Suspended succulents

Using a colander as a hanging basket might be a bit unusual but it gives us a chance to create an eye-catching and quirky feature. Planting it up with succulents means you don’t have to worry too much about the heat and makes this basket low-maintenance.

What you need

• Colander
• 3 x 550mm chain
• 1 x quick link chain coupler
• 3 x M5 x 30mm U-bolts
• Bin bag
• Scissors
• 4 clothes pegs
• Succulent potting mix (Make your own: 70% premium potting soil, 25% silica sand, a handful of organic fertiliser)
• Extra silica sand for decoration

Plants

• 1 x Crassula ovata ‘Hummel’s Sunset’
• 1 x Crassula pellucida
• 3 x Sempervivum tectorum

Steps

1. Slip a chain loop through a U-bolt and then thread the U-bolts through the existing colander holes and fasten them. If the colander’s holes are not big enough, drill them bigger. Make sure that U-bolts are evenly spaced or your colander will be lopsided.

2. Line the colander with a bin bag and secure it with pegs. Cut some holes in the plastic for drainage.

3. Fill the bottom of the colander with soil and place the plants. Fill gaps between plants with soil and firm down. Trim the bin bag around the edge and tuck the edges into the colander’s rim.

4. Cover the soil with silica sand and use a paintbrush to clean any stray sand off plant leaves.

5. Connect the ends of the chain to the quick-link chain coupler. Hang it and water well. This hanging colander will need full to half-day sun.