DIY: Trough Planter Liners and Succulent Garden

A few weeks ago I posted the picture below on my Instagram.

I used to blog about my balcony garden quite often

but life got busy and my gardening was put aside.

I recently got the gardening bug again

and figured a succulent garden would be less work,

so today I'm sharing how easy it was to make mine!

I already had four of these awesome trough planters on hand.

I used to have coconut liners in them with seasonal flowers,

but I got sick of replacing them all too often

and sadly just had empty planters for awhile.

I had plans to purchase more coconut liners,

but in all honesty I wanted a different option.

While coconut liners look pretty nice,

it's my experience that they don't hold up well.

And after very little effort I think I found a good alternative...

WEED CONTROL FABRIC!!!

My original though was to use rolls of burlap,

but the two rolls above caught my eye at a 99 cent store!

Together they cost me less than five dollars,

which is a lot cheaper than coconut liners,

so even if it didn't work I hadn't wasted that much money.

Before I even started on the project,

I knew the liners wouldn't be perfect or even close.

I am a HUGE perfectionist,

but I am not great at sewing by any means.

Please keep that in mind as you continue to read.

I simply wrapped one end of the liner around the trough planter,

making sure to leave extra so it lines not only the outside of the planter,

but so that it line the inside of the planter as well

I figured double lining would hold up best!

Just like with a past DIY post, I had a cute furry little helper!

Hopefully this shot gives you a better idea of how I was wrapping the liner.

Once I knew the exact size I needed,

I cut not only one for the planter I was working on,

but four in the same size to line all my trough planters!

Now the sewing fun begins!

(Sense the sarcasm???)

I first sewed the liner so it was secure to one side of the trough planter,

pulled the fabric tight and re-positioned it before continuing to sew the other side.

Like I warned you, it doesn't look super pretty...

And the inside lining didn't look any better...

But that really didn't matter in the long run,

because all these guys would cover the inside anyway!

After putting the succulents into groups and arranging them in the trough planters,

I removed them from their plastic pots and put them in the soil.

While they looked pretty good as is,

I just knew they were missing something!

After very little though, I realized it was decorative gravel that was missing.

A quick trip to OSH and I came home with a 20 pound bag to finish my DIY project!

Last but not least - I'm happy to report that everything is still living after a few weeks!

This post contains affiliate links meaning I may make a small commission for certain purchases.