This is what the metal basket looked like unaltered. First step was to give it a coat of anti-rust paint.
To enable the basket to retain soil, I used a double layer of window screen material to line the bowl of the basket. To hold it in place, I used florist pins pushed through the screening and then I cut off the excess screen with scissors.
Next I removed the pins and covered the screening with a layer of long-fiber sphagnum moss. I prepared the moss layer by soaking bunches of the moss in water until it softened and then shaped the moss into even-layered sheets.
The plants and their minimal root balls were placed on the moss and covered by spooning soil over the roots. I added the other plants as I was filling the basket with more soil. With not much soil below the root balls, watering must be done slowly, thoroughly, and more frequently.
A spray water bottle adjusted to gentle jet spray is great for targeting water onto the soil and not the succulents.
I decided to have two separate planted sides to the basket, so that each side would have its own individual look. Here's a photo of the basket planted in 2013 with each side having different plants. The planting lasted almost two years.
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Beautiful! by donnabking | Jul 28, 2016 12:59 PM | 2 |
Untitled by MelanieFScott | Jul 27, 2016 5:07 PM | 1 |
Love it! by MISSINGROSIE | Jul 25, 2016 4:14 AM | 6 |
Metal basket love! by sewjoe | Jul 23, 2016 1:48 PM | 1 |
Untitled by crawgarden | Jul 22, 2016 1:59 PM | 9 |