You can start your succulent and cactus collection with cuttings of existing plants or with a pre-built variety garden.

Various colors and textures are best for a whimsical garden. Here are some small flowering plants you can use for your own mini plant pot arrangement.

When author Kurt Kamm is not writing firefighting mysteries, you can find him on his terrace pacing among his pots of plants: 112 cactuses and succulents, at last count.

Cactus and other succulents grow well indoors, as long as they get a few hours of bright light each day. They require only a little water once every week or two, and they can live for many years ...

About 20 years ago, Omaha gardener Wayne Fitzhugh had planted a few cactuses in an area of his Dundee yard, in a plot he called wasted space. He’s been adding ...

Clean and sleak, these handmade terra cotta planters will add a bit of modern panache to your garden. They are handmade in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, using local clay fired in a rice husk kiln.

The cactus pads can be potted in 4- to 5-inch pots depending on size of pads and roots. Label cuttings with plant name and date.

Terra cotta or clay pots wick away excess moisture, provide the best drainage and are recommended. For soil, a cactus mix or orchid mix is better than regular potting mix.

Once they start, transplant into well drained garden soil or pots of cactus potting soil to encourage growth. Prickly pear is one of the most diverse and useful cacti for home gardens.

You may want to begin your garden with our own native cactus -- a prickly pear. It seems there's a prickly pear for almost every state in the union. Ours is the brittle prickly pear, Opuntia fragilis.