Succulents are rising in popularity these days. Maybe you are thinking about making a succulent bowl and do not know where to even start.
Assuming you have soil and a bowl what are you going to do to make it look beautiful and artistic?
The best bowls will factor in color, texture, and height. Diversity is key when planting a succulent bowl so if you have a light colored succession plant itself, find some in a darker color.
Don’t overcrowd the bowl and shove all your plants in the bowl, let the plants breathe.
Choose One of These Succulent Plant Pots
Design One: Pop Of Red
If creating a truly bright effect is of importance to you, get yourself a red succulent to use in the center of a sea of green.
Stay with one or possibly two red plants max, to maximize the contrast of red against the green in the bowl.
Place the red near the center of the bowl, which will give it the best chance of standing out and drawing the eye into the dish.
Place the red on the edge of the bowl and the dish will look unbalanced and clumsy.
Design Two: Pop Of Green
If you are a great lover of red succulents, and you have a few to choose from, you can reverse the design you see above and have the green be the focus and the color to pull your eye in.
This succulent bowl may not seem as relaxing as the first, but it is definitely eye-catching.
Use a neutral colored bowl to set this off visually so it doesn’t clash or become garish.
When you find the right shade, try to find a shade of green to match.
Design Three: Double Dish
If you’re growing particularly moisture-sensitive succulents, the double dish system will work well.
Take your bowl and position it inside a secondary, larger bowl, and place pebbles at the bottom. While pebbles assist with drainage, they also look nice.
This is especially helpful with long, spindly succulents since the bowl will promote a contained look without sacrificing the ease of looking after each succulent.
Handy tip: It helps if the two bowls look equally attractive, for example, two terracotta pots.
Design Four: Half And Half
Experimenting with color is always entertaining, and one great thing about succulents is there are so many different options.
An interesting and creative thing to do is to section your bowl (divide the bowl in half; half the bowl with green plants and the other half with purple plants.
You could go even further and do a quarter with red, a quarter with purple, a quarter with dark green, and a quarter with light green.
Just be sure to use a big enough container that gives your plants plenty of room to grow and spread instead of looking cramped and uncomfortable.
And remember, the colors need to complement each other, and not create a clash with one another when planted together.
Design Five: Trailing Succulents
There are a plethora of beautiful cascading succulents, and one of the most stunning and playful designs uses cascading succulents.
Place cascading succulents right at the rim of the bowl and let them cascade down over the sides of the pot.
You can make a bowl with just one kind of cascading succulent, or you could make a bowl with different kinds of cascading succulents.
If you feel like you want to add in some tall specimens as well- those will look beautiful in the middle of the pot also, but you can always stick with cascading varieties if you prefer!
Design Six: Simple Spikes
There are a variety of spiky plants to choose from. Some people like spikes rather than soft fronds and there are plenty of spiny succulents as well!
If you want to create a spiky look, you can easily do that!
Just plant a few different kinds of succulents like aloe vera, but make sure that the tallest ones are in the middle, or the back of the bowl.
This will help you be able to see everything. Use high and low elements to keep the eye wandering.
Design Seven: Combine Large And Small
If you’re looking to add a succulent with big, wide, flat leaves, try to pair it with some varieties of succulents with small delicate leaves.
It’ll contrast nicely so you’ll do well with both and a succulent bowl filled with multiple sizes should thrive.
Works Well: Desiring to maximize a big and small pairing, it could go either way. Try to surround the big plants with the little plants; or even tall plants in the center and short ones outside. This will maximize the way the eye is caught by the size difference!
Design Eight: Go For A Single Focal Point
One of the best tricks is to have one striking, tall and bold succulent.
You can pair this with the technique above, but just ensure that you have one striking, large and bright plant, and surround it with “background” plants.
The background plants will typically be smaller and not be bright colours.
The background plants provide somewhere for the eye to rest, and allow you to solely focus on the striking large succulent at the middle.
Design Nine: Lone Plant
If you like simple, minimalist designs, and you have a pretty bowl for your succulent, a really good idea is to plant just one succulent, dead center, in the bowl.
The placement gives it distinction and grabs the eye!
It is important to consider what kind of bowl you will have and the position of the succulent.
Your Choice: If you are going to have a succulent plant arrangement, think about the pots surroundings, or where the people are looking for the succulent and what their eyes are drawn to, so that the plant gets the attention it deserves.
Design Ten: Add Lots
Sometimes, It is said that planters that are busy are more gorgeous. If you are a real succulent lover, you will probably have difficulty choosing between your favorites; so don’t!
Just get as many as you want, and find a wide, shallow bowl to put them in.
Just make sure to take your time placing all of the different succulents, and decide where the front of the planter is.
All of the shorter succulents should go towards the front, and then the taller succulents will work their way backward once again in height order.
This will allow all of the succulents to be viewed nicely from the front!
Design Eleven: Minimize The Planter
For most plantings, the bowl you’re using is going to matter significantly to the overall display. It is imperative to consider the planter’s color and design and how they work with the succulents you’ve selected.
That being said, you might want to try reducing the planter and getting it as invisible as possible.
This will allow your succulents to appear natural, as if actually planted in or upon your home.
To accomplish this, opt for trailing succulents that cover the edge of the planter and choose the shallowest planter your succulents can tolerate.
Completing the illusion, if you can inset the planter so that the top is level with a surface, that would complete the illusion!
Design Twelve: Use A Wooden Planter
Transform your succulent into a more natural look with a wooden planter.
Pick one that is nicely textured and organic, and fill it with plants that tumble over the edges for a maximal organic effect.
Design Thirteen: Use A Modern Planter
Succulents are so versatile, so if you’re not into the rustic designs, that’s totally okay too!
Succulents can also look great in a modern planter, especially if you choose one of the more structured and stiff looking succulents.
For example, a trailing, organic one may not look as good in a square pot with geometric shapes, but the more shaped, neat succulents should do well.
Design Fourteen: Mini Succulents
Rather than populating one massive planter with different succulents, consider making groups of mini succulents in mini pots.
You can pot a bunch of them and set them snug in one tray, each in their own (or in an assorted) pot.
They are super cute to have, and it eliminates any possibility of the plants in the large bowl dwarfing any of the new ones you are trying to grow.
Design Fifteen: Opt For Flowers
It’s really a challenge to get most succulents to bloom indoors, but you still might select a few that are known to bloom.
You might eventually coax your plant to bloom every so often, and blooming succulents are so gorgeous.
Don’t forget: that you leave enough space around your plants so that when they bloom, everyone can enjoy it!
Design Sixteen: Hanging Succulents
If you don’t have any room, but you want to plant them with succulents use a hanging container, they can drape down over the edges.
If you hang it high enough, you can also enjoy the plants draping down over the edges.
Add some moss for a suspended air feel, and you officially have an awesome planter!
Design Seventeen: Make A Wreath
The beauty of a succulent wreath is amazing and it’s one of the most beautiful things you could have in your home, but be careful—this could be a hard project!
Using a wreath form made of sphagnum moss (for the purpose of being able to water, of course) you’ll also need lots of succulents.
You can plant the succulents in clusters around the wreath to make sure you cover all of the edges of the wreath form and then finish filling with the remaining succulents.
You can use trailing succulents and non-trailers for some contrast, and when you’re thinking about using trailing and non-trailing succulent, think about what your color scheme will be.
Some people like their wreath to represent one color scheme, while others like to mix it up a bit.
Design Eighteen: Birdcage Succulents
Birdcages can be an excellent decoration – especially one that is truly beautiful.
Start with sphagnum moss as a bottom layer to keep everything moist, then add lots of different types of succulents.
You can either just allow the succulents to trail down from the inside of the bird cage or you can wrap them around the bars.
I also suggest adding some height too – it adds some structure and creates a little variety in the look.
You can hang this outside or any place in your home, either way it’s a fun decor item that people will discuss!
Design Nineteen: Terrarium Succulents
If you want to create a tropical feel in your home, a terrarium is an ideal option.
Because glass helps to retain moisture, you can grow some of the more difficult succulents that thrive in moist conditions.
You can be adventurous.
Decision You Need to Make: You may decide that it would be beneficial to incorporate light to help plant growth and to control the light levels – some succulents are more complicated in terms of controlling light. Terrariums give you the control!
Design Twenty: A Fairy Garden
A lot of succulents are appealing because they resemble baby plants of their full-size cousins, and that’s what makes them so wonderful for building a small fairy garden.
Plant your succulents in and around a small house or purchase or make tiny tools.
You can add a little hand-made plants if you want tiny mushrooms or add a tiny fairy statue for the complete magical touch.
Don’t add glitter though as it will hurt your plants. Doing this is a great way to interest a child and give them a place to leave letters for the fairies!
Design Twenty-one: Succulent Bookends
A lot of you feel that plants and books are indeed meant to be together and I think if you share this sentiment, you too will love the idea of succulent bookends!
Buy two matching – and decently tall – containers to pair your succulents in, and then fill them up with gravel at the bottom to make them heavier.
Make sure it is heavy enough to keep your books upright.
Put in a succulent or two in each potted container, and put them on either side of your bookcase to create perfect, soothing decor.
It is better to select soft, flowy types of succulents to also make sure they fit the book decor, but if you have your favorite kind of succulent plants, feel free to use them!
Conclusion
Regardless of how you choose to display your succulents, you will be happy to display them at the end.
Just be mindful of height, color, texture, and the pot, etc.
These are the things that matter, so be creative!
If you decide you don’t like a display later, you can always change it.
Succulents are beautiful living, growing, changing things, and you can always redesign it at any time to display their beauty even better!