Wild Styled West:
Upcycled Floral & Succulent Collectibles
The ladies at ecofabulous are huge fans of both creative reuse and surrounding yourself with plants and foliage indoors. Not only does it increase the indoor air quality but it brings a bit of nature indoors and is good for your emotional well-being too. At the ecofabulous office we’ve all got little succulents on the desks! When we asked one of our newest contributors at ecofabulous, Kim Foren of Geranium Lake Flowers & Events in Portland, Oregon, for some tips and tricks on easy plant ideas for the office to share with readers, we were blown away by what she came up with. These indoor plant ideas are incredibly easy to recreate and add a bit of charm to any space.
Creating Upcycled Floral & Succulent Collectibles:
Step 1 - Finding the Perfect Planter
Succulents are easy plants that require little upkeep, making for great house plants and gifts! The first step (and I believe the most fun) is choosing the containers. Rather than go with conventional pots, kick it up a notch and upcycle unique vintage bowls, creamers, or vases - the options are really endless.
Shown here are a collection of sugar bowls and cream pitchers that are vintage Belleek china pieces that were filled with simple succulent plants.
Try using vintage coffee cans, fruit crates, vintage ball jars or as shown here a 1971 Ritz Cracker container filled with vegetable starts that make a perfect gift for your gardener friends. Instead of using a glass vase for flowers on your dinner table, vintage white milk depression glass cups work even better! Anything old and vintage brings charm to a table setting and looks wonderful on porch steps.
Above Photo Credits: Erica Ann Photography
Step 2: Get Your Hands Dirty
Once you have your containers, planting and caring for your plants couldn’t be easier - no green thumb required. Here are my tips for success:
- When filling your vintage upcycled containers, find smaller scale plants in 2″ or 4″ pots - you can even use small tray packs.
- Carefully remove the plant from its container (a spoon is useful here) and place them in your great “find.”
- Depending on the size of your container you might be need to add a little potting soil to fill in the gap. For succulents, stick to a desert mix potting soil. If your container is large enough, put a thin layer of pebbles at the bottom of the container to help drainage.
- When using succulents (echeveria) cuttings, fill containers with potting soil up to the top then place cut succulent in soil (They root easily - it only takes about 3 weeks).
Step 3: Give a Little TLC
- Water succulents infrequently, approximately once or twice a month.
- Be careful not to over water the plants since the water can’t escape from the container.
- Succulents can live in these containers for quite awhile, but do require full access to the bright sun
Step 4: Enjoy!
