Debra Lee Baldwin was way ahead of the succulent craze. In fact, she’s possibly the main reason for it.

She grew up on a California avocado ranch in south Escondido on a hilltop overlooking San Pasqual Valley. As a child, she was introduced to succulents while helping her father plant and care for the hillside garden surrounding their home. Then as a photojournalist on assignment for Sunset magazine, she photographed cacti, agave, aloe, and other varieties and began to appreciate their geometric beauty.  Her three best-selling books about succulents, the first – Designing with Succulents, published in 2007 -- helped people who “love flowers” think about landscaping and gardening in a whole new way. In an interview with the San Diego Voyager, Baldwin calls it her mission to increase awareness and appreciation of “plants that drink responsibly.”

It’s difficult to talk about water conservation as a priority when some areas are experiencing devastating floods, but many consider water “the next oil” as it becomes an increasingly rare commodity. Already billions of people around the world suffer during dry seasons. By the middle of this century, it’s predicted more than half of the world’s population will live in “water-stress” areas.

According to Baldwin, it’s becoming “politically incorrect to have a water-thirsty front yard and a lawn that isn’t used for anything but greenery.”

Enter the succulent.

Low-water landscaping, with drought-resistant plants such as succulents -- first popular in places like California and Arizona -- is now popping up all over. Another term you’ll see is “xeriscaping,” defined as landscaping or gardening that reduces or eliminates the need for supplemental watering.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but succulents have an edgy, textured look many people find appealing. And they have other virtues, according to gardening experts.  They’re virtually impossible to destroy, they don’t attract pests the way other types of plants do, they’re easy to maintain (needing far less fertilizer, clipping and pruning, etc.), and some are even fire-resistant.

Next time you see a cactus growing in your neighborhood, appreciate it. Just don’t sit on it.

Speaking of cacti, many people may be confused about cacti verse succulents. Are they the same thing? Well, mostly. All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. What makes a cactus a cactus is one thing - the areole, a specialized branch or shoot (the things that would cause pain if you sat on one). The areole is unique to cacti and in general, cacti tend to require less water than most other succulents.

To learn more about succulents, their history, and their rising popularity, read this article from theringer.com.

If you’re interested in learning more about the global water crisis, read this article in The Economist.