Wednesday, September 26, 2012

DIY Succulent gardens - how to instructions tabletop centerpiece

I love plants and I love succulents especially! Their shapes, colors and unusual looks always make me happy and amazed at the same time. I’ve already tried making succulent mini gardens before so when a couple of days ago I found amazing vintage bowls/vases at the local thrift shop I just had to do something about them :)

So here is a DIY instruction on how to make your own pretty succulent garden.

Supplies: bowl/vase/planter of your choice, succulents, cactus/succulent potting soil, decorative stones and pebbles, charcoal.


The pretty vintage bowls that I bought and some of the plants and cuttings that I've had at home...


Step 1: First, add a layer of pebbles to the bottom of your container. This will ensure that water drains to the bottom of the container and that the roots of your plants aren't sitting in water. If you have planters with drainage holes you can skip this step. Add a layer of charcoal (black sprinkles on the picture) above the pebbles to battle any possible smell issues.


Step 2: Fill the planter with potting soil up to an inch or two below the top of the planter. Plant succulents in planters. You can mix multiple types of succulents in each planter or use all the same. Arrange them any way you'd like.


Step 3: If there are spaces where the soil shows you can cover the exposed soil with flat rocks, pebbles, aquarium gravels, moss or other pretty greeneries.


... and here are my finished pretties :)


 

I loved how they turned out! So I made another one as a centerpiece for my mom (white oval bowl that used to be a nursery for my young succulents on second pic).


Some of the succulents and cacti that I've used in my arrengments: Sempervivum, Echeveria Lola, Echeveria Pulidonis, Haworthia Fasciata, Crassula Radicans, Crassula Ovata C. portulacea, Gollum Jade, Crassula perforata, Sansevieria cylindrica, Kalanchoe, Crassula rupestris, Adromischus cooperi Crassulaceae, etc...

I'm planning on making a Plant Terrarium next time, so stay tuned :)

More of my DIY projects

24 comments:

Katrinshine said...

Great idea to decorate a table!

getarround said...

Amazing mini-garden!
Lora

Eugenie said...

Lovely! I might do something like this... thank you for the instructions.

Lanadearg said...

Wow! It is indeed lovely ideas.
Your miniature gardens are so beautiful and well maintained. Perhaps there is going to be more things and plants to attend to due to the change of season.
I loved this post, Alesia. May you have a very Happy Autumn and a satisfying month of October!

Morrgan said...

Wow, they look fantastic! I'm a big fan of succulents too and have acquired a nice collection of them, but I've never tried something like this. Maybe I should!

Paige @ Little Nostalgia said...

They're so cute! And thanks for the tip about the charcoal, I didn't know that! Definitely bookmarking this so I can make my own.

Arctida said...

Thank you ladies :)

SocksAndMittens said...

Oh, what a great idea! I have lots of succulents growing right outside of my window, so it would be easy to take some clippings and make a mini garden. I just need to find a place for it with plenty of indirect light. Thank you for the idea, Alecya!

IrinaN said...

They are adorable!

Unknown said...

I've been wanting to pick up more succulents for my new end table. Going to pin this for reference, thanks! :)

Natalka Pavlysh said...

Wow! Thank you for sharing!

Melissa said...

I LOVE succulents! Fabulous diy. Thanks for sharing.

<3 Melissa
wildflwrchild.blogspot.com

Cassidy said...

So pretty! I love succulents and am always looking for new inspiration! I actually really like the little green and blue pots in one of the first photos :)

Arctida said...

Lol :) Cassidy, the little green and blue pots are actually my daughters old tea play set from IKEA that she doesn't play with anymore. Those little cups are perfect for propagating succulents from cuts and leaves. The name of the set is *DUKTIG* and you can buy it at IKEA in States.

Unknown said...

OMG I LOVE IT. This is absolutely ADORABLE! I cannot wait to try it out!

- Sam

DIYhuntress.blogspot.com

TonyaUtkina said...

Great idea!!! I'm not sure I'm ready to try it yet but it looks beautiful!

Yulia Kazansky said...

It looks really neat, Alecia, thank you for sharing. I am generally a lazy gardener, but with your explanations it seems sorta easy.

Rachael said...

Beautiful work!

anza said...

I love the idea! It`s so beautiful... I hope I`ll do one garden for myself :)

Emily711 said...

So sweet! I too, am a huge fan of terrariums! Love the blog, can't wait to see what you post next!

Emily
emilyp711.wordpress.com

Unknown said...

:) love it

andrea arenson said...

Do you just buy charcoal for grilling and smash it up to get the powder to put on the pebbles? Also are these decorative pebbles or clay ones?

Arctida said...

No Andrea, not charcoal for grilling. I buy activated carbon for aquariums in pet stores. The pebbles are the clay ones.

Unknown said...

Great!

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