Succulents, round two...

You may remember my failed first attempt at potting succulents.

After some helpful planting tips, I regrouped, went to Home Depot, and came home with supplies for a more educated second attempt.

In the upper right corner you will see the sad, dying attempt number one. Sorry, guys.
The tiny pots to the left are my new purchases. I chose 3 plants with a variety of colors and shapes; the variety makes succulents so much fun!

Along with the new plants, I also got this:

Yup, a bag of rocks. Apparently this is the key to keeping proper soil hydration and drainage. The store had 5-lb bags of goldeny-colored stones or these white "pearl stones, which I thought looked great against the contrast of the dark soil and bright green plants.

Succulents, also known as "fat plants," store water in their leaves and stem, much like cacti, and have adapted to arid environments. Basically, over-watering of succulents is a major no-no.

Fun fact: most cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. Isn't learning fun?

Moving on....
It was suggested to me to start with a layer of pebbles for good soil/root drainage:

Then I added some soil and the plants:

And last I topped the whole thing off with another layer of pebbles. This is supposed to help keep moisture in the soil, but allow for gradual evaporation. The plants are so thick that it also helps with stability: