So Sunday I went over to my friend Kristin’s to learn how to make vertical succulent gardens . What I made (with Kristin’s guidance) is above.

Originally I wanted to make a succulent frame but the drill battery died so we couldn’t screw a back to a vintage picture frame, so I went hunting in her barn for something else to plant with so I chose a vintage mesh strainer or deep fryer basket.

As you can see above, it’s not a huge thing. The basket is about 6 inches in diameter.

First I lined the basket with burlap. I stitched it in up top on the rim with thick thread. You could also use thin twine, fishing line, or something like that. It was suggested to do a quick whip stitch around the circumference and a couple of tack stitches inside the basket to keep it from shifting.

Next I added the soil, and packed it in. After that we cut a chicken wire circle a few inches bigger than the opening and bent it over the dirt and around the edges like a lid. I used a thin, pliable wire to “stitch” it to the rim of the basket.

I was now ready to pick my succulents. Kristin had bought this amazing array of little succulents from a succulent farm (yes there is such a thing!)

I just started stuffing little plants in the holes of the chicken wire until it was kind of full. Then I gave it a sprinkle of water and took it home and hung it up.

The trick for me will be keeping succulents just moist enough to live. I am not a huge succulent person because, well, I kill them. But slowly I have conquered my fear of orchids and citrus plants, so I am trying succulents once again.

But succulents and I have been trying to co-exist since I was like 8 years old and the local bank at the time would give little succulents out every time you made a deposit to your account. So I kept depositing bits of change and a dollar or two here or there with my mother’s help until I had an entire windowsill full of little succulent plants.

Then I killed them one by one. Probably by overwatering. However, the fact that most of them also sat on a large drafty windowsill of a large 19th window with original glass – not the lovely modern low-E glass. – I am guessing I overwatered and froze them.

I am thinking I will spritz my succulents occasionally with a water bottle. I am not sure what I will do with this when winter arrives.

I found this article HERE from Good Succulents that seems to be a good guide to creating your own hanging succulent vertical garden/wall planter. Good Succulents also has an article on caring for succulents indoors.

Also when I was rummaging around in Kristin’s barn yesterday I came across two small Guy Wolfe pottery pots. I have been obsessed with these Connecticut-made flower pots that are reminiscent of their English-made cousins for decades.

So since Kristin got me to try succulents again, so when I went to Home Depot today I bought two small inexpensive succulents. I purchased a jade plant and an aloe plant. And a small bag of citrus/cactus potting soil. I think they look perfect in the Guy Wolfe pots.

I think these are my last pots being planted for the season. But hey it’s me, so never say never….