So last month at Hispanicize, I attended a breakfast hosted by Home Depot where we built terrariums with succulents and learned about the benefits of having plants inside your home. With succulents and cacti being low maintenance, it is a great way to bring some life, color and oxygen indoors. Did you know that succulents and cacti even release oxygen at night? With Mother's Day coming up, I was inspired to make a similar gift for the mothers, grandmothers and tias in our lives.
I went to Home Depot to pick up a bag of pea pebbles ($3), a bag of potting soil ($6) and a few succulents and colorful cacti ($3-$5/each). I purchased glass cylinder vases ($3.99) from the craft store for our gifts and a metal bucket to experiment with for my home.
Instead of bringing all of the supplies inside, I just took them from my truck to the front yard and called the kids outside. Any spillover of pebbles or dirt just fall right into the grass and there is minimal cleanup.
First, we poured in the rocks about an inch deep.
Second, we filled the containers with a couple inches of potting soil. Make sure to get our hands nice and dirty. My daughter said this was her favorite part, so I see more gardening in our future.
Third, we made a couple little holes, planted our succulents and cacti and filled in with more soil.
A quick trip to Home Depot, 30 minutes, 3 steps, some dirty little hands and you've got beautiful Mother's Day gifts!
Gardening, plant and flower shopping at the home improvement stores is something I always remember doing with my mom and grandma. For women who have given so much of themselves to me and my children, creating something with our hands feels like we are saying thank you with a piece of our heart.
Happy early Mother's Day to you all and happy gardening! :)