DIY Succulent Garden

Our porch designer, Crystal Nagel, has been sourcing some finishing touches for our porch and sent over some gorgeous clam shell succulent gardens for the counter top under the TV. Like most things she’s sourced, I fell immediately in love with the idea and was so excited. Then, two things popped into my head — 1. I already own a ginormous clam shell…which I was pretty sure was hiding somewhere with a disintegrated poinsettia from Christmas. And 2. I took a succulent arrangement class last year in Dallas during a work trip. I could totally pull this together on my own!!

And so I tracked down my shell, scraped out what was left of the plant and moss and cleaned it up. Then I ran to home depot for all the materials to begin my project. It was super easy to pull together and took me maybe 20 minutes? Here’s how I built my succulent garden…

You Will Need

• A large container. I purchased my clam shell from Home Goods a long time ago, but you can use any container! Here are a few clam shell options in a variety of price points: BB&B // Home Depot // Home Depot // Wayfair
• Assorted Succulents. Here are some fun options: 5 pack // 5 pack // 10 pack // 12 pack // 20 pack
• Bag of Cactus Potting Mix
• Bag of Decorative Rocks, Pebbles or Stones

Clam Shells

Succulent Garden Pots

Succulents

Step 1

Clean out your container then add a thick layer of rocks, pebbles or stones to help with drainage. 

Step 2

Top the rocks with a layer of soil. Then place your succulents (in their containers) inside your pot until you like how your arrangement looks. Once you’ve decided on placement, remove succulents from containers and dig small holes to plant your succulents in. After your succulents are planted, pack some additional soil around them to secure them in place.

Step 3

Add a layer of decorative rocks on top of the soil, filling in any gaps between the succulents.

Watering

Water your succulents once a week by giving the soil a generous soak (if your planter has holes, you should see water draining out the bottom during watering) then let the soil get completely dry before watering again.

Underwatered succulents will have wrinkly, shriveled up leaves. Overwatered succulents will have soft, mushy, almost translucent leaves.

*consider pinning to save for later

It’s been a hot minute since I tackled a fun planty project. If you liked this post, you should check out my DIY Bright Summer Pots post.