I absolutely love having succulents! I love the warmth they add to a room indoors and the interest they add outdoors. I am also a huge fan of how resilient they are and easy to keep alive since I am still honing my green thumb skills. Ever since last summer I've been slowing adding to our collection of them, so when I saw the flyer for a succulent arranging class at Rolling Greens, I jumped at the chance to learn from the pros! (By the way, Rolling Greens is one of my all-time favorite stores in Los Angeles!) The class was this past Saturday and only cost $30, which included all of your supplies, except for the container. Not bad, right?
How great is this set-up? They had all kinds of different succulents to choose from as well as different rocks, gravel and moss to top off our finished arrangements. Want to give it a go?
Begin with your empty container and add an inch layer of small rock to the bottom. This will allow the excess water to run off into the rocks and not oversaturate the soil and roots of your succulents. Next, fill your container loosely to the top with a cactus friendly potting soil. You want the top of the soil to be even with the top of the container.
This is the fun part. There are so many different shapes and colors of succulents. It's really fun to mix and match them.
When you remove your succulents from their containers, shake out some of the extra dirt and loosen up the root bundle. This will allow the roots to grow faster once they are in the soil. Sometimes there are multiple succulent heads within the container. Feel free to gently break these apart and use them in different places.
When designing your arrangement, it helps to start in the center and go from there. Also, be thinking about where your succulent will be. Will it be viewed from 360 degrees? Or is one side of it more important than the others? Keep that in mind as you are planting.
Fill in your space with smaller plants and trailing ones if you like. Any empty space can also be filled in at the end with moss, gravel, glass, or sand. When you are finished, clean up the excess dirt with a bare paint brush or compressed air. That's all there is to it! Easy enough!
Rolling Greens is hosting a cut flower arranging class on February 23rd-- I can hardly wait! Be sure to call and RSVP if you would like to attend.
Chloe Moon says
How cute and pretty!! I love the colorful succulents!! =)