How to Make a Desert Rock Garden

Desert rock gardens make great gifts for any occasion. They also make a nice decoration for your own home, windowsill or table. They are easy to take care of, interesting to look at and grow slowly so you don't have to repot them frequently.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Find a planter that is wide and shallow and has a drainage hole in the bottom of it. Make sure it has a saucer underneath the planter to catch the run off water.

2. Choose between cacti or succulents, but you can't have both because they do not mix well. Succulents require more water and cacti cannot handle as much.

3. Pick out the plants you want to put in your desert garden and design how you want your garden to look. Draw it out on paper so you can see it before you actually plant your cacti or succulents.

4. Place a folded paper towel inside the bottom of the planter to cover the drainage holes so that some water drains without washing out the potting soil.

5. Put potting soil that is specifically made for cacti or succulents into the planter, leaving about an inch of space between the rim of the planter and the top of the soil.

6. Remove the cacti or succulents from their plastic pots and plant them into the planter according to how you have designed your garden. Cover the top of the soil with sand and small pebbles.

7. Water your garden when the soil is almost completely dried out. This should be about once every 1 or 2 weeks.

Tips & Warnings

• Use gloves to protect your hands when planting cactus.
• Don't damage the roots when relocating the plants into the planter.
• Don't overwater your plants. Succulents don't need much water and cacti need even less water. Overwatering these plants will kill them.