The Perfect Statement Plant: Succulents {DIY Succulent Wreath}

SUCCULENTS

 

I'm not sure if my new obsession and awareness of succulents is due to the fact that we now live in California and they are quite popular here or because my hubby's extended family have pots and pots of them and his cousin and aunt have even made wreaths with them too. They are absolutely stunning and such a fun, earthy statement piece.

Last weekend the hubs and I were in LA visiting his uncle, Dick. His uncle is a great gardner and he and his wife, Nan (who died this summer from throat cancer..I've written about Nan in the past but she is deeply missed by the whole family and was such a charming woman) have pots of succulents around their lawn and pool area and they just look so good and seem to thrive with the California climate. Dick even out did himself and sent us home with probably a dozen pots of succulents to put in our home to love and tend to. I was so excited!!

We went to the Terranea Resort for lunch, which is right on the water and where we celebrated the hubby's grandmother's 90th birthday with about 60 family members a few years back. In one of their entertainment rooms, I spotted this STUNNING arrangement in an old rustic clay pot with bundles of flowers tucked in too. I wanted to scoop it up right then and there and take it home with me---it had a captivating trance on me, but I resisted and just snapped some photos instead.

B's cousin, Jeff made a wreath for his parents, Nan and Dick and I was taking notes this weekend and asked him to walk me through the steps so I could make one myself. He gave me the list of essentials and sent along two videos. I need to study up and get making!

 

{I need to point out that this photo doesn't do justice to the beauty of these master piece}

To BUY:

-wire wreath frame (from Michaels) - you only need 1 side if it will sit flat but if you plan to hang it then you should probably get 2 halves (one for each side to give it support)

-fishing line or florist wire (to wrap the wreath frame and sphagnum moss to hold it all together)

-2 large bags of dry sphagnum moss (cheapest at Home Depot and expensive at Michael's) (there are different types of moss, some which don't absorb water well so make sure you get the sphagnum moss)

-Screwdriver (to poke holes in the wreath to insert the succulents)

-Succulent clippings (it takes a lot of them); they sell them at home depot or you can pilfer them from the side of the road if you have them in your area.

Put the wreath frame flat on a table.  Soak the sphagnum moss for a few minutes and then load the moss onto the wreath frame packing it tightly.  Wrap it tightly with the fishing line or wire going around and around the frame.  Poke holes in the wreath and insert the succulent clippings.  Pretty simple once you have the supplies.

Here are the links to two helpful videos: Go here and here

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I know this is a really longgggg post but I have a lot to say and succulents make me oh so excited so here I go...continuing to blabber on...

I have a girlfriend on the East Coast who is getting married in August-she is one of my childhood besties and we grew up in a very quaint town by the Long Island Sound. So think beachy, but more historic beachy than what you might have in mind, with sweet little shops and marshes and 17th and 19th century homes around our town's green. Yes, we do have a green and I think it is quite possibly the most charming feature about my cute little town. Take a little looksky here :) Any who, she is getting married back home and is having a shoreline feel kind of wedding. My mom, a huge blog lover and wedding event extraordinaire, suggested to my friend to use succulents for her wedding and various blues and greens from sea glass hues and build off of there. Instead of your typical sand and starfish theme (again, nothing wrong with that look but she was trying to help my friend think outside of the box a little).

Side note-I'm a traditionalist so not real big into modern decor and looks but I still like lots of different looks out there despite this fact. I was thinking about succulents how they are modern but I think they have a cool duality going on. They are edge-y but vintage-y at the same time. That is probably why they work for me. Succulents are fresh, refreshing (notice how the word 'fresh' is in there) and have a real pop factor.

Here are some succulent-esque wedding looks I am loving:

{see more designing with succulents looks here}

{beautiful wedding hair-For a full viewing of her wedding check it out here}

{so fresh and modern looking}

{gorgeous palette}

{love the contrasts and peacock feather pop! More details here}

{in love!}

There are so many looks on this google search page that I am LUSTING after that I felt the need to post the whole internet page, ha. So here it is, I could spend hours looking at all of this goodness but since I've already done our wedding, I think I'll find some looks to bring into our home.

Enjoy and TGIF, babes xoxo