Obsessed with houseplants? Try making a living succulent picture frame

It’s an indisputable fact that we’re all obsessed with houseplants. So, if you’re looking for your next green-fingered project, follow this expert guide to making a succulent picture frame for your home. 

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Whether we’re ogling at them on Instagram, adding them to our online checkout or watering them carefully at home, it’s an irrefutable fact that we’re all obsessed with houseplants and our love for our little fern babies shows no sign of waning.

From huge, towering standing plants and hanging planters, to drooping plants and desk arrangements, it may feel as though you’ve exhausted every possible space in your home for your collection of green leafy children. Until now.

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Succulent plant frames are an incredible way to add even more greenery to your home and incorporate your love of horticulture into your interior by displaying them as part of a gallery wall. The process of making them is also an amazing way to enjoy gardening if you don’t have any access to outdoor space.

Requiring minimal equipment and time, making a succulent plant frame is the perfect hobby for beginners and long-time crafters alike. To get you started, we asked Liuva Chacón, the founder of independent business Plantamamita, which specialises in unique plant arrangements, to show us how it’s done.

“I started making succulent plant frames because I wanted to offer something different and I found that not many people had seen them before,” she says. Here is Liuva’s tutorial for making your own succulent plant frame from scratch. 

What you’ll need to make a succulent plant frame

  • Deep box picture frame
  • Wood glue
  • Brush
  • Rooting powder
  • Chicken wire
  • 200g soil
  • Succulents of choice  
  • Small pliers 
  • Large tweezers
  • Scissors 

How to make a succulent plant frame

1) Remove the glass from your frame and take both sides of it apart.

2) Paint one side of the frame with wood glue.

3) When it’s dry, cut the chicken wire to size and feed it through the frame. Then close the frame, sticking the two sides together. You may need to use pliers to do this. 

4) Fill the frame with soil and rooting powder.

5) Plant your succulents in the frame using tweezers, making sure there are no gaps.

6) Water the plants and put them in the sun for a couple of weeks to let them root.

7) Hang or display your frame. 

Liuva’s expert tips for making a unique succulent plant frame

Variation is key

When you select your succulents, Liuva recommends choosing plants in different sizes and colours: “This will give life to your frame, as well as adding height and depth.”

Group your succulents by size

Livua suggests arranging succulents by size for the best aesthetic effect. “Put your succulents in groups of three, placing similar sizes together,” she says. 

This will bring order and precision to your succulent plant frame.

Utilise the chicken wire

Chicken wire is essential as it will help hold your plants in place. Liuva explains that you must place the plants in carefully, otherwise, the plants will fall out when you hang the frame vertically.

Your plants still need sun

Even though the succulents are not planted in the ground, they still need to be in a sunny spot to thrive. “Try and find a corner of your home that gets a lot of sun,” Liuva advises. 

Before making the frame it’s worth considering whether you have a sunny space in your home to display it. If your home is shady, it might be better to pick another plant project 

Find more expert-led guides and tutorials on The Curiosity Academy’s Instagram page (@TheCuriosityAcademy).

Images: Liuva Chacón

  • Liuva Chacón, founder of Plantamamita

    Liuva launched Plantamamita, an independent family-run business based in Worcester, in September 2020.

    Liuva began growing vegetables, composting and landscaping spaces in the garden 14 years ago in her hometown Lima, Peru. 

    She is a trained gardener and landscaper and Plantamamita sells unique, eco-friendly plant arrangements that you won’t find in your usual garden centre. 

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