Mariel's collector garden: succulents, pots, fairies and goblins
![Image](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHsQFAGe0zREm5Yu-KIV-8lzCz3_8MLnZiUy5Up41Z5GcYjWMfWayiuXoh-e9HR3xvWvMKn1DPHHnvlX00HA5ZVlBbBPhIf0dZKUp8R5xDamGjxdxEKfJ09ZDnp95EjE6M_2v05oKDpg/s640/200829_Mariel_1_046.jpg)
Visits to private gardens have been few and far between this year, but on Saturday I had the opportunity to visit the garden of Mariel Dennis, the President of the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society (SCSS). I'd last seen Mariel's garden in June 2017 , and I was eager to find out what had changed. In a nutshell: Mariel has greatly increased her collection of potted succulents. I don't think I've ever seen a private garden with as many potted specimens. I was joking that one might think they've walked into an upscale garden shop where rare plants were sold in matching pots. Mariel is a serious collector, but she has a sense of humor and a taste for the whimsical: I had so much fun exploring Mariel's garden and collection that I took 200+ photos. Even with rigorous editing, that leaves too many images for one post, so I'll have two: one about the area marked #1 in the satellite image below, and the other about the area marked #2: