Planting Succulents For the Porch – Outdoor Extravaganza

Hello and welcome! Ah Spring, there is a real sense of renewal in the air and I think this time of year is up there beside Fall as my favourite time of year! It may be winning by a bit actually because, PEONIES and lilacs and all the spring flowers!!! Yay!

Image available in our Society6 shop

We live in Eastern Ontario and our spring flowers aren’t quite here, they are poking through and I can see lots of progress… but no pay off just yet! That’s okay, I’m a very patient person! Have NO fear though, I’m still going to share a fun spring project with you, let’s plant some succulents, okay?!  Side note – I think I must have been a florist in another lifetime… seriously I get all smooshy (a real word and totally an overwhelming feeling) when I walk through any garden center!  Succulents are near and dear to my heart, I simply adore them, all year long and when I plant them in my other obsession, vintage – it’s a match made in heaven.

Speaking of Vintage, if that’s your thing – we are your people! This FB group, Creative Vintage Darlings is so fun! Honestly we are vintage loving enablers sharing all the goodies!  You’ll see things like McCoy pottery – my newest obsession! 

Outdoor Extravaganza

I’ve been following along with, the Outdoor Extravaganza for a few years now… and I always think, “I need to get in gear and start my summer projects sooner”! We usually tend to have very busy summer months and some things on my “wish list” just don’t get done once the busyness of the season picks up, can you relate? This year when our lovely hostess, Shauna (Satori Design for Living) invited me to join the Outdoor Extravaganza gang I could not hit reply with a big fat YES, fast enough… YES for many reasons – but two that really stand out for me are, A) this pushes me to get my outdoor spaces in order now, this brilliant plan will allow some chill time once the weather catches up – I see some lounging on the front porch in my future, and B) Shauna assembles such a talented group of inspiring blogging friends, she encourages sharing all the inspiring ideas – there seriously is something here for everyone and I just love that feeling of community. At the end of this post you can take in all the of lovely spring goodness shared by the Outdoor Extravaganza gang.  AND, this is just the first post in a 3 week series… I’m so excited! Yay!

You can follow along on Instagram too, follow this hashtag #OutdoorExtravaganza and don’t miss any of the yummy inspiration! 

So… Let’s talk succulents

As I mentioned above I’m sharing how I plant succulents and I’m showing them off in some of my vintage pottery – I’m obsessed.   I will (once the weather is dependable) take these little cuties out on to the front porch and decorate with them – that there is a huge hint for next week’s OE post! 😉 I love succulents and grow them on my kitchen bow-windowsill all year long, I’m slowly turning into the “cat lady” of succulents! Do you have succulents in your home? They are such an easy plant… and they can really take the neglect I subject them to. They love full sun and most varieties thrive in at least full-on sun for half the day, basking in the sun, sounds just perfect.  When I do get around to watering I water thoroughly – succulents don’t like to have wet feet so allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings (aka neglectings). – hahaha Make sure they have good drainage – I’ll talk about that below, don’t worry.

All the babies at the nursery – swoon!!!! It was difficult not buy all of them! 

How to plant succulents in vintage pottery

The container you are planting in should have drainage holes. But, only one of these (below) has a drainage hole(s), don’t worry I have a fix for that. 😉  

The drainage issue, no worries at all – just use small stones (as shown)  you have give the water somewhere to go or drain – if you line the bottom of your pots with stones you will not need to water as often. 

I prefer these rocks they are a bit larger and you just can’t beat the dollar store prices – that’s right, I bought these at the dollar store!  Really, you can use whatever stone you’d like, any size will do. 

Before I start making a mess with soil, I like to get a general idea about how I will lay out the succulents.

Cover the stones with soil, use a succulent/cactus mixed soil and fill your container.  Leave room in your pot to “dig” a hole big enough for your root ball. Take your succulent out of the store’s plastic container and gently loosen the root ball for planting into your fresh soil.  

Oh, sneak peek! 

I like to add a bit of interest to the top of my soil after the babies are planted,  I used more of the same stone and then I added some moss, you could also use wood slices, twigs… play around and have some fun!  

I also “cheat”… shhhh don’t tell anyone! I leave the succulent in the original plastic pot and I wrap Spanish moss (my favourite) around the top of the succulent, like a scarf! I’ll tuck that into a vintage piece (like this mini ironstone soup tureen), fluff it up to fill in the space… no one is the wiser and the clean up is a lot easier if I should happen to change my mind… HA that hardly ever happens – ya right! 😉 

I’ll share one more “cheat” with you… I add faux succulents in with my real succulents!!!! I know, shocking, right? As much as I love my babies, some of the nurseries really have caught on about how popular they are and are now charging an arm and a leg for the tiny little plants! It adds up, let me tell you! So when I’m out shopping around, if I see a faux plant that looks half way real I snag it, and the sales are the best place to snag those little fakers! Okay, one more tip… I like to use different coloured rocks on top of my soil too, one day in the pet store I saw bags of beautiful white rocks on the shelves – aquarium stones!!! The prices for this stone is much cheaper than buying it in a flower shop. I feel very clever when I save money – AND you know what that means, right? MORE PLANTS! hahaha

I hope you are inspired to plant some succulents of your own, maybe plant them in your own vintage treasures? If you do, I’d love to see them – come share with Creative Vintage Darlings. Thanks for stopping in, I hope you come back next week to see how I’ve arranged these on our porch along with way more Extravaganza fun! 

Now, please go visit my talented friends for some major outdoor inspiration! SO GOOD! 

Satori Design for Living | On Sutton Place | City Farmhouse | Maison de Pax

The DIY Mommy | A Pretty Life | Vinyet Etc. | Life On Virginia Street

The Happy Housie | Clean and Scentsible | Casa Watkins Living | Postcards from the Ridge | Finding Silver Pennies

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