Back in 2016 – yes, that far back, I made what I affectionately referred to as, Holiday Pommy Balls!

What are they? Real pomegranates topped with live succulent plants and some holiday bling.

At that time, I didn’t want any photos of them to be shown on social media. I thought they were the most adorable creations for holiday decor. I knew it was a unique idea that popped up in my mind.

It just came to me one afternoon, and I thought, “Hmm, could these pomegranates be used like succulent topped pumpkins I made in the fall to create a holiday item?”

Spontaneous thoughts are how these things happen. It just comes to me. And, because I had this feeling at that time that any unique item I was creating was being copied, I asked people who got them from me not to share photos of them.

Seems silly, doesn’t it?! I was at a point; I actually didn’t want to share it on Instagram or other places.

Anyhow,

Pomegranate fruits were introduced to me by my husband when we were dating and living in my small apartment next door to my parents. I remember him cutting one open and enjoying the fresh goodness inside – the red juicy seeds. Every holiday, we enjoy some of these as a tradition. They are in season September to November and can be found in the grocery stores in December and January.

Back then though when we lived in an apartment, we put some of the seeds in a bowl to show my dad. He had never tried pomegranates either! He said, “This is a trick?” We laughed and replied, “No, these are good and good for you!”

Flash forward to 2016, and just one day I had some pommies at home to eat soon, and that thought came into my mind. I grabbed my glue gun, some of my smaller succulents, made a tiny holiday ribbon bow, and added glitter balls. Voila! They came out so darn cute. And were really fun and easy to create!

They are natural and I love that. Also, pomegranates will dry out naturally over time, and usually with no rot. So, the plants sat on top for a long time and may be removed later, similar to succulent topped pumpkins I’ve made in the fall season. As shown in the photo below, smaller white pumpkins were used.

Any type of succulents will work from Echeverias to Sempervivums. Use a few donkeys tail to drip over the sides. Usually, the succulents will self-root eventually into the moss.

The only ironic thing is that I was sure I had tons of photos of them, but going into my detachable hard drives yesterday, I realized I could only find a few photos. Why? I don’t know. Probably because I told people not to post photos too. Maybe they are sitting on my old laptop that is collecting dust on the floor in my office. Here’s just the few that I located in this post.

Pomegranates can be kind of expensive at times. I do think they look better with large pomegranates, over small ones. We searched out pommies at various grocery stores, and if they were bright red, firm, and perfect, I would grab them to make my new idea of succulent topped holiday pommie balls.

The steps are so easy to make them: Glue some moss with a glue gun to the top, add the succulents with roots into the moss using the glue gun glue to secure each carefully and try not damage the succulent, and add the bows or whatever decorations you would like.

The pommies looked so nice on a table, setup somewhere in the home. I could see them lined up on a large dining table at each plate, or even within holiday greens as a centerpiece. Either way – adorable and natural. They also made a perfect hostess gift and were again, what I thought was a very unique idea!

I haven’t made any this year (2023) because I don’t have any succulents in stock, but if I did, I’d be tempted. If you make some, let me know. Please share your thoughts!!!

Enjoy your Friday!

Cathy Testa
Container Crazy CT Plant Blogger
Broad Brook, Connecticut

Date of this post: 12/15/2023