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I'm so excited... we've been wanting to make shell gardens for ages.
If you are like us, you are longing for Spring to arrive. We've had a number of lovely sunny days here in Southern California but then a cold front has visited, the snow has fallen on the mountains and the freezing wind has returned, driving us back indoors. We have been looking forward to gardening... looking forward to planting sweet peas, ranunculus and poppies but the cold has kept us out of the garden. Today was wonderfully sunny and as I was cleaning out our shell shell display that lives in the garden, I remembered a photo I had seen a while back of a little garden planted in a shell. Kitty and Teddy were just as excited as I was to give it a try.
We chose two of the largest shells we could find (yes, that is an earthworm in the shell... it's Teddy's new pet and he was very worried that it might escape while we were 'photoing' the shell)
He was much more comfortable 'photoing' the smaller shell while holding his earthworm in his other hand.
As our shells have no drainage holes in them, we decided to use succulents that don't need to be watered very often. It's easier to prevent the shell from becoming water logged if you plant something that doesn't require frequent watering. I took some cuttings from the succulents we have growing on our deck... cuttings work very well; simply stick the cutting in the soil, give it a little water and roots should sprout on their own.
We put a little carbon in the bottom of the shells. Carbon helps to prevent mold and other unwanted organisms from taking over your shell. It's not absolutely necessary but I had some on hand and so decided to use it.
We covered the carbon with a little soil and packed it down firmly.
Then we planted our succulents.
Our shell gardens really are amazingly beautiful. We've put them on our outside deck cupboard, where they are sheltered from wind and rain and we can watch them grow every day.
You see, you can still garden even when Spring hasn't quite arrived yet :-)
Blessings and magic,Donni
15 comments:
How beautiful! Makes me wish I had a seashell big enough to do this, but mine would have to stay indoors, as we are still buried in snow ;)
I agree ... so lovely! Yes, the thought of shells,oceans and green growing things brings a smile to my face. :)
really pretty! i love succulents and can't wait to have my own garden again one day. maybe i'll have to find some conch shells before we leave here!
the shell gardens are really beautiful, they look absolutely magical displayed indoors :)
they are gorgeous! bring on the spring! ;)
Wow, I love this! Thanks for sharing.
What an adorable idea! My children will love this!! (Me too)
Love this project. We also are still deeply buried in snow, so it was fun to see your kids enjoying the outside without being bundled up like we are.
I wish I had some big shells to plant in now! How beautiful, thank you for sharing. :)
Awesome!
Neat, neat, neat.
beautiful ~ love new life inside while winter continues to fly outside. thanks for the inspiration
Shanti
We are going to Mexico in a few weeks....I have been meaning to make a mermaid fairy garden in a shell similar to the ones in your post....I will share them if we get them together!!
Thank you for your continued inspiration!!
what a great idea! I think we may give that a try, could help with the winter duldrums that are setting in around here.
This is beautiful! I love it, I can't wait to try it.
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