I was poking around the neighborhood garden center today and I bought myself a tiny $3.00 container of Hens and Chicks.   This is an old fashioned perennial and a succulent.   Succulents store water in their leaves, stems and roots, which make them drought tolerant.   The Latin name Sempervivum tectorum means “Always lives on Roofs”.   In olden times, Europeans would plant them on their thatched roofs for protection against fires caused by lightening.  The cute English name is a bit more straight forward.   The Hens are considered the main plant and the chicks are the babies.