Monday, September 14, 2020

Soothe yourself with these terrariums and nature pics








A last look at this ‘planted branch’, wall-mounted terrarium I made about a year ago. I thought the illusion of a ‘floating’ rainforest branch suspended in a modernist glass box would look cool and surreal, but I am beginning to think what I had done was a bit too simple. I like to include a lot of hidden detail in my terrarium designs, which means the more you look, the more you see. Keeping your interest for longer. Crucial if, like me, this is the only garden space you have. So this week I have re-landscaped the whole box to create a sort of ‘jungle window’ scene, inspired by Victorian garden windows. A view I think complements the simplicity of the beautiful box from @laredoute_uk far better. I’ll post picture of the result in a week or two when everything settles in. So watch this space! #terrariumdreams #terrarium #terrariumdesign #houseplants #indoorplants #plantsofinstagram #terrariums #plantsmakepeoplehappy #orchidsofinstagram #orchids #vanda #neofinetia
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I made these tiny tree ferns, smaller than anything found in nature, by tieing the roots of baby ferns to thin slivers of dead tree fern trunk. Tree fern trunks are made almost entirely of fibrous roots, meaning they absorb lots of water and yet are full of air pockets for perfect drainage. This makes them a really good 3D growing media to plant all sorts of species, so you can create living sculptures clothed in green. I decided to experiment with this material to make fictional plants that don’t exist in nature. I mean, I’d love to have a garden full of giant tree ferns, but this trick it means even flat dwellers like me can tend to their own ‘tree fern’ grove even in tiny terrariums. I source mine from a sustainable supplier, which upcycles the trunks of tree ferns that have died in the Dutch horticultural trade. This is important as much of the product on the market still comes from wild-collected plants in South America, which is endangering habitats. Check out @terrated.nl as a really reliable, ethical supplier. #tinytreeferns #treeferns #fictionalplants #terrariumdesign #plantsofinstagram #houseplants #indoorplants #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantdaddy #plantparenthood
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My first experiment with creating optical illusions with my planty projects. I made this little ‘root over rock’ bonsai tree by simply washing off all the compost from the roots of tiny Ficus ‘Natasja’, then supergluing them to a piece of pumice stone. Kept constantly moist in this beautiful glazed case, my little tree has since put on lots of new aerial roots and the whole stone has been colonised by moss. I must find some time to take an updated pic soon! Oh, and the ‘illusion’ of floating is just created using magnets that I glued in place. It’s up to you lot to figure out how. If you want to recreate the look, I got the glass case from @laredoute_uk. The ficus is from @n1gardencentre & the specialist superglue from @aquariumgardens. #bonsai #ficusbonsai #laredoute #rootoverrock #floatingbonsai #tropicalbonsai #opticalillusions #pumice #houseplants #houseplantclub #fukubonsai #plantsofinstagram #plantsmakepeoplehappy #indoorplants #plantdaddy #bonsaitree #bonsaitrees #bonsaigram #bonsaigarden #britishbonsai #plantdaddy #plantparenthood #plantsmakepeoplehappy #instaplants #plantnerd #houseplantlove #plantaddiction #apartmentjungle #plantaddiction #houseplantlove #crazyplantpeople #planthoarder #plantstyle
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