Have you seen succulent gardens popping up all over the place lately? Yeah, me too. And I wanted one. I don’t know if you’ve heard of this thing called an “indoor plant black thumb”, but that’s my deal. I can do outdoor gardens: rain and a few supplemental runs of the sprinkler. But indoor plants? Nope. Poor things are doomed the second they step in the door.

The Home Depot holds monthly Do-It-Herself workshops, just like their popular kids and do-it-yourself workshops. I attended one last Thursday on succulent gardening and learned a lot more than I expected to! My new pal, Tim from the gardening center, talked about what identifies a succulent, why they are built they way they are, how they can be beneficial, but the biggest thing I took away was this:

the worst thing you can do to a succulent is over water it!

It depends on the plant but you will want to let your succulents completely dry out before moistening the water. Some only require an eyedropper full of water. Now I know why our poor aloe vera plant died, I was practically drowning it.

After taking notes at the workshop, Tim helped me gather the supplies I needed to build my own succulent garden: a pot that’s not too deep, this special succulent soil mix, and plants.

I always thought you needed rocks for the bottom, but he said no, the soil will fill in those rocks over time. Just make sure your pot has proper drainage.

Before painting your pot, be sure to seal it good. Even if you’re not keeping it outside, you don’t moisture from the dirt seeping into the pot. I used Thompson’s Water Seal spray.

To create a color blocked look, tape your pot and paint. I used a sample size of Behr Festive Green, it’s the perfect emerald color.

But to tell you the truth, if you have a steady hand you don’t even need the tape. After the emerald dried, I painted the top with copper craft paint and a steady hand. Paint the inside lip, let dry, and then plant.

When planting a container garden you want three things: a thriller, a filler, and a spiller. The same applies to a succulent garden!

The thriller adds height or drama, the filler is a bit more wide and fills things out, and the spiller is a plant that has movement and will eventually spill out of the piece. I’ve labeled mine in the picture below.

Look for plants with fun texture, contrasting colors, and odd numbers tend to look better. But it’s your garden, do what you want and have fun!

For now this lovely plant pot is sitting on a side table. But after working with succulents and seeing how easy they are, I have a handful of spots that need some. 😉

You can see the full list of Home Depot’s upcoming workshops here. Their next Do-It-Herself workshop is on building an adirondack chair!

Have you ever planted succulents?

 

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