Garden Preemie Nursery - Saturday Night Special

I'm joining Saturday Night Special again this week over at
Funky Junk Interiors.  Come on over and see all the inspiring projects.


As part of the major cleanup in the garden after our soggy cold and wet winter, I've

been pulling out garden ornaments in need of some attention.  I'm tired of the "rust"

look on many of these plant stands and outdoor thingies, so I got together with

some of my new favorite color of green spray paint. 

As often happens I started in with the spray paint and I forgot to get a before shot

of this vintage wash stand with enamel bowl.  But believe me, it was completely

rusted and all it's chippy paint was gone.  At one time this resided in a very

pink girly girly guest room, then moved to the garden for a number of years.

It certainly needed some sprucing up for Spring!

Here it is with its first coat of paint, with some other garden ornaments

waiting in line for their makeover.

I did some thinning in some of the succulent beds and took some clippings from another,

added some potting soil and here is the little wash stand all ready for a summer in the garden.

It is important that any container with succulents in it have very good drainage.  The

enamel bowl has drainage holes drilled on the bottom so the roots aren't standing in water.

Next in line was a tea cart.

On Tuesday my little green tea cart attended some blog tea parties, but it was destined
to serve as the mobile portion of my succulent nursery, as it has for several years.

This old German beer crate  has served as a NICU for baby, tattered, abused and torn
succulents for about the last six years in my garden.  It works extremely well in protecting

"fallen angels" (the little pieces and bits that get broken off during the winter months)
from their more robust counterparts and from other dangers in the garden.
I also dig these little guys from places they shouldn't be, like between the pavers
on the patios.  If you don't have a garden that is over run with these guys, check
your local Home Depot for succulents in tiny pots to accomplish the same "look."

They quickly put out new roots in their protected environment and

within a few months will be ready to be transplanted back into the

garden beds.  Over the summer months other orphans and new

offsets are added as space opens up in the nursery.

  The cart allows me to move the babies in and out of the sun until they toughen up a
bit and I'm also able to bring them in under cover should the nights turn frosty again.

Our official frost date is April 20th here in Zone 10B.

It's important, if you are planting these little guys in this kind of situation, to
make sure they are not sitting on concrete or other hard surfaces that 
prevent air flow and will cook all the little roots that you are trying to grow.
You can see in the image below that this cart will allow good airflow 
from underneath the crate.

I've employed several different planting methods over the years, all

of which worked equally as well in promoting fast growth for the kids.

1. pack sphagnum moss in the base of each opening, drop in some

potting soil appropriate for succulents, which need good drainage.

Add your plant and fill around the top surface with more moss.

2.  Use the tiny little plastic pots that many succulents are sold in,

again packing the bottom of each opening with moss.  The roots

will search out the openings in the bottom of the pot and fill the

moss with a mass of roots.  When ready to plant, just cut away

the pot, retaining the new root mass with the plant.

3.  The method I used this year was to line the interior of the

crate with a lightweight screening material (you could even

use newspaper or cardboard) to keep the soil from washing

through the bottom slats of the crate. The screen can also

be stapled to the bottom of the crate, if you want the down 

and dirty quick way!  Again fill the base of each opening with

moss, add potting mix, your plant and tidy up around the top

surface adding moss if you want to, I left it off this year.

Give the whole thing a quick shower with the hose and then

watch your babies grow!  Remember that succulents don't

need a lot of water and can not take up water until they

have roots to do so.  Don't over water these kids or they

will rot and die off over just a few weeks.


Give it a try, succulents are the easiest things to grow!