Succulent Arrangements for Your Table
As many of you already know, I love succulents!
There are so many reasons to love succulents; their beautiful and intriguing shapes, their many different colours, the endless ways they can be arranged indoors and outdoors, their hardiness and the ease of maintenance!
I buy a succulent every time I see one I love for its particular colour or shape knowing that, even if I don’t have a use for at that particular moment, I will find a place for it; whether in a miniature pot on a coffee table or in a terrarium composition!
Simply put, succulents can go anywhere!
I like to keep stock of succulents because I am always creating something new with them; I keep moving them around from pot to pot or to a new arrangement I make.
You can never have too many succulents!!
One great way to display your succulents is to use them as table decor at your dinner parties all year round!
Because of the incredible colour and shape varieties on the market, succulents are not considered a seasonal type of decor, they can be used all year round.
Sure, it’s common to see succulents as wedding centrepieces and favours, which generally take place in spring and summer.
But there is more that just that, so let’s take a look at the possibilities!
I divided the article into two main table decorating categories;
- Succulent Centrepieces and
- Succulent Favours.
Before I start I’d like to clarify that when I talk about succulents, I also talk about cacti…
Did you know that all cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti? So don’t be surprised or confused if you see some cactus arrangements pictures in this article!
succulent centerpieces
1.Scattered Pots
I love this type of Succulent Centerpiece as it looks more spontaneous and less meticulously assembled.
The trick is to have all succulents planted in the same style or coloured pots.
The light pink tones are more suitable for a wedding or a spring dinner party, while the terracotta pots are more neutral, hence can be used for pretty much any occasion!
Photo Credit: BlogLovin’
Photo Credit: Pinterest
The two pictures below show different examples of scattered pots; The first picture depicts pots that are all different in style, size, shape and colour. The second one shows the use of different size glass containers to display succulents as a centerpiece.
Photo Credit: Gaby J. Photography
Photo Credit: My Wedding
2. Table Runner
The following pictures show succulents cuttings integrated with either moss or eucalyptus branches to create beautiful table runners. In these two particular instances, succulents cuttings are used rather than planted succulents. This means the succulents have been cut, they do not have any roots attached. Unfortunately, in most cases, the succulents are thrown away after the centrepiece has been used.
Photo Credit: Flax & Twine
Photo Credit: Succulents Cuttings 4U
The pictures below show alternatives to succulents cuttings for table runners. The most common one is the boxed runner, in which the succulents are planted with their roots in a box and other elements, such as flowers and moss can be added around them.
The second picture shows how succulents can be integrated with driftwood, air plants and moss to create one long runner. In this particular instance the succulent can be used with its roots and tucked in under the driftwood piece or disguised with the moss.
Photo credit: Flourish Succulents
Photo Credit: Weddingomania
3. One Central Centerpiece
While the previous examples are all suitable for long rectangular tables, here are some ideas on what you can do for one main and central centrepiece to use for a round or square table.
The vintage box seems to be quite popular, whether it’s an old wood box or a tin. The brass and glass terrariums is quite versatile because they can easily be re-used and placed in someone’s home!
The candle idea is very pretty and the candle can either be replaced with a fresh one at the end of the evening or with another succulent or element to make it more of a permanent live home decor object.
Finally, the last picture shows a combination of succulents and eucalyptus branches.The eucalyptus branches are arranged to frame the succulents pot and extend the composition to the candles in the glass cloches. The beauty of using eucalyptus branches is that eucalyptus dries out in whatever shape is arranged and ages in a beautiful silvery tone. For this reason, it can be re-used in many ways in your home, whether you add a few branches to a vase or make an arrangement. After using fresh branches for your arrangements, make sure you hang it upside down until it dries out. This way, it will dry in a perfect vertical shape to be displayed in a vase.
Photo Credit: Brit + Co
Photo Credit: Ruffled Blog
Photo Credit: Rodale’s Organic Life
4. Seasonal
As I mentioned before, table succulent arrangements are not just meant to be for spring, summer and weddings. Arrangements can be made for every season of the year! Once you’ve learned the basics and the main supplies required, the sky is the limit when it comes to decorate your table with succulents!
Here below are some great examples of Christmas and Halloween arrangements intended for dinner table centerpieces.
Photo Credit: West Coast Gardens
Photo Credit: Living Bunch
Photo Credit: Pinterest
Photo Credit: Succulents and Sunshine
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Succulent Favors and Placeholders
1. Paper Wrapped
The following pictures show examples of brown paper wrapped succulents that can be used as placeholders or party favors or both.
The round types are easier to make as the vast majority of succulents come in round plastic pots.
Photo Credit: Rock My Wedding
Photo Credit: The Sweetest Occasion
2. Paint Dipped Mini Terracotta Pots
This is one of my favourite placeholders! I love terracotta pots to begin with; I like the natural look of the material and it is definitely one of the best plant containers on the market as it allows the soil to breath. The fact these mini pots are paint dipped, make it even more appealing to me. I really like the irregularity of the paint line on the pot! This can be dome with any terracotta pot, it doesn’t have to be a placeholder of a party favor! The paint dipping looks even better when group of pots are placed next to each other!
Photo Credit: World of Succulents
3. DISTRESSED MINI TERRACOTTA POTS
I really like the look of distressed terracotta pots because it adapts the bright and deep orange colour to new terracotta pots to different environments with different colour palettes. For example, if your surroundings are mostly whites and off-whites, the deep orange tone of terracotta pots is too strong. Distressing terracotta give the pots a washed out white look, making them a more “universal and neutral colour”. Click here to download a free tutorial to build this beautiful placeholder and party favor.
4. Mini Glass Jars
I believe the glass jar with the succulent alone doesn’t work that well on a dinner table as it isn’t all that appealing to look at a jar full of dirt!
However, if small draining or decorative rocks or even moss are added to the composition, the look is more natural and tasteful.
Adding a name or a message to the jar with twine around the rim, will definitely enhance the look of your placeholder.
Photo Credit: Lydi Out Loud
5. Mini Glass TerrariuM
These are elegant and classy placeholder/party favor solutions! They are also more expensive than others as the container itself is quite expensive. It’s also important to consider that these mini terrariums are quite labour intensive to assemble. This is probably an option for weddings that can be contracted out to professionals!
Photo Credit: Inspired by This
6. Mini Mason Jars
You can approach the mini mason jars placeholders/party favors two ways: You can paint the mason jars to give it a more vintage farmhouse look or you can use the smallest version and leave it unpainted. If you go this route, I recommend you add some moss and decorative rocks, (as per the mini glass jars described here above). An alternative solution to un-painted mason jars are textured jars, as shown in the picture here below. A textured container will help disguise the look of dirt.
Photo Credit: Confetti.Co
Photo Credit: Style Me Pretty
7. Tins
These favors are among the most common out there because it’s easy to find different coloured tins. You can choose between the plain metal container or coloured containers based on the event, (you can use red or gold tins for Christmas, or pastel coloured tins for Easter and add a couple of Cadbury Eggies in between the leaves of your succulents or even pick orange tins and add candy corn candies between the leaves ).
Photo Credit: Succulent Gift Shop
Photo credit: Eastern Leaf
8. Tea Cups
Succulents in teacups make for a dainty, vintage look! It is quite easy to find vintage tea cups at garage sales and second hand stores.
There are two ways to decorate your table with succulents and tea cups; you can plant your succulent directly into the teacup, (don’t forget to add drainage rocks at the bottom of the cup to avoid roots rotting and moss at the top to hide the dirt!), or you can place your succulent pot inside the tea cup so that the tea cup can actually be used for tea at the event your are organizing. Make sure the succulent is planted in a cute pot that actually goes well with the tea cups you will be using!
Photo Credit: Simply Stacys
Photo Credit: The Sweetest Occasion
9. Burlap Wrap
Like in previous options, there are different ways to use burlap to wrap your succulent favors. The simplest way is to wrap a piece of loose burlap around the succulent pot and tied it together with a thin piece of twine. Even though this is a very simple and cost effective solution, the result is quite elegant. A more labour intensive option is to plant your succulents into metal cans, (like soup or bean cans), add some straw or moss to enhance the look of your composition, then finally wrap a piece of burlap around the cans. Hold it together with some hot glue and a piece of twine with a name or a message.
Photo Credit: The Wedding of My Dreams
Photo Credit: Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen
10. Seasonal
As shown in the Centerpiece part of this blog, succulents can be used as table decor in any season! Here below are some examples of Christmas and Halloween Succulent Arrangements, in particular for placeholders and party favors!.
Photo Credit: Botanical Bright
Photo Credit: Dalla Vita
If you enjoy succulents as much as I do, you may want to create some succulent arrangements for your Dinner Table.
As always, feel free to email me or leave a comment here below with any questions or suggestions you may have!!
Cheers,
Cecilia
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