There are so many ways to incorporate plants in your home or office, and make your space a little bit more stylish. Having plants in the home brings a smile to my face, and since I have such a passion for gardening (but, not the greenest thumb in the world, so-to-speak) plants with easy care instructions work best for me.
I recently helped a friend who is a landscape artist pick out various plants for a client. He was in a hens and chicks buying frenzy. But, then I remembered that I actually wanted some plants myself, namely Echeveria bella succulents. After visiting a nursery and several stores, I bought some herbs to start growing. Our little fresh herb and fruit garden is doing well, but we needed some indoor plants as well.
I bought a few succulents, cacti, and miniature blooms at the garden market. They’re also the perfect type of plants for people who aren’t necessarily expert gardeners—ideal for a travelling fashionista too, because you don’t need to water them as often as other plants. So, whether you have a fitful schedule or a routinely uniform one succulents will likely be a safe option to start your plant dwelling corner. They’re also the perfect addition to our vertical garden.
Creating terrariums can be as easy or as complex as you want them to be. Making a tranquil area in your home should include some of the things that you love the most. We love nature and the outdoors, so everything from small waterfall sculptures to ivy embellished arches are part of our outdoor/interior styling. My favourite house plants also include panda plants, aloe vera, and palms.
Succulent comes from the Latin word, sucus, meaning juice or sap. Hence, the name because of its juicy and fleshy leaves or stems that store water. Succulents are a good way to start the indoor seedling style section of your home. With a simple touch of creativity, I made two different terrariums, but used one strictly for decoration. It’s been a couple of weeks since I finished these and my succulents are already growing quite well.
Materials:
- Succulents
- Quality potting soil (or cactus soil)
- White gravel, pebbles, and accent rocks
- Dried moss or grass
- Glass container with a wide opening
- Sand
Directions:
1. Place newspaper on the surface space for an easy clean up.
2. Pour rocks/gravel in the bowl (I layered in different colours first with small pebbles and sand for the sole purpose of an accent and colourful centrepiece for a table decoration). I filled my container approx. 5 cm deep. Add rocks/gravel first if you aren’t using this for a temporary decoration, this also helps with drainage.
3. If you have moss or grass, add it now and layer it with the soil on top. After removing my plant (with soil) from the original container, I repotted it carefully in my container using cactus soil. *Note: I lightly damped my soil before placing my plant in the terrarium.
4. Next, style it as you like: I used two different types of river rocks, and added white gravel on top. That’s it!
5. Place in an area that will get loads of bright, indirect sunlight. Do not over water your plants. If you do, then the leaves of the succulents will usually turn a yellowish colour. If your cacti gets too little light it causes the leaves to become stretched, consequently, if you don’t like the look of it stretched you can always propagate them.
Care: Remove enough of the white gravel and/or rocks to see the soil. Then, to get the soil wet use a spray bottle with water to dampen it. Between watering, allow the soil to dry. You can use a fast-draining soil like cactus soil, which doesn’t retain much moisture.
During cooler months succulents have a state of dormancy in the winter, which means you can water your succulents less, as they can tolerate temperatures around 10C/ 50F. View more info. here.
Do you have plants inside your home or office?
(Above) Top: We started growing our own lettuce, Bottom: I created another terrarium (with built-in drainage tray), and repotted some cacti to add to our plant collection. Check out more brilliant information on what other foods you can easily regrow continually in your home, after buying it once at the grocery store here.
Needless to say, I’ve definitely got into the planting spirit. Now, we have already planted some mint, basil, onions, rosemary, jalapeños, and lavender—waiting on the celery at the moment.
What do you think of my succulents, terrarium, and new planters?
