Cute Summer Patio DIY! Sempervivum Edition
Oh My Gosh!
Yes I know, I have well and truly jumped on the succulent & Sempervivum bandwagon but how could I not?!
They are such beautiful, architectural looking plants that add character along with an element of fun to any garden. And I mean, any garden.
Sempervivums, otherwise known as houseleek's, are generally neat, tidy and compact funky little plants. Ideal for any sized container, basket, wall planter, border, rockery, wall garden... etc etc!
They do spread in the sense that they throw off many little 'babies' which can be kept maintained to fit the space you have in your garden (even if just a small pot!) or you can be productive and propagate the little baby Semps' to grow on.
A low maintenance dream too! The Sempervivum I have chosen is a type of succulent.
They can store water and thrive in dry spots of the garden, ideal for any periods of drought (not a problem we face so much any more in the UK!) and are quite hardy, enabling them to stay outside 12 months of the year in the UK.
Now, on to the DIY....
I really wanted to create something with a little contemporary twist for our patio table, we have so much work to do in our garden, but for now, just having a mini oasis sitting in the middle of our outdoor table is a must.
The variety I used for my DIY is Sempervivum arachnoideum tomentosum, AKA the Woolly Houseleek. I am so fascinated by the gorgeous cob-webbing that these plants produce, when morning due is resting on the little cob-webs they glisten and glitter in the sunlight.
I'm taking a wild guess here that the cob-web on the spikes holds some explanation to the name of this variety of Sempervivum, 'arachnoideum'? which I believe has a meaning of spider or similar?... let me know in the comments below if you know the answer :)
I love the vibrant green, spiky looking foliage that creates a fresh look, working happily in contrast with the silver galvanized buckets I have used for this DIY.
In the summer they bloom vibrant rosy-pink flowers, adding a hit of colour to the garden as well as another contrast to the vibrant green spikes.
I have mentioned that I wanted to create a contemporary look by using silver galvanized containers which work fantastically well with any Semp you may choose. However, I wanted to add a little rustic-chic to this DIY too so I have used natural coloured raffia to decorate the containers & recycled candle jars along with a super sweet slate hanging heart to finish off the look.
I won't run through a step by step within this blog, Ill let my DIY video tutorial do all the work here.
Just before you get started, this is everything I used for my DIY;
Shopping list:
3 Sempervivum of your choice
3 Silver galvanized containers to fit plants
3 Handfuls of alpine or small chip gravel
Good quality compost
Raffia (I choose natural)
Optional:
Slate heart
Chalk
3 Jam jars, cleaned
3 Tealights*
Tools:
Hammer
Nail/Bradawl
Scissors
Lighter/Matches*
I really hope you enjoy my now third DIY video on YouTube!
Please let me know in the comments if there are any garden and home DIY or question and answer videos that you would like me to create in the near future and Ill see what I can do
Let's Get Started!
Click the video link below to watch my full tutorial for this project
Happy Gardening!
Yes I know, I have well and truly jumped on the succulent & Sempervivum bandwagon but how could I not?!
They are such beautiful, architectural looking plants that add character along with an element of fun to any garden. And I mean, any garden.
They do spread in the sense that they throw off many little 'babies' which can be kept maintained to fit the space you have in your garden (even if just a small pot!) or you can be productive and propagate the little baby Semps' to grow on.
A low maintenance dream too! The Sempervivum I have chosen is a type of succulent.
They can store water and thrive in dry spots of the garden, ideal for any periods of drought (not a problem we face so much any more in the UK!) and are quite hardy, enabling them to stay outside 12 months of the year in the UK.
I really wanted to create something with a little contemporary twist for our patio table, we have so much work to do in our garden, but for now, just having a mini oasis sitting in the middle of our outdoor table is a must.
The variety I used for my DIY is Sempervivum arachnoideum tomentosum, AKA the Woolly Houseleek. I am so fascinated by the gorgeous cob-webbing that these plants produce, when morning due is resting on the little cob-webs they glisten and glitter in the sunlight.
I'm taking a wild guess here that the cob-web on the spikes holds some explanation to the name of this variety of Sempervivum, 'arachnoideum'? which I believe has a meaning of spider or similar?... let me know in the comments below if you know the answer :)
I love the vibrant green, spiky looking foliage that creates a fresh look, working happily in contrast with the silver galvanized buckets I have used for this DIY.
In the summer they bloom vibrant rosy-pink flowers, adding a hit of colour to the garden as well as another contrast to the vibrant green spikes.
I won't run through a step by step within this blog, Ill let my DIY video tutorial do all the work here.
Just before you get started, this is everything I used for my DIY;
Shopping list:
3 Sempervivum of your choice
3 Silver galvanized containers to fit plants
3 Handfuls of alpine or small chip gravel
Good quality compost
Raffia (I choose natural)
Optional:
Slate heart
Chalk
3 Jam jars, cleaned
3 Tealights*
Tools:
Hammer
Nail/Bradawl
Scissors
Lighter/Matches*
I really hope you enjoy my now third DIY video on YouTube!
Please let me know in the comments if there are any garden and home DIY or question and answer videos that you would like me to create in the near future and Ill see what I can do
Let's Get Started!
Click the video link below to watch my full tutorial for this project
Happy Gardening!
* I would personally recommend that you use LED battery powered lights if you want to keep this DIY project safe when using
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