Teach Me Tuesday – Succulent Plants

It is Tuesday which means I have slapped Monday into next week and am ready for Teach Me Tuesday.  This week I am going to share a couple different ways you can work with succulent plants.  If you have been “trolling” around the internet lately, you probably have come across terrarium’s.  They are the new “it” home decor accessory.  These are pretty easy and very inexpensive to put together yourself – don’t be fooled into paying a pretty penny on one that is already put together.  You can do this!

Do you have a glass container sitting around?  If not, they are everywhere.  Here is just one day at HomeGoods:

A entire wall display full of glass containers.  Take your pick.  I like the ones with a more rounded bottom but any can work.  I happened to have a container laying around from a previous home.

This container was in a previous Master bedroom.  I had a blue and brown beach theme going – this glass container was something I put together to enhance the theme.  It did not make it through the move unscathed however.

A perfectly round hole was popped out of the glass.  I was bound and determined to find a way to re-use this container – I love the shape.

I gathered some supplies from the Dollar Store and Michael’s.  I planned on using the moss rocks to cover the hole.

This is the soil that you use for succulents.  It really does make a difference because it doesn’t hold the water like regular soil does.  Succulents do not need water like regular plants – which make them perfect for people with “black thumbs” like me.

An assortment of succulents.  This is Wikipedia’s definition of succulents:

Succulent plants, also known as succulents or fat plants, are water-retaining plants adapted to arid climates or soil conditions. Succulent plants store water in their leaves, stems, and also in roots.

Succulents are very low maintenance and pretty hard to kill so they can be used in a variety of ways.

I took out the piece of coral and left the sand in the bottom of the container.  Sand is good for drainage and I like the way it looked.  I  added the moss rocks, piling them in front of the hole.

I then added the bag of small rocks – again for drainage.  Please know that putting together a terrarium is not a science – be creative.

Another look of sand on the bottom then a layer of small rocks.

Next I added a layer of the soil.  You just need to have enough dirt to cover the roots of your plants.  It is really not that much.

This is where is comes together.  Add the plants and some decorative larger rocks.  You don’t need to add the rocks, they are only for aesthetics – try Sea glass or driftwood for a completely different look.  I like the natural look of the rocks.

An aerial view.  You would never know that this container had a big hole in it.  I like the way the moss rocks covered up the whole and added a different texture to the container.

Put the lid on and you are done.  You do not need to have a container with a lid, but if you do, it is okay to put it on.  Succulents can survive with the lid on.  They need about 4 hours of indirect sunlight a day and water when the soil is completely dry.

Now let’s put it into some decor.  I like the way it turned out.  Do you?

 

 

This display is sitting on my buffet in my dining room.  I am trying to make my dining room less formal so that we will use it more often.  It is not working and I am seriously contemplating storing the dining room furniture and making this room something more usable.  I’ll let you know.

Okay … that is one way to use succulents by including them in a terrarium.  Here is another way – in a simple pot:

I picked up this red pot at Walmart for $4.99.  I like the color and shape a lot and figured I could find something to do with it.

I added the rest of the large rocks I had left over from the terrarium.  The rocks are for drainage.  You do not need to use fancy rocks for this – rocks from your yard are just fine.

Add the soil and plants to finish off the look.  I also added this little bird I found at Michael’s.  They had tons of little birds like this so you could find one that would fit with your pot and plants.

 

An aerial view.

Bless his heart – isn’t he the cutest little thang!  Read that last sentence in your best southern accent.

On the kitchen counter – love the red!

Hello little bird!

Well – that’s it folks.  Another Teach Me Tuesday finished.  I hope you will consider giving the project a try.  Plants add such warmth and life to a home.

Hope your life is more succulent heaven than dead plant havoc!

Missi

Come visit me at these blog parties: