DIY Wall Mounted Plants AKA Living Art

I love having houseplants, but when you live in a small apartment, there are only so many window ledges, tables and bookshelves to put them on. When you’ve run out of surfaces for greenery, do you stop hoarding plants? Of course not. You start putting them on your walls! Wall-mounted plants might look fancy—they’re basically living art in my book—but they’re actually very easy to assemble and care for. And all sorts of plants will happily live mounted—the vining ones are my personal favorite!

Supplies:
-a mountable plant: staghorn ferns, philodendrons, hoyas and succulents are good choices. I used a hoya obovata (upper left in the image above), satin pothos (right) and a hoya carnosa (bottom).
–sheet moss
-wood board (I used some reclaimed wood slabs, but a new cut of wood from a home improvement store would work just as well.)
-fishing line
-sawtooth picture hanger
-several nails
-scissors

Nail the sawtooth hanger into the back of the board. Place the potted plant on the front of the board and decide where you want to place it.

Hammer 8-12 nails into the board in a circle, about a 1/2 inch wider than the widest part of the plant pot. Angle the nails slightly outward toward the edge of the board.Remove the plant from its pot, loosen the roots and remove most of the excess soil.

Place the plant firmly on the board and wrap pieces of sheet moss around the soil, pressing and shaping the moss and soil within the nails. Tip: a second pair of hands to hold the plant in place while you secure it is a big help. Cut a 3 foot piece of fishing line or twine and tie it to a nail, leaving a 3 inch tail—you’ll use this to tie off the string when you’re done securing the plant. Pull the line tightly across the plant, hook it around a nail, and cross over to another nail, pulling the line taut to secure the plant. Keep going until you’ve hooked each nail once or twice and the plant feels secure.

I used twine for this plant so you could see what the plant should look like when secured. Trim the excess twine and hang it up! Water your plant immediately after mounting it. Follow care instructions for your specific plant, and keep in mind that mounted plants dry out faster than potted plants. As a general rule, mounted plants do well in bright, indirect light with watering every 1-2 weeks.

I’m in love with my new mounted plants! They really brighten up a space and can be adapted to fit different decor styles by using different wood. A brightly painted board would also look awesome! I just might have a whole gallery wall of mounted plants before I know it. xo, Kayleigh

Credits // Author and Photography: Kayleigh Kosmas. Photos edited with the NEW A Beautiful Mess presets for Lightroom.