Make Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two muffin tins with 18 cupcake liners. Prepare the vanilla cake batter according to the package instructions. Fill the cupcake liners ¾ full with batter.

Bake: Bake until slightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Cool: Let the cupcakes cool completely in the muffin tins.

Make Frosting: Meanwhile, make the buttercream frosting. In a large bowl using a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment), beat the softened butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until combined, then add the vanilla extract, heavy cream, and salt and beat until combined.

Divide and Color Frosting: Divide the buttercream into three bowls. To make forest green, use 5 drops of green food coloring and 4 drops of brown. To make teal, use 3 drops of blue food coloring and 1 drop of yellow. To make purple, use 3 drops of violet food coloring. Adjust the color ratios as needed to achieve your desired shades.

Prepare Piping Bags: Transfer the different colored buttercreams into three separate piping bags fitted with the leaf tip.

Remove Liners and Place in Molds (Optional): Peel off the cupcake liners and place the cooled cupcakes into flower pot cupcake molds, if using.

Pipe Leaves: Pipe leaves around the edge of each cupcake, slightly overlapping each other. Move in one layer and pipe another circle of leaves, letting them slightly fall over the first layer. Continue until the cupcake is frosted, resembling a succulent.

Serve: Enjoy!