Christmas – the time of year we love. With its bright lights, colour and abundance of mince pies, it sure is the season to be jolly. The gift of giving is such a huge part of this time of year, but it can also be an expensive endeavour and a difficult task.
Why not give a gift that keeps on giving? A succulent is low maintenance and an instant eye-catcher, which makes it a hassle-free and cost-effective gift this Christmas.
This cute and oh-so-easy to make gift idea, will not only be friendly to your bank account, but will most likely be budding its beauty for many Christmases to come. It’s easy for the kids to make and a great DIY gift for them to give.
What you will need:
- A glass jar/container (purchased/re-used/recycled)
- An old spoon/mixing utensil
- A plastic container or bowl
- A cup of small stones
- A cup of river sand
- A cup of potting soil
- A cup of compost
- A succulent plant (you can also break off a piece of another succulent in your garden and replant this)
- White decorative stones (optional)
- A festive ribbon and any other festive embellishments
- A gift tag and a pen
(Note: The exact amount of stones, river sand, compost and potting soil depends very much on the size of the jar/container used)
Where to buy:
Purchase your small stones, river sand, potting soil, compost, succulent and decorative stones from your local garden centre.
Buy festive ribbon, gift tags and a pen from the nearest stationer, or perhaps use old and recycled materials that you may have from a previous year’s festive season.
How it’s done:
- Ask your child to (very carefully) spoon the stones into the bottom of the glass jar, followed by the river sand.
- Get them to mix the potting soil and the compost together in the plastic container or bowl.
- Spoon the soil mixture into the glass jar on top of your river sand, ensuring that you leave enough room for the succulent to be planted.
- Gently help your child to remove the succulent from its bag and rinse off the soil.
- Place the plant’s roots into the soil in the glass jar.
- Once this is done, if you choose to, you can put some of the decorative stones around the plant.
- Tie a festive ribbon around the neck of your glass jar or container – get your child to write a festive message on the tag then punch a hole in the corner and tie it to the ribbon.
VOILA – festive, reasonable and quick gift idea done and dusted!
(Note: Succulents need partial sun and need to be watered about once a week, to ten days)
For more information on bringing Life to your Garden, visit our website www.lifeisagarden.co.za or join the conversation on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lifeisagardensa.
