$25 Project: Faux Succulent Garden

Noting Grace: DIY Faux Succulent Garden for $25 Allergies prevented Jen from having a real succulent garden, but that didn't stop her dreams. You'd never know these plants were fake!

Times are tough and budget is tight, but I’ve worked my budget out to allow myself $25 each month to spend on something creative. This month I’m featuring a DIY faux succulent garden that I was able to complete for just under $25!

Here’s what I started with:

An old storage jar that the lid had busted, making it unusable in the pantry.

A box of unused homeschool science supplies with rocks, sand and soil.

I have always wanted a succulent garden and saved this container specifically for that. Unfortunately, I just found out that I’m terribly allergic to mold. That means that houseplants, amongst other things, are not on the friendly list.

So I went to Hobby Lobby!

Hobby Lobby had a great deal on their greenery and I snatched up various types of fake succulents. I was able to purchase 9 plants for $21.50 plus tax – much cheaper than real plants that run about $5 each.

I had a huge box of leftover homeschool supplies that we never used, but held onto just in case. I’m not the science-y type so we don’t always do every experiment (shh), plus we were given duplicates by mistake, so I had quite the excess of gravel, rocks, soil and sand.

I started layering the jar with the large gravel.

Next I layered the course sand,

fine sand,

and finally the soil.

I think you could use anything you have one hand to create a similar affect with minimal expense.

I topped everything with some pebbles from an older project and started placing the succulents.

I love how they look! Since succulents naturally have a rubbery look, the faux plants are an excellent copycat.

I placed the jar on one of my favorite pieces in my house – a chest from my great, great granny, and my DIY Painted window sign.

It’s sitting nicely next to a photo of that great great granny — bonnet hat and all.

The vintage surveyor stick came from the dump.

We’re so country that trash pickup isn’t an option unless you fork out a hefty fee for independent pickup, but then we wouldn’t score treasures like this stick for free!

Don’t let bumps in the road, like tight finances or allergies, stop you from creating something you’ve always wanted. Find another way to create that something for yourself – you’ll be so glad you did!