Creating Succulent Wall Art On Palm Debris

Joy Us garden
by Joy Us garden
When the mighty winds blow along our California coast, the palm debris does fall. It’s nature’s way of cleaning out the palms. I love to use it for crafting because it’s so darned interesting and can be used in so many ways. I decided to create succulent wall art, along with a few air plants in the mix, on this piece of palm debris that I scooped up over the Winter. It’s quite sturdy and adds a natural touch to any project.
Here are the ingredients I used:


1 piece of palm debris


1 piece of Teddy Bear Cactus wood


1 Aeonium autropurpeum branch


1 Aeonium decorum flower


2 Aeonium decorum “rosettes”


1 Spider Agave pup


2 pieces of Burro’s Tail Sedum


3 Air Plants 1 dried Mediterranean Palm frond


2 wacky sea sticks dyed Spanish moss dyed reindeer moss


There’s a video showing me making this piece of succulent wall art at the end but I’m going to take you on a pictorial step by step here. I also used a drill, wire and fishing line for this project. It could easily be done with all succulents or all air plants if you prefer. I picked all the succulents from my garden but you can buy cuttings on eBay.


I picked up the piece of Teddy Bear cactus wood outside of 29 Palms – more scavenging but this time in the desert. I wired it to the debris so that it would hold every else in place.
Here it is uprighted & ready to hold everything in place.
I’ve added in the chartreuse mosses & a couple of wacky sea sticks.


Our streets here in Santa Barbara, especially those that run along the ocean, are littered with palm debris when a strong wind blows. The dried fronds, flowers sheaths and flower stalks come crashing down so I head to the beach when I need some new material to work with. I made this summer flower arrangement on a Queen Palm flower sheath last August. I plan to use that sheath to mount one of my Staghorn Ferns on soon. I’ve had this project in the back of my head for over a year now. The best laid plans …


Be sure your eyes peeled next time you’re on a walk. You never know what Mother Nature is going to send your way!
Here is the finished product.
Check out the video for more details.
Joy Us garden
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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5 of 9 comments
  • Ann Ann on Jul 01, 2015
    I'm up north, we don't have palms! Short of mailing me some, any other ideas that could be used?
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    • Ann Ann on Jul 02, 2015
      Never thought of using those. Definitely will give it a try. Thanks for sharing and helping. 😀
  • Carole Carole on Jul 01, 2015
    Beautiful! They make great centre pieces on a table too. Used to see them all the time when I lived in Sydney. Did stop and pick a couple up once but did not get around to using them. Air plants in these would be an awesome idea as they don't need watering if you put them outside now and again. They can even be glued on with no damage to the plant.
    • Joy Us garden Joy Us garden on Jul 02, 2015
      Thank you! Our climate here is very similar to the climate in Sydney - lots of palms. @Carole Yes, I've used them in centerpieces too & will post those projects soon. I use air plants in many of my projects too & actually, there are a couple in this piece. Love them - yes, so easy! Nell
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