Make The Best of Things: sedum

Showing posts with label sedum. Show all posts

Monday, May 22, 2023

Firewood Log Succulent Planter

I made this out of a fire wood log from the building supply!

The natural wood and the greens of the succulents are a perfect match, and it couldn't have been easier.

I am always on the lookout for unusual planters for my gardens.

This stack of birch fire wood at the local Lowe's caught my eye and I bought two.

A few hours labor with a chisel, a hammer and even a hatchet gave me a log

with a planting hole in the middle.

I screwed a plastic plate to the bottom as a water catcher then filled the

hole up with gravel on bottom and succulent planter mix on top.

Then I shopped my garden succulents for just the right mix of plants to put

in this rustic planter. It is NOT ordinary,

and I love it!

I added a few stones and gravel to the top then took about a thousand photos.

This project makes me smile and smile.

I stapled landscape felt to the bottom of the log

and then screwed on a plastic charger plate from Dollar Tree.

As you can see, it turned out extremely well!

Time to make the second one!

Friday, May 22, 2020

DIY a Fake Stone Planter from Styrofoam Box

This is a repost of a popular project which has been requested over on

Facebook's Garden Art Junk group.

Here's what I do with those holiday ham styrofoam boxes

I don't want to pitch into the landfill.

RECYCLE!

I make "stone" planters for my succulent pots!

Here's how....

and please note, this is best done OUTSIDE.

This part is messy!

Using a serrated steak knife, I cut the top edge down to make the box the size I wanted.

Then I scored all the sides with a wire brush.

I made stone shape grooves with a butter knife. You can cut as deep

or as shallow as you wish to get the look you like.

Next, I brushed a some grey, white and black acrylic craft

paint over the whole box.

Very sparingly, spray black spray paint at some of your stone joints.

The paint will melt the foam and give it some very rocky texture.

Don't over do it, you can always add more texture.

Go slow and look at the results from all angles.

Now with a brush or a paint rag or a sponge of what have you,

start layering on acrylic craft paint in rock and moss colors.

I used black, charcoal grey, brown, several greens and even a bit of dark blue.

I do not plant my succulents directly in the styrofoam box.

I keep them in their own pots so I can change them out as I wish.

But I have to say, the sedum in this fake stone box look wonderful!

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Succulent Love

The weather here in Oregon is starting to get cooler and rainy, and my summer flowers are fading. I've recently fallen in love with these no fail succulents, which go on looking good through all seasons and have wonderful textures and colors. Plus, they spread so I can divide them for even more projects!

I love the tight rosettes and the bright colors against the gravel.

Sedums in an old drawer along with one of my pebble garden balls stay bright all year long.

I really gravitate towards cool limey yellow in my garden, along with cobalt blue glass accents.

Cement planter ball with one pretty rosette.

The re purposed bird feeder looks great all year long with this neat mix of sedums and succulents. They are as close to care free as anything I have grown!

The blue enamel chamber pot is perfect for this succulent collection.

Cute idea! I got this cupcake tin loaded chock full of succulents for $5!! I'm going to divide them and spread them out into a larger cupcake pan. Love this look!

I have a fake succulent wreath in the bathroom that I would love to copy in the real thing. I've got some ideas about that and I'll be blogging when it all comes together. If you do a Pinterest search for succulents you will be blown away at the beautiful plants and projects including weddings using succulents instead of flowers. I may be late to the bandwagon but I've totally climbed on board!

And now, I've discovered this!!!

Love that painting. LOVE it! When I take a stab at a painting of my own I'll post it here. Ah, succulents, where have you been all my gardening life?

I'll be joining the parties on my sidebar. Come visit and see all the creativity in blog land!