Garden Trend We Love! Make Living Wall Art with Succulents

Jessica Reeder |

Sep 10, 2024

This artfully ingenious concept is a beautiful idea for any outdoor or sunroom wall: a vertical tableau made of succulent plants. It’s a flower arrangement that never wilts, an intriguing focal point for a blank wall, and an affordable piece of art you can make easily yourself. Here are instructions to make a circular, wreath-style or a rectangular, framed succulent garden.

Tools

Succulent clippings

Sphagnum moss

Rooting hormone (optional)

Fishing line or light wire

Cactus mix potting soil (for a rectangular frame)

Chicken wire or other large mesh (for a rectangular frame)

Method

Trim lower leaves from your clippings, leaving them with long bare stems. Let them sit in a warm, dry place for a few days until the ends have dried. Dip the stems in rooting hormone if desired.

For a rectangular frame, cut two pieces of wire mesh so they’re about 1/2 inch larger than the frame’s internal measurements. Staple one piece of mesh into the center of the frame, cover it with a layer of moss, add a layer of soil, then another layer of moss to fill the frame to the edge. Staple the second piece of mesh across the outer edge of the frame, so the moss and soil are contained inside.

For a wreath, simply tuck sphagnum moss into the frame, wrapping it with finish line to keep it in place.

Create your arrangement by inserting the stems into the frame any way you like them. Use wire, fishing line or even bobby pins to hold the succulents in place without piercing them.

You may need to keep your arrangement lying flat until the succulents have rooted into the frame; this can take weeks to months. Use it as a table arrangement until it’s ready to hang.

Water lightly! Succulents don’t need much. They’ll reward you with art you can admire for years.