I absolutely love the project I’m sharing today! This letterpress drawer vertical succulent garden combines one of my favorite thrift store finds with one of my favorite trends and is adding such a warm touch to my mantel. I’m debating whether I’ll add a few more succulents or whether I’ll hang it in a different room but for now, I’m loving this pop of green in our family room!
This project started with a vintage letterpress drawer that I scored at Goodwill one day! I actually found two of them, both priced at $2.99 each! Crazy, right? I used one on my vintage mantel last Christmas and I’ve pondered some other fun ways to use these letterpress drawers, but this one finally got a permanent new life as a vertical garden!
The details on this letterpress drawer are so great, especially the vintage pull.
I ordered mini two inch succulents online and they were absolutely the perfect size for this project. I placed them all in spots in the letterpress drawer …
… so I could see how they’d look before I actually started planting. I wanted to leave a lot of spots open so the letterpress drawer really shows but you could fill this garden in completely if you wanted.
I placed potting soil in the squares I was using …
… added the succulents, and then packed dirt in tightly around them.
Dirt obviously fell into the open spaces as well and I just used my shopvac to clean out the open spaces.
This vertical succulent garden is on my mantel, leaning up against my vintage window and surrounded by air plants in vintage spindle planters, but I may hang it on the wall in my bedroom soon. I think it’ll look pretty great no matter where I put it and I love the natural element it brings to a room.
A note: when watering these succulents, I lay the drawer flat, water lightly, and let it sit for a short period of time to allow the dirt to settle back in. Pack it again as needed but as your succulents root more, the dirt will really stay intact.
For more creative ideas using succulents, be sure to check out this cute pineapple succulent planter …
… a succulent in a mason jar …
… and a living wreath made with succulents.
Love succulents! Dollar Tree in my area actually started selling plastic versions of these plants so realistic you have to touch ’em to tell the difference. Great idea for the drawer/planter though it’s sad to wreck such a good piece of oak and a piece of history. 🙁
Love this idea, although sadly I’m a succulent killer! Maybe I could try with faux plants?
Christina @ thecheerfulspace.com
I love the way this turned out! Such a unique item to begin with and then you added succulents. I like that you selectively planted some of the spaces and left others open. It’s really nice.
Randi, this is such a great idea, I absolutely love it. Had to pin this one!
Cute idea for succulents. Thanks for sharing at the #InspirationSpotlight Party. Pinned & Shared.
Wow, this is such a great idea! But, like Christine said, I am also a succulent killer… 🙁 I tried many times. Maybe because we don’t have much natural light in our townhouse, but they just wilt after several weeks…
This is really wonderful, Randi! I would never have thought to use the drawer in such a way. Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing it with us at Funtastic Friday. Pinning & sharing 🙂
I thought I was so clever coming up with this idea, but a quick web search brought me here. 🙂 I quickly perked up though because I’ve been gemming and hawing about it all day, worrying that it’s too shallow. I also wondered if the plants would stay put without painstakingly layering scraps of mesh and landscaping fabric over each little cubby. But look at you- you just hauled off and made it happen without a lot of extra prep. Now I’m so stoked I’ll probably be working by moonlight to finish mine! 🙄 SuSince you posted this in 2017, I wonder if you could reply with how your tray has held up over time? Anyway thank you for sharing your project!
Great minds think alike! 🙂 The tray has warped on the bottom a bit so layering the bottom with plastic is probably a good idea although I think some warping will still take place. Because the succulents need just a spray of water, it works really well overall. I still just love this idea and think it’s the best way to use a letterpress drawer!
My succulents keep falling out when I stand it up – just when I get them packed down! I’m determined! Any tips??
Ugh, that stinks. I just really packed mine in with a lot of dirt and a lot of packing and they stayed. Maybe the succulents are too heavy? Mine were all quite small.