He Hunts, I Create

Mr. He Hunts and I both made our own versions of vertical gardens after being inspired by the post I wrote here.  I wanted to make one just like the one with succulents that I fell in love with.  As I mentioned in that last post I’ve never even bought a succulent.  Well let me tell you.  The reason is probably because they are hard to find and pretty expensive.

So today I’m going to show you two different versions.  First the version Mr. He Hunts created with a few cheapo annuals and then my version with a few not so cheapo succulents.

Mr. He Hunts started with a 6 foot piece of wood.  I think it’s a 1″ x 4″ just by looking at the picture, but he had this assembled and photographed and all put together so quickly I wasn’t even home from work yet. 

He made his box 2′ x 1′ cutting the 6 foot board into 4 pieces.  Two 2′ pieces + Two 1 ‘ pieces = 6′.  Easy math, gotta love that.

He then took some wood screws and formed a box.

Next up is the back of the box.  We still have a few pieces of MDF board left over from the guest room where I installed board and batten on the walls.  Pre-blog, wish I had the photos to show you.  But anyway, we use the leftovers all the time.  Usually as a drop cloth so ignore the red paint, it won’t show when this is all put together.

So anyway, he laid the box on top of the MDF board and traced around it.  Then used the table saw to cut it out.

Then attached that to the back using more wood screws.

Now for the front (or top) of the box he used lattice work.  This lattice work is the plastic kind you find at Lowe’s or Home Depot.  It comes in sheets of 4′ x 8′ or 2′ x 8′.  He bought the 2′ x 8′ therefore only had to make one cut (1 foot down).  Still easy math!  This can also be cut with the table saw.  After the lattice was cut to fit he attached it to the box with more wood screws.  Done, quick and easy!

But now for the fun part.  He wanted to add a little color to his box and since we always have left over spray paint in the garage he spray painted the front and sides with a bright blue.  This will be hung on the back fence in our backyard and it’ll just add a little pop of color.

He then filled the whole thing with potting soil.

Gathered the annuals (from the dollar store) and planted away.  Some of these begonias are taller than the others so he put them on one end and they will be on the bottom of the vertical garden when hung, just so they don’t hang over the smaller plants.

And there it is in it’s new home!  The sprinkler system should take care of the rest!  Pretty huh?  And pretty easy and definitely a quick, inexpensive project that anyone can make in an hour or so.

And then he made another one!  Larger this time and painted it purple.  I guess I should’ve cleaned off the dirt before I took it’s picture.  Oh well, you get the idea.  And I love them!

And by the way, these are heavy.  For the back he used 2 eye hooks with super thick coated wire (we had some from something) and then mounted it on the fence with FOUR nails nailed right in to the runner that runs horizontal behind the pickets.  And then hung it like a HUGE HEAVY picture.  So far, so good.  It’s been up for a few days and still good!

And a look at the back fence with both of them hung.  We have a little cleaning up to do with all the vines etc.  I like the softness of them but we’re both kind of scared to work over there since it’s probably mixed with a lot of poison ivy.  We get that A LOT here in Texas.

Oh, should’ve adjusted Mr. Tree Face.  Looks like his nose is a little off.

OK, now my turn.  I hope this post isn’t too long, but my version is completely different and I wanted to share this other option to making a vertical garden.

Now I mentioned that succulents were expensive and hard to find.  I know the local garden center carries them but they are inside on a tiny table and they just don’t have that many.  Then I went to Lowe’s and found some on the very bottom shelf inside with no light and they weighed nothing because the soil was bone dry.  They didn’t have a price on them but I felt sorry for them so I picked up 7 of the best looking ones they had.

I went to the register with my roll of chicken wire, a piece of wood and these 7 succulents.  Well they were $4.98 a piece so that’s $35.00 in plants so far.  But I didn’t care, so then I went home and watered those poor little succulents.  I’ve heard these last for years and I love the look.  I hear they also produce “pups” and I’ll be able to re-plant those.  Sorry, I digress.  Just seemed like a lot for a quick DIY project and I wanted to warn you.

OK enough of that, let’s get this baby built.  I also used a 6 foot long board and made my box 1′ x 2′. 

I cut my board in to two 2′ pieces and two 1 foot pieces, and then screwed them together to form a box.

After the box was made I unrolled the chicken wire and rough cut enough to cover one side of the box.

I’m going to be using a staple gun to attach this chicken wire to the inside of the box so the raw edges will be covered with dirt and moss and plants.  But just like covering a box in paper or fabric you still have to cut the corners in at an angle.  So that’s just what I did.

I only stapled every few inches to hold the chicken wire in to place.

I stapled all four sides in place and got it as tight as I could.  From this picture you can see it’s a little puffy, but it won’t matter when it’s all said and done.

After the chicken wire is securely stapled to all four sides I trimmed up any excess with the wire cutters and inserted a layer of moss.  This moss came from Michael’s.  The garden center sells moss too but this is already in sheets and easy to use so I bought this.  The home center moss was peat moss and loose, more like a mulch.

Turn the box upside down (chicken wire down) and layer in the moss in a single layer with the green side on the chicken wire.  The dirt will go in next, this moss helps the dirt from falling through the holes in the chicken wire.

Add the potting soil until the box is packed and full.

Now it’s time to attach the MDF back with all the good stuff inside.

I just used a few wood screws and done!

Flip it over and you’re ready for those succulents!

I knew I didn’t have enough plants to cover this whole garden, so I divided the plants that I had and it was super easy.  A finger breaks through the moss and dirt easily and the root system is very shallow on succulents.  So I just started planting until I’d used up all the plants.

See how little they are?  Perfect for the hole in the chicken wire.  And see my lovely nails?  Why I don’t even bother with manicures anymore.  I use my hands WAY too much to keep them nice.  But my toes, they look awesome! 

Only one of the succulents I chose at Lowe’s wasn’t dividable and too big for the holes, so I just snipped a few of the wires to make a bigger hole.

And there you have it!  Living art.  I’ll add to it later or wait for the “pups”, but I love how it turned out and I’ve learned so much about succulents, I just hope I can keep them alive.

Even the exposed moss is kind of cool.  I don’t think being partially empty will hurt my feelings at all.

Hmmm, where to put it.  In the sun for sure.  I’ve heard you can just leave them be and they’ll be fine.  Succulents should have 6 plus hours of sun a day and this in on the west side of the house, so it should be no problem.  I’ll just keep poking my fingers in there to test the moisture level and keep a good eye on them.  Right now I’ve moved them to the potting bench and I’ll share those pictures tomorrow or Friday.

I hope you too have been inspired!

Love, O.