succulent wreath diy

back in november, my mom came home from the farmers market with a ton of succulents & an awesome idea...diy succulent wreaths.  i was sold instantly.  we soaked the moss and each of us having a metal wreath form, unpotted the succulents and began making our own creation.  i absolutely loved the way these wreaths turned out & couldn't wait to make one for our home.

so, true to her form, i found some succulent plants that would bloom in the spring, had a variety of colors and in the summer, when things warmed up, would turn unbelievably bright colors.  once i had my selection, i read here that succulent trimmings should be cut a few days before assembling the wreath so the ends can dry and callus.  apparently, this helps with their growth process.

once the clipping were dry enough (to be honest, i could barely wait), i soaked the moss in a large bucket for about 20 minutes and as i wrung out each handful, i thickly placed it on the wire wreath form.  then, with a floral wire, i tightly wrapped the wreath leaving enough space to put multiple plants between each wrapped section & to ensure the moss would stay put as i planted the succulents.

with no pattern or intent, i began placing the succulent pieces around the wreath.  as i placed them i made sure no two plants were directly next to one another and that the larger plants were spread out and relatively balanced.  at first i thought i was short on succulents.  the wreath looked so much bigger than i recalled and i was afraid the succulent trimmings might have to go toward another project, but as it turned out, about 8 succulent plants ended up being the perfect amount.  once all the plants were in place, i wrapped the wreath one more time (this time much closer together and tightly) taking care to hide with wire among the plants and moss all the while, securing each plant in place.

although succulents are slow growing plants, i didn't want to over crowd them on the wreath.  actually, i prefer the look of the moss showing through the various succulents.  now i'm debating now if i should add ribbons or something during the holidays or keep it simple.  i tend to keep things simple, so at the moment that's the way i'm leaning. 

all said and done, this project cost me about $40.00.  $30 for the succulents (though if you have access to succulent trimmings in your backyard, nature, or elsewhere, you could save a lot of beans. $4 for the wire frame (with 40% off coupon) and floral pins from michaels and $5 for the peat moss.  to me, it was well worth the time and money.  it's hands down one of my favorite projects to date.