it doesn't take long before it has to be re-done. I prefer the miniature landscape look with space in between the plants and rocks ond other objects as additional design elements. I like the miniature step pyramid - I might have to steal that idea! The pot with the varying heights of bamboo (?) going down the center is perfect. Love it. I like filling a pot with lots of the same or similar looking plants. It can be similar shapes like the aeonium and echeveria combination or different shapes and textures, but similar colors, like your pot full of red-edged plants. If a pot is going to have a lot of plants in it there should be something tying them together whether it be shape or color or some other element. Otherwise it looks too busy - the eye can't see it as a whole. I especially like the pot of peyote cacti. The random layout of the plants looks very natural whereas the pot of lithops above it doesn't work for me. I'm not really sure why. Maybe the spacing between each plant is too consistent. I'm not that fond of plants arranged in columns and rows, but I do like the 'checkerboard" pots. I kind of like the crowded cacti. They remind me of a bunch of people huddled together for warmth. Thank you for sharing these and for your as always excellent photography. I'd like to show some examples of what works in my climate, but I don't know how to post multiple pictures in one message.
You can post one after another... thanks for the comments. Do you have scoria there? Many like that here instead of either pumice or perlite since it's not white so 'floating' to the top isn't a concern, even though it does not tend to do that anyway. Scoria is tiny red lava 'sand' or gravel.
