Etsy Find of the Day: Birch Bark Planters

Digging these pretty planters, crafted from birch by Etsy seller Bear Paw Rustics.

Each is formed with a ring of natural bark finished with a leather-laced wood bottom complete with drainage holes, and planted with a selection of yummy, hardy hen-and-chicks succulents.

Handmade Birch Bark Planter With Succulents, $28

Small Birch Bark Planter With Succulent, $10

See all of Bear Paw Rustic's Etsy offerings right here.

Green Thumb: Vertical Gardens at Flora Grubb

Photo by Caitlin Atkinson

This image of the new vertical succulent garden at San Francisco's Flora Grubb stopped me in my tracks when I saw it, and I just had to share it here.

More "green wall" inspiration:

Another installation from Grubb and fiancé Kevin Smith.

Photo by Max Whittaker for the New York Times

The vertical Tillandsia garden (yet another Grubb/Smith creation) at Napa Valley's Bardessono Hotel.

Wouldn't one of these be a fantastic addition to a patio, garden fence, or atrium? If you're game to try your hand at building a "living wall," you can find a video tutorial right here.

Retail Therapy: Life + Limb

On my last visit to Portland, an in-the-know local urged me to check out a relatively new shop called Life + Limb on East Burnside. I popped in just before closing one day, and although my time there was short, it was love at first sight. In fact, I bought more irresistibly affordable goodies during my 10-minute shopping spree at Life + Limb than I did at all of my other PDX shopping stops combined.

Opened in November by graphic designer and photographer Molly Quan, Life + Limb is a full-service urban plant shop as well as a modern homegoods boutique. "I wanted to have a store that featured less-common plants, so I decided to focus on succulents. I also wanted to incorporate my love of modern design and my art background, so I carry home accessories and have monthly art shows, too," Quan explains.

One especially nice touch: Pick a plant (or three) and a vessel to put it in, and Quan will pot it up for you right there in the shop -- perfect for those last-minute hostess or housewarming gifts or if you're the type to let your nursery purchases languish for weeks before you get around to putting them in some soil.

Among the non-plant items Quan stocks are hand-picked vintage modern home accents (she has some awesome retro bullet planters, for instance), as well as a carefully curated selection of ceramics, tableware, textiles, and accessories from the likes of Perch!, Paige Russell, j.mendicino, Suck UK, Jonathan Adler, Sagaform, Loyal Loot, Modern-Twist, and Normann Copenhagen, among others.

The tree mural is by painter Erik Railton. On the "gallery wall" is artwork from Joan McGuire; a new show with pieces from popular Oregon artist Yellena James will take its place come August, with an opening reception August 1 as part of Portland's Central Eastside Arts District's First Friday festivities. Also starting in August, original work by the shop's featured artists will be available online, with full online shopping coming later this fall.

Until then, be sure to drop by Life + Limb the next time you're in Portland -- and leave some extra room in the suitcase to cart home all your new scores. The store is located at 1716 E. Burnside St., and is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 to 5 Saturdays, and 12 to 5 Sundays.

eBay Find of the Day: Succulent Sampler

Did you know that you could buy live plants on eBay?

Yep, in addition to just about every other item on the planet, you can also procure plants for your garden from the auction super site. (It's a particularly handy service if you don't have a great nursery nearby or if the ground hasn't quite thawed in your area and your local garden center isn't yet stocked up for gardening season.)

I love succulents -- because not only are they almost impossible to kill, they make great modern houseplants (group several in a wide, low planter for a stunning centerpiece or just one in a small container for a pretty, natural accent) as well as interesting and textural additions to your outdoor landscape. Can't decide? Enjoy succulents both ways -- keep them inside until you're ready to get your hands dirty, then incorporate them into your garden.

This succulent selection up for auction on eBay includes a mix of twenty cuttings, including hens and chicks, volcano plants, echeveria, sedum, agave, euphorbia, and several other hardy varieties. The cuttings are easy to grow -- simply stick them in well-drained soil (either potting soil mixed with sand or gravel, or perlite), protect them from hot afternoon sun, and water them every once in a blue moon. I promise, they're practically black-thumb proof.

Current bid: $30

Cool Stuff: Aluminum Herb Pots

These seven diminutive plant pots (plus footed tray) are crafted from unpolished aluminum, which gives them a great industrial vibe that will only get better as the metal patinas over time.

Fill the pots with herb plants for cooking and make them the centerpiece of your kitchen table. Or plant petite succulents in them and place the grouping on a coffee table or credenza top to bring a bit of the outdoors in while you wait for spring to arrive. Once it does, you can move the entire collection out to the patio until the weather turns cold again.

The set is $129 from the Conran Shop.

Green Thumb: In Praise of Succulents

I have a bit of a succulent fetish. They're just so ... weird. And otherworldly. And fleshy. And textural. And cool.

And, let's not forget, practically death-proof. It's true: If you leave succulents out in the burning sun and forget to water them for months at a time, they'll be fine. I give a mixed pot of them to my mother (a notorious black thumb) every year, and even she can't kill them.

Bigger succulents can be pricey, but they grow quickly and multiply like mad, so I like to buy the cheap, tiny ones in 2-inch containers at the Easy Bay Nursery in Berkeley or the big Rockridge Longs off Broadway. When I'm a bit more flush, or after some unusual varieties, I hit the Dry Garden in North Oakland. One of these days, I'm going to make it up to Sebastopol's Lone Pine Nursery, the wholesale succulent and cacti grower that stocks most of the nurseries in the Bay Area.

Next time you're shopping for plants, grab a basketful of echeveria, euphorbia, or agave, then group them together in an interesting pot for a weird -- and wonderful -- living arrangement.