Succulent Projects and Activities for Kids

Ask avid gardeners how they started, and most recall a parent, grandparent or neighbor who introduced them to plants and nature. Now it's your turn to transform a special child into a plant-lover. Easy-care succulents are perfect starter plants. Find fun ideas, activities and projects below.

-- Plant a toy truck with succulents. This one, by Tom Jesch of Waterwise Botanicals nursery, suggests a four-wheeler in the desert.

-- Attend a C&SS show. Kids love goofy-looking plants, and cactus-and-succulent shows typically have hundreds on display. Here's a cheerful example.

Also at shows, vendors sell collectible succulents and art pots to pair them with. (IMHO shopping for pots is half the fun.)

-- Create a windowsill succulent garden. These small pots by Keith Kitoi Taylor of the Sacramento C&SS contain gasteraloes and Peperomia graveolens.

-- Find containers with personality at second-hand shops, then head to a succulent specialty nursery to pair them with plants. For design ideas, see my book Succulent Container Gardens and watch my video, "Tips for Perfect Succulent Art-Pot Pairings."

-- Visit the Children's Garden at the Huntington Botanical Gardens near Pasadena. There are so many clever ideas here designed to interest kids in plants and gardening, it deserves its own post.

-- Create an album of wacky interactions with succulents. Better yet, make a video starring your child. Send the link to family and friends, and re-watch the video over the years. Start a tradition of making a succulent video every summer! Below: Matthew Wong, star of my video series, "Succulent Matters with Matthew," pretends to sit on a colony-forming deuterocohnia with prickly leaves.

-- Do a dish garden of rocks and succulents that suggests a miniature landscape, a dinosaur habitat, or a backcountry hiking trail.

-- Craft a bouquet of wired succulent rosettes, and secure the faux stems in layers of colored sand in a glass jar. (No worries, it's easier than it sounds!) This makes a great gift for Mom, Grandma or a special aunt, friend or neighbor. Watch my video, "How to Wire (Prep) Succulents for Bouquets." Also see my earlier posts: "Use Colored Sand for Succulent Bouquets",  "12 Succulent Bouquets to Inspire You," and "DIY Succulent Bouquet."

-- Do a Succulent Treasure Hunt. Seal dollar bills in zip-lock bags (or use coins) and tuck beneath or near your potted succulents. Hand the child a copy of my book, Succulents Simplified, with Post-its indicating the same plants (find them in the section, "100 Easy-Care Succulents"). For plant suggestions, see the list of "Best succulents for encouraging a child's interest in gardening" on page 186. Offer an extra dollar for each one the child remembers and can name after the treasure hunt.

-- Fashion succulents from Sculpey oven-bake clay. Glue dime-sized rosettes to hair clips or use them to make earrings. Watch my video: "DIY Sculpey Succulent: Striped Agave."

Related videos on my YouTube channel