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05/20/2015

Repurposed Succulent Lantern Mini-Garden

Show of hands: who else works on gardening projects over the holiday weekend?  I live in Michigan, so it’s usually the first (safe) chance I get for outdoor gardening.  We’ll be fixing up the deck and working on the yard, and adding some fun ideas I’ve been collecting this winter.  So, I thought that a little gardening project would be fun to share with you today, and whether you’re working in your yard or not, you should be able to find space for these lantern mini-gardens!

Repurposed Lantern Mini-Gardens with Succulents at www.happyhourprojects.com

I love a great repurposing project, and this one is fun, fast, and easy!  Repurposed metal lanterns make a fun addition to your decor, and you can even grow some plants inside them!  Succulents are very resilient, they can grow in shallow soil, and they don’t need daily watering, making them a great choice for a little lantern garden.  Or two.  :)

I shared this project over at the Consumer Crafts blog, Crafts Unleashed, last month for Earth Day.  Our lantern gardens are surviving and thriving after about 6 weeks, and the small ones have even sprouted new shoots!  See, I tend to kill just about everything I try to plant, so I wanted a hearty plant that didn’t need daily care. I planted Hens and Chicks (the more common name for Sempervivum – the “live forever” plant) in these lanterns, and I’ll show you how to make your own lantern mini-garden today!  Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Lanterns (I used these black votive lanterns).
  • Regular Mouth Mason Jar Ring.
  • Pliers.
  • Potting Soil.
  • Small Succulent Plants.

Repurposed Lantern Mini-Gardens with Succulents at www.happyhourprojects.com

First, set up your work station outdoors, or cover your table with newspaper or plastic to keep it clean, because dirt is… well, dirty!  I just laid out a plastic bag to keep things tidy in my kitchen.

Carefully remove the glass from your lantern.  That will give your plant a little more space to grow, and make the whole planter less fragile.  Gently bend the metal prongs that hold the glass in place with pliers, and remove the glass panels.  You may want to wear protective gloves to be safe during this step.

Repurposed Lantern Mini-Gardens with Succulents at www.happyhourprojects.com

Next, add a mason jar ring to the bottom of your lantern.  You don’t need the lid itself, just the ring (and chances are, you already have one leftover from your last mason jar craft, right?)  Succulents prefer to have good drainage, so a loose ring in the bottom of your lantern will allow the water to flow away from the roots, while holding the soil inside.  Alternately, you could use any short base that fits your lantern, as long as it has drainage holes, but the 3″ regular mouth ring is a perfect fit in the bottom of my 3″ square lantern.

Fill the lid loosely with soil, and plant your succulent plant.  Be sure to cover the roots with soil.  If some soil spills into the lantern, that’s okay!  But you want the majority of it to be inside the ring, for your plants.

Repurposed Lantern Mini-Gardens with Succulents at www.happyhourprojects.com

Use big or small plants – whatever you like!  I filled my lanterns with both sizes.  You can also mix and match if you have space.  I am going to be honest here and admit that I didn’t leave my plants much room to grow. Chances are, they will need to be transplanted, or at least have the shoots (the “chicks”) removed and put in a separate container garden later on this season.  But for this spring and summer, they do make for beautiful decor in small spaces.

Repurposed Lantern Mini-Gardens with Succulents at www.happyhourprojects.com

You can put your mini lantern gardens on a sunny window sill, on a mantel, or hang them from hooks in your garden!  Just be sure to water them every few days if you’re keeping them indoors – the soil should be damp, but not soaked – and they love sunshine.

Repurposed Lantern Mini-Gardens with Succulents at www.happyhourprojects.com

I’m hoping to put another project together to share with you before the weekend arrives, but the to-do list is long… and the weather is gorgeous.  I may just see you next week. ;) Thanks for joining me today, and I hope you have a great holiday weekend!

Adrianne Surian Signature

Filed Under: Featured, Home Decor, Home Improvement, Outdoor Projects, Recycled Projects, Tutorials Tagged With: DIY, easy, garden, kids, lantern, miniature, outdoor, recycled, repurpose, small spaces, succulents

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I love it when you love my work! All tutorials and photos published at Happy Hour Projects are copyrighted. If you would like to feature my tutorial on your website or share it on your social media you may use one photo to feature, as long as you provide a link back to the original post.

If you feature a photo, it may not be accompanied by the project tutorial or recipe, whether in my own words as it originally appears or paraphrased by you. This also includes personal sharing on social media and Pinterest. Publishing multiple photos from a project, or including instructions with an accompanying photo are not permitted and you will be asked to remove them.

I love to share my projects, and my tutorials, recipes, and e-books are ALL free for your personal use. However, photos and ideas that are published to this site are my protected intellectual property. You may print them at home, but please do not copy or distribute them. I also allow all designs to be made and sold at fundraisers, craft fairs, etc. If you are selling a piece made from one or more of my free tutorials in your online shop, I require that you use your own, original photography, and include a link back to my website to credit me as the designer.

I hope you enjoy what you read here, and please be fair when you share!

Reader Interactions

Comments

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    08/18/2018 at 8:31 am

    Having read this I believed it was extremely enlightening.

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    Reply
  2. Marilyn says

    05/22/2015 at 3:10 pm

    These lanterns are so cute….I LOVE the succulents

    Reply
  3. Roxana White says

    05/22/2015 at 5:57 am

    Adrianne, You have done it again! I am not blogging much anymore but I do still lurk on my favorite bloggers! Another great post :) I have fallen in love with succulents recently and I have 3 laterns waiitng for plants. but i didn’t know what to use a base. Perfect idea! Thank you! I’m sharing this on my new facebook page ;)

    Reply
    • Latoya says

      04/16/2016 at 1:46 am

      Thee’rs nothing like the relief of finding what you’re looking for.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. SUCCULENT DECOR – For the lazy gardener! - The Life Studio says:
    03/22/2018 at 2:22 am

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Hello, and welcome! I'm Adrianne, an artist, author, designer, and blogger in mid Michigan. I work from home, chase my two kids, and this once-city-girl is learning how to care for chickens and adjusting to life out in the country. I have a compulsion for daily creativity... sometimes it's jewelry-making, paper crafting, metal stamping, mixing and baking, or giving new life to recycled items. But with 2 young kids, time is short! My goal here at Happy Hour Projects is to share projects and tips that you can do in an hour or less. The ideas you find here are designed to add a little creativity in your day, no matter how much (or how little) time you have!

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