Back to school means back to the school garden–at least in my community, it does. And how fortunate are we? Not only do we have school gardens, we can garden year round due to the fabulous climate of Central Florida. However, while fruits and vegetables are fun to grow, so are regular plants. Particularly succulents.
Succulent dish gardens are a great craft for kids because they’re easy to handle and grow well with little attention. Not that kids don’t pay attention to their plants. They DO. In fact, they’re some of the best gardeners around! But these succulent dish gardens can be taken home and well, kids have a lot of fun things competing for their attention, so it’s easy to see how a plant might get overlooked.
But I digress. Succulents are “low demand” plants and only need watered about once a week. And while they’re low in the demand department, they are high in the beauty department. Gorgeous, in fact. There are a ton of varieties to choose from, so there is certainly a plant that will appeal to you and yours.
First up, you’ll need the basics: soil, gravel (drainage) and décor. And don’t forget the gnomes! These little characters are the perfect addition. You can use glass or plastic containers, though consider a clear container. This gives you a view into the layers beneath your plants which is pretty cool.
Simply fill the bottom half of your dish with gravel, then cover with another half of soil. For the surface, try using moss or decorative stones. The gravel is important because succulents need good drainage. If their roots are wet, they won’t thrive.
Place plants in the soil and lightly pat them into place. Once you’ve planted your succulents, it’s time to add the whimsy!
Don’t love gnomes? No worries! As you can see, these kids found all kinds of critters, creatures and characters to include in their gardens. The variety of succulents is striking, isn’t it? From tall and pointed to short and rounded. Some even look like flowers.
This is a great craft for classrooms, but also might be the perfect event to draw young gardeners into your local ag extension office. 4H groups would also enjoy a craft like this one. That’s who made the above gardens!
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