succulents — Blog

I've been stumped by the light well outside our kitchen forever. Over the years I have tried to grow potted herbs, jasmine and other forgotten flowers with zero success. Depending on the time of year, the sunlight in the space is either dull or searing, which left most plants totally fried or straining for light. Combined with my absolute annoyance with having to water plants, the space was a lost cause of barren vines and dried leaves.

But all that has changed! While walking around Flora Grubb (a best-of-the-west home gardening shop in SF) last June, I came across a display with these vertical planters. Having been defeated by the light well so many times before, I cautiously came home with just one of the containers. After playing around with the layout a bit, I decided to go all in and buy 5 more containers, plus a load of succulents.

Designing each planter was like making a living art collage. I found that contrasting the colors and textures made them more interesting. But the key was getting a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood and painting it a bright, fresh green color as a back drop for the planters. It really made the whole display pop.

Over a year later, I'm happy to report that I've sustained life in the light well!

Hot Tip: 1) Play around with the arrangement while the plants are still in their plastic container. 2) Use coconut fiber to help keep the vertical plants stable and keep the soil moist between watering. 3) Picking the right color backboard makes a world of difference.