Meghan helpfully sent me a few ideas for birthday and Mother’s Day presents for Monica. Once idea she sent that caught my attention was an “initial” succulent planter. Ideally, this would be something that could either stand up by itself, lay flat as a centerpiece, or be hung on a wall outside. Meghan’s idea was that Monica would bring it to her classroom at school since it doesn’t have an windows or natural light.

Of course… this looked relatively straightforward to make, and having a Mahogany deck means I always have extra pieces laying around. So it was off the the wood planer and the build!

This was a (relatively) quick (3-day) project. After I cut and glued the basic shape, I also cut a plywood backing. I sprayed the inside with “Flexi-seal” since I wanted to add an extra level of water-resistance to the inside.

Next, it was off to the store for supplies. I bought a bunch of succulents from Home Depot and some small plastic seedling planters. I transferred individual plants into container that just happened to fit perfectly inside the “M”. I also bought some elastic shock-cord from REI which I fed through eye-hooks hidden inside the frame. This keeps the plants from falling out when the M is displayed vertically. Finally, I tucked some decorative moss into any cracks and used it to hide to cordage.

It came out exactly as Meghan and I wanted – and Monica loved it. One thing I realized is that succulents are very fragile, so I didn’t think this would do well in a classroom of curious high school students. Monica agrees. We’re not sure how it will be displayed, but it looks like it will be indoors at home until it warms up a little outside.