How to Make Beautiful Succulent Floral Arrangements

Discover the art of designing amazing floral arrangements with succulents.

Today is the third Fabulous Friday Link Party Blog Hop.

The Fabulous Friday Link Party is where the best blog posts are curated by fellow bloggers every week. Get inspired with creative home decor ideas, delicious recipes, craft projects, gardening tips, and more.

A couple of times a year, the Link Party invites a few talented bloggers to showcase their skills in a special Blog Hop – and this quarter, we’re all about the garden. Get ready to be inspired!

Follow along to see 12 wonderful gardening related ideas. All the links to the hosts and their featured blogger friends are at the end of this blog post

I have not always been a fan of succulent plants and did not have any in my garden until a few years ago.

When a big drought hit Southern California, and there was minimal water for your live plants., being a plant lover, I decided that it was time to embrace succulents and cactus plants.

At the time, My husband and I were traveling to many of the vintage shows selling our wares, and I decided to set up a succulent bar at the shows. I would sell the plants and a variety of decorative containers (more about those later), and then I would plant them for the customers. This was a big hit, and I had so much fun creating these beautiful arrangements. As you can see these were not your ordinary succulent planters.

The Beauty of Succulents 

Succulents require minimal care and make an excellent choice for plant lovers whether or not you have a green thumb. They require very little water, most like direct sunlight, and are very low maintenance plants.

Occasions to use Succulent Floral Arrangements 

Succulent gifts are wonderful to give for any occasion like Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, or even as a small hostess gift.

I have also created wedding flowers using succulents. You can mix the succulents with fresh floral arrangements or use them alone. I have enjoyed designing succulent bouquets, boutonnieres, succulent centerpieces, and wedding cakes. 

Variety of Succulents 

There are more than 10,000 different varieties of succulents from around the world.

Here are a few of what I have used in my arrangements over the years.

1. Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum tactorum)
2. Dwarf Jade Plant (Portulacaria afra)
3. Jelly Bean or Pork and Beans (Sedum rubrotinctum)
4. Mexican Firecracker (Echeveria setosa)
5. Moonstones Plant (Pachyphytum oviferum)
6. Mother of Pearl or Ghost Plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense)
7. Panda Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa)
8. Ruby Glow Peperomia (Peperomia graveolens)
9. Stonecrop (Sedum sp.)
10. String of Buttons (Crassula perforata)
11. Zebra Plant (Haworthiopsis, formerly Haworthia, attenuate)
12. Cobweb Houseleek (Sempervivum arachnoideum)
13. Aloe Vera
14. Agave
15. String of Dolphins (Senecio peregrinus)
16. String of Pearls (Senecio Rowleyanus)
17. Burro’s Tail or Burrito (Sedum morganianum)

Supplies to Make a Succulent Arrangement with Fresh Flowers

1. A container
2. twine or ribbon if you are making a bouquet
3. An assortment of succulents 
4. Fresh flowers of your choice 
5. Wire 
6. 6-10″ long wooden skewers
7. Greenery
8. Clippers
9. Leaf Shine

Watch How to Make a Quick and Easy Succulent Floral Arrangement

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Directions to Make a Succulent Floral Arrangement

• Prepare your succulents and wire them to a wooden skewer.
• Spray the leaves of the succulents with leaf shine for a bright and shiny look.

• Lay out a layer of greenery on a table .
• Continue to layer your flowers and greenery on the table or in your hands until you reach your desired look.
• Wire the bouquet together .
• Add ribbon if you choose.

Supplies to Make a Planted Succulent Floral Arrangement

1. Container of choice with holes in the bottom for drainage.
2. Small rocks to line the bottom of your container about 1″ deep.
3. Cactus planting soil. 
4. Assortment of succulents. 
5. Dried moss to place around your succulents.

Directions to Make a Succulent Planter

1. Line the bottom of the container with an inch of small pebbles for drainage.
2. Add some cactus soil.
3. Creatively place your plants with the tallest plants in the back and some trailing plants in the front.
4. Add a bit more cactus soil to cover all of the roots of your plants.
5. Cover the soil with moss around the plants.

Use Creative Containers for Your Plantings 

I love to use vintage containers. I have planted in some pretty unusual vessels over the years.

Thinking outside the box, I took a unique approach to repurposing vintage garden tools. I transformed them into charming planters by inverting them and creating wire baskets. My innovative projects were even highlighted in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Check out the full story here to learn more.

At the succulent bar, I displayed vintage containers that I had collected from Estate sales— ranging from retro strainers, sifters, colanders, to even dustpans. These fun containers added a touch of charm to my customer’s succulent floral arrangements.

Tool boxes were another favorite to fill, and I even planted a few chairs.

Challenge yourself to get creative and think outside of the box. Recycle something old from the garage or the kitchen, it will give you great satisfaction.

And how can I forget these adorable birdhouses. My husband would build these darling houses for me and I would create a moss roof, staple a piece of chicken wire over the moss and plant the roofs with succulents.

Creating Succulent Wreaths 

I had a great time bringing this vibrant project to life. I curated a selection of succulents in all the colors of the rainbow to create a magnificent wreath.

Supplies to Make a Rainbow Succulent Wreath

• A living wreath floral frame
• A large piece of burlap
• Cactus soil
• An Exacto knife
• A pencil
• An assortment of rainbow succulents
• Floral pins
• Watercolors
• Paintbrush

Directions to make a Rainbow Succulent Wreath

You will need a living wreath frame like these.

Cut a circle of burlap that is large enough for your wreath frame (depending on the size you choose)

Paint the piece of burlap with your water colors in a rainbow pattern. Let this dry.

If you like, you can use the coconut lining that is in the frame (note, I have not tried to paint the coconut fiber, so I cannot tell you how that will turn out)

Otherwise, you will replace this coconut fiber with the burlap in one piece.

Once the fabric has dried, it will fit into the frame, you will then fill the fabric lining with cactus soil. Cover the soil with one side of the overhanging fabric, and then the other side. Now hook the back of the frame onto the wreath to look like the center image. below.

Selecting your plants for the rainbow wreath

• Decide which plants you will plant in each colored section.
• Using an Exacto knife, make a small X in the burlap where you want to plant each plant.
• Use a pencil to create a hole in the soil.
• Insert your plant or cutting into the soil.
• If needed you can use floral pins to hold the plant in place.
• Continue to do this until your entire wreath is planted.

As a decoration for one of my small outdoor tables, this wreath brings a touch of charm to my space. Since it’s on the heavier side, I prefer to keep it on the table rather than hanging it on a wall.

Succulents are the perfect addition to any floral arrangement or planter, and add a touch of vibrant beauty to indoor and outdoor events alike. With the right materials, you can enhance your garden in nearly endless ways. Whether you’re creating a succulent wall for your home decor, handcrafting wedding florals for that special someone, weaving colored stems into a rainbow wreath, or transforming ordinary seats into planted chairs; the possibilities are virtually endless.

Until next time!

Visit all 12 Blogs for More Garden Inspiration

• How to Repurpose Old Tools into Succulent Planters
• How To Make 27 Unique Summer Front Door Wreath And More
• How to Make An Amazing Easter Floral Decor with Vegetables
• Saturday Sharing from the She-shed Volume 19
• How to make a Fresh Lemon Wreath