Living Succulent Tapestry Pillow in Under 5 Minutes

 

This  "Living, Succulent Tapestry Pillow" was created by Shirley Bovshow in less than five minutes!

 

I'm making a living succulent tapestry pillow for my presentation at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival!

It's part of my "10-Ways to Incorporate Art in Your Garden," presentation and is an affordable and easy garden craft to make.

 

Watch us make the succulent pillow on my web series, "Way to Grow" on the Digs channel on YouTube.

 

It is a Shirley original, as far as I know, (a vision came to me for it while watching Citizen Kane).

Inspiration comes from the most unlikely places!

This pillow is so easy to make that you will feel guilty accepting compliments for it.

Here we go.

 

Materials for Living Succulent Tapestry Pillow

Outdoor pillow in solid color- avoid prints if you want your plants to be the focal point.

1 large bag of  sphagnum moss (moistened)

3 small succulent cuttings or 3"-inch potted plants

Panty hose

A sense of style

Xacto knife

 

Directions

1. Open the seam of pillow on one side and remove all the stuffing.
2. Stuff the pillow with moist sphagnum moss
3. Position your succulents where you would like them. (Groups of three or more look nice)
4. Remove the succulent from the pot, remove half of the soil and wrap pantyhose around root ball to keep intact. 
5. Cut slits where you want to place your succulents and gently insert the plants. 

 

 Open an area in the moss and insert succulent root so that  it's not free-floating in a sea of moss.

You may want to add a "fringe" effect  to the pillow by using  a trailing plant such as fishtail senecio.

If you like a true pillow look, you can add Velcro to close the pillow. 

Or, leave it open and crown the pillow with a focal point plant like a small aeonium or echeveria.

You are done and ready to receive your praise!

 

Place your living succulent tapestry pillow on an outdoor bench or other water-safe surface in a part shade area.

Don't subject your pillows to harsh sunlight.

Water by misting roots once a week and less frequently in the winter time.

Cold winter gardeners can over-winter their succulent pillows indoors and place on a pebble tray.

 

Succulent pillows can last for a few years although you may want to plant the cuttings in the garden once they get bigger.

Enjoy the compliments!