Friday, July 8, 2011

DIY Succulent Garden

You have probably seen your fair share of succulent or cactus gardens out there and they're probably called all sorts of things, but this is what I've dubbed my little project - A DIY Succulent Garden. I'm a bit addicted to a few things. Hen and Chick Succulents, Chalk board paint, Cinnamon Bear candies, and my daughters silly little secrets that I can never understand are a few chart toppers. I saw a cute little succulent garden at Lowes the other day that was way too much for me so I adapted, because that's what this girls gotta do. I live on a budget and I get so much joy from making something for dirt cheap that costs 10x that much at a store! Ha. I hope you can relate. Here's the low down for you. Enjoy and have a fantastic weekend!


DIY Succulent Garden LOW DOWN...
Sorry for this lame picture. Here's what I decided to make my little succulent garden in. A silver plated bowl that cost me a whopping $2 at a garage sale last weekend.

BEFORE
I lined the bowl with good plastic wrap, making sure the wrap draped over the edges a bit. In my mind this made sense because I didn't want water to get in under it at the edges and pool under the plastic.
 Here are the pretty succulents I picked up at Lowes to go in my garden. The cost was $3.50 for the big one and $2.50 for the 2 little ones. So $8.50 for these 3 plants, except that I had a $20 gift card to Lowes so it was free for me. Still about $10 cheaper than buying something already made and this is fun!
 The big one is a Silver Jade succulent, and the little ones are 2 different versions of Echeveria. I had the other succulents you see in the background in the finished project image.

AFTER
I wanted the Jade to be in the center for balance. This succulent will eventually get big enough that I can put her in her own pot. It reminds me of a piece of coral. By the way, coral is another item that should be on my "obsessed with" list. Once everything was planted I snipped off the excess plastic wrap, but let it stay just high enough that it would keep the water from dripping off the sides into the actual bowl.
And there's the top view for you. I love the purple echeveria.
 This is where I'd love to keep my little succulent garden full time, but this baby needs sun so during the day I've had it sitting by my kitchen window.

Here are a few other succulents that you could use in your diy garden.
Image courtesy Etsy.com (the item had sold)

I hope you've enjoyed this. Do you think you'll tackle this project? What type of dish will you use?