Space Succulents: A Raypunk Container Garden

Whether you're a scientist in hermitage on a far-flung world or a ship captain nurturing the remnants of some sort of sentient botanicals, it certainly helps to have an interesting way to display some strange vegetative companions. Alternately us poor Earth-bound souls can create a container garden that reminds us to dream of distant planets and zany space adventures. Turns out all it takes is a few curious-looking succulents, a container of a sleek, modern design, and a few well-chosen decorative details.


Materials
-Small modern planter
-3 4-oz succulents
-Potting soil for dry-loving plants
-Lavender decorative sand
-Oddities

1. Gather the materials
Most of this was from the hardware store. For the succulents I chose a Jade plant variety "Ogre ears", Blue chalk sticks, and Crassula variegata. These little 4-oz size succulents were about $4 each. The pot was pretty nice already, modern yet naturalistic. It was about $10 but worth it for the quality. The lavender sand and glass pebbles I picked up from a dollar store.


2. Paint the pot
To make the details on the pot stand out more I decided to paint the bottom edge gold. To ensure the rest of the pot remained clean I covered it in a plastic bag and taped it closed. Then I added a few layers of gold spray paint, let dry, then added a layer of clear coat sealer. Once dry, I decided to reversed the bag to protect the painted detail during the potting process (since it can take 24 hours for the clear coat to cure completely).


3. Plant the plants
To the bottom of the pot I arranged some stones over the drain hole to ensure to help with drainage.


Then I started adding in soil. When I got near the top I freed the plants from their pots, being sure to loosen up their roots. Then add some more soil on top. Tamp down everything firmly, then use a squirt bottle to settle the dirt.


4. Finishing touches
Sure the plants in themselves look like they come from another planet, but it's the details that can make it pop. There's no lavender sand on Earth, so I carefully spooned in some to create an even layer.


For a little bit more I added some glass pebbles.


And there you have it, a neat little succulent garden worthy of a place on a spaceship or Terran colony somewhere. Good luck and keep crafting!



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