You can turn a glass table into a beautiful succulent garden

Houseplants have taken occupancy of certain corners, windowsills and pieces of furniture in my house. This isn’t one of those situations where hundreds of houseplants take over your entire abode, or the entire dwelling becomes an urban jungle, but I could use a few more flat surfaces around here.

Some plant aficionados are taking matters into their own hands and creating space for plants where it was limited before by making glass-topped succulent tables.

This clever solution to the plants-versus-space conundrum puts an entire tabletop’s worth of small succulents on display in a whimsical way. Check out the plants packed under the glass of this side table that @seeeeb83 posted on Instagram, for example:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAVvXNLAw4p/

Here’s a vintage-looking version from @thevintagevibe_jax:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3LKoAVhluf/

How To Do It Yourself

You’ll have to be a bit handy with DIY projects to create your own succulent table, but the three main points are: lining the tray for your succulents with something leakproof; using botanical charcoal in the planting mix to soak up some of the moisture in these shallow trays (succulents don’t need water often, but you do have to give them a drink sometimes); and leaving breathing room — a gap between the glass and the rest of the table — for the plants.

There are tons of how-to videos out there for making one of these. For example, Martha Stewart has one that repurposes an outdoor glass-topped coffee table you might already own. BuzzFeed Nifty has one that turns a plain, round coffee table (perhaps from Ikea?) into a magical land of succulents and bunnies, with fork-drawn lines in the decorative sand.

If you lack the skills for the DIY approach (raises hand), you can also just buy yourself one. Blooming Tables makes long console succulent tables in white or matte black, and right now they’re selling for $199. They suggest planting succulents or cacti in them, or growing your own microgreens.

I’m into the idea of using a glass-top table to protect myself from a spiny cactus — or nine:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_lLWxBFmSp/

You could really go hog wild with this much space, and with a console, you might be able to make some riskier planting decisions than you would with a round coffee table. Look at the burro’s tail draping over the edge in this photo that Blooming Tables posted:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_OIf46FDqL/

Just think, you could have all the plants a table can hold, plus a place to leave a book or a drink — and no one can complain that you have too many plants!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_TFd5sFq5J/