Spring planting is in full force and preparing your garden bed or patio pots are typically on the top of succulent fanatics to-do list. We have a succulent DIY craft that will fully display your favorite varieties as a living wall mosaic. “Vertical gardens,” as many call them, are perfect for those with little space to plant. Or maybe, you are just itching to create a new succulent focal point in your gardening space. These living wall mosaics are the perfect piece of art, designed just for you, by you! What You’ll Need:

• Succulent plant box (We suggest looking on Etsy)
• Cacti and succulent potting soil
• Succulent cuttings
• Chopstick or pencil
• Landscape fabric
• Scissors
• Floral pins
• Picture hanging brackets (optional)

Instructions:

1. Plan your design - Decide which plant cuttings you would like to use and the where they should be placed in your mosaic. There are no boundaries! (For more inspiration, click the links below)
2. Add landscape fabric to the bottom - Cover the insides of the frame with landscape fabric. Using your scissors, cut any excess fabric around the outside of the box.
3. Add soil - Add the cactus and succulent potting soil until it reaches the brim of the box. Pat the soil firmly, ensuring that the soil will stay in place when you are planting the cuttings.
4. Plant the cuttings - Using your chopstick or pencil, gently poke a hole in the soil creating space for the stem of the cutting. Place the cutting into the hole.
5. Repeat - Repeat this process for each cutting until most of the space is filled with cuttings. For larger succulents or loose cuttings, use floral pins to secure them into the soil.
6. Let it root - Keep the plant box flat and out of sunlight for about a week. Do not water the plant box during this time; the cuttings will forms roots in the soil.
7. Help it grow - Gradually increase the amount of light the box receives until it can receive full sun exposure.
8. Display your mosaic - After 2-3 weeks of laying flat, your living mosaic should be ready for display. Set it on a table, prop it up, or hanging it on a wall using hanging hooks

  Place your succulent wall art in an area that will receive morning sunlight or filtered light daily. Each month, lay it flat and water the succulents, thoroughly moistening the soil. Ensure that the soil is dry before you hang it vertically again. Succulents may grow larger than you’d like for them to be in your picture frame. If that is the case, remove the plant and replace it with another. Mix and match throughout the years to create an ever-changing work of succulent art!   Inspiration ideas made by others!

1. http://www.livingwallart.com/growing-a-vertical-wall-garden-of-succulents/
2. http://www.instructables.com/id/Succulent-Wall-Art/
3. https://www.pinterest.com/bydawnnicole/succulents/