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You are here: Home / Home + Garden / Easy Succulent Garden – Thrift Shop Find

May 12, 2015 by: Jennifer Priest

Easy Succulent Garden – Thrift Shop Find

Have you been to high end stores to look at “succulent” pots and planters? It's insulting how much money they're trying to charge for a succulent planter. Slap the name “succulent” on it and BAM, add $50 to the price. I liked succulents before succulents were cool; I've allowed many a hens and chicks to burn up in the desert sun, from my middle school days until finally, in my late 3os, I think I have succulents figured out. I want my dining room table to look cool with a succulent planter on it. Even more cool would be a succulent planter on my patio table. We all want to be cool kids, right? Here's how I turned a thrift shop find into an affordable and easy succulent garden, and you can too:

This post contains affiliate links. These are the supplies you'll need to make this happiness happen:

  • A “Planter”, aka “Cool Looking Bowl” from the thrift shop. Mine was $2 at Deseret Industries in Fontana, CA
  • Potting Soil. I used Miracle-Gro Potting Mix.
  • Mexican River Rocks. You can get these in a bag at The Home Depot for about $10 or go to a riverbed and find some small stones. You'll have leftovers which you can use for other projects. If you come to my house, you'll see Mexican River Rocks everywhere!
  • Succulents. Get twice as many small plants as medium plants. The smaller ones are cheaper, about $2.50 each, and they grow pretty fast and are easy to propagate. The medium succulents costs about $5 each and will help the garden look full without spending alot. I spent $16 on these particular succulents at The Home Depot.
  • Optional: Drill and Ceramic Bit to drill holes in the bottom of the bowl for drainage. Get a Ceramic Drill Bit at The Home Depot.
  • Suggested: Trowel and Gloves, to keep your hands clean.

DIY Succulent Garden using a bowl form the thrift shop - plus tips on making this for under $20!

Isn't this a happy little succulent garden? I think it looks pretty perfect on my patio table for summer.

DIY Succulent Garden using a bowl form the thrift shop - plus tips on making this for under $20!

Before you go and get all happy, just know this – dogs and cats LOVE to play with succulents as toys. To keep them away, I use Bonide Go Away! Rabbit, Dog, and Cat Repellent. I love finding natural pest repellents but the ones I use to keep the squirrels out of the garden are gross, with dried blood and urine and stuff in them. It's not exactly stuff you want in your succulent garden on the patio table while you're tying to eat ribs or carne asada.

Use bonide cat and dog repellent to keep dogs and cats away from your plants naturally - its made with pepper.

For a succulent garden or potted plants, shake Bonide Go Away! Rabbit, Dog, and Cat Repellent on top after planting. Then water as usual. It seems to last a few weeks and the dogs get the idea real quick to leave the plants alone. I started using this 8 weeks ago on my larger potted flowers and for the first time in 8 years, I have potted flowers in my backyard because the dogs have continued to leave the plants alone rather than dig them up. Bonide Go Away! Rabbit, Dog, and Cat Repellent is made mostly with pepper, which irritates the pet's eyes and sinus so they'll “go away” but it isn't harmful. I shook some out while it was windy and I accidentally breathed some in – it made me cough and made my nose run but it wasn't bad. I do not recommend trying this on yourself! If you do ingest any poison or pesticide, be sure to contact local authorities. Bonide has a handy guide on their site for Emergencies. This post is not sponsored or anything – I just really like this product that I tried and it worked! It's not even an affiliate link…LOL

How to turn thrift shop finds into herb planters and succulent gardens - tips and tricks from Jennifer Priest.

I hope you'll check out your local thrift shop to find affordable, pretty “pots” for your succulents and plants. Tell em all about your best thrift shop finds in the comments!

Jennifer Priest has some of the best craft ideas on her site Just JP and previously, Hydrangea Hippo. She shares tons of free tutorials and YouTube videos showing all kinds of crafts and DIY.

Thrift Shop Haul from Deseret Industries – Fontana, CA
Hat Box Ghost in Disney’s Haunted Mansion

Comments

  1. Tracy Thomas says

    May 12, 2015 at 9:00 am

    This was Such a timely post for me. I Just bought some succulents from Home depot on Sunday with this very project in mind.I’m getting ready to put it together today and loved seeing how you did it!! Thank you!

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      May 12, 2015 at 10:11 am

      Yay! I hope you’ll share it when you’re done 🙂

      Reply
  2. amy @ one artsy mama says

    May 12, 2015 at 10:48 am

    Oooh! I love it! I love the way plants look in not-so-traditional containers! It’s so fun finding “treasures” at the thrift shop…

    Reply
  3. Amy Anderson says

    May 13, 2015 at 7:30 am

    This is the PERFECT succulent pot. It looks great!

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      May 13, 2015 at 1:25 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  4. Steph @ The Silly Pearl says

    May 13, 2015 at 5:02 pm

    I also have loved succulents before succulents were cool. We’re such hipsters! Love that you were able to create such a pretty planter from a thrifted bowl!

    Reply
  5. Jenny says

    May 21, 2015 at 5:00 pm

    If you’ve got some time and want to be even more thifty you can use the leaves off other succulents to propagate your own little plants.

    Reply
  6. Jann Olson says

    February 24, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    Succulents are so fun and easy to work with. I recently planted some on top of an old bundt pan. I plant lots of outdoor containers with them. Love your fun containers! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    Reply
    • Jennifer Priest says

      February 24, 2016 at 7:27 pm

      Thanks Jann!

      Reply

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Welcome to Smart Fun DIY where you'll find amazing craft projects, easy-to-make recipes with a Latin twist, clever DIY projects, and smart ways to get the most out of life. I'm so happy you're here and I can't wait to learn more about you! - Jennifer Priest If you're new here, click HERE to learn more.

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