I am dying to make a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle reference here (‘Heroes in a half-shell! Turtle power!) but it doesn’t really work. Though—may I take a moment of your time for a tangent? Is there a weirder cartoon concept than TMNT? I mean, radioactive, sewer dwelling turtles who learn the art of martial arts from a rat and live off of pizza? Let’s not forget they are all named after classical artists. What? Yeah.
Back to business. What have we here? Oh, I don’t know, just a super cute tiny garden that will look adorable anywhere you put it! As I have mentioned before, I love all things miniature and my last post got me on a tiny garden kick. This one is particularly sweet as the whole system lives in a shell! It’s finally warm out and now you have a reason to bring some home from your trip to the seaside. I found these (and plenty more) down at Fort Tilden Beach in the Rockaways. This is an easy project and would make a great little housewarming gift or souvenir from a trip.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE:
- clamshell or any larger open shell
- drill
- potting soil (cactus and succulent soil is ideal)
- small pebbles or sand
- super cute succulent plant or cacti
Let’s get started!
1. Drill two holes into the back of the shell. Be sure to do this over a piece of scrap wood or a surface you don’t care about as once the drill goes through, it will likely nick the surface below. This process can take a while, be patient. I used a larger drill bit (9/64) as drilling the shell is akin to drilling into stone. So just don’t use a tiny drill bit, it will definitely break.
2. Add a layer of small pebbles to the bottom of the shell. This allows for proper drainage. Sphagnum moss also works (both are available at nurseries).
3. Add an even layer of soil, filling just below the edge of the shell.
4. Time for the plants! This one was clearly growing out of its pot and perfect for the clamshell bed.
As you can see, succulents produce smaller plants off of the larger ones. These are what you want to break off.
Leave a small length of stem at the base allowing for new roots to grow.
5. Begin placing the small plants into the soil, starting from the middle and filling around it.
6. All done! To keep the garden healthy, keep it in a sunny or partially sunny spot and you can water and fertilize it every few weeks! Enjoy! When watering, you can place a jar lid below for a perfect little saucer!
