My Moss island Project

I've always been concocting crazy ideas to create the look and feel of a rainforest on my balcony by covering branches with epiphytic plants. This is one idea that I've been tinkering around with for some time, but have just now gotten around to completing. Think of it as a 'Rainforest Drop' of a different sort. I simply wrapped the rootball of an ardisia plant with moss and twine, and then added the same rhipsalis that I use on the drops. Pretty cool, huh?

The Big List of Freeze Tolerant Bromeliads

As many of you know, I'm big on finding cold hardy bromeliads. People just assume that because I live in Florida, coconut palms and tropical plantings are the norm for me, but here in Northeast Florida, we get temperatures way down to 20F in winter. Luckily there are tons of freeze tolerant bromeliads out there, with some hardy well into the teens! I've compiled a really big list of cold hardy bromeliads from existing resources online and in print, as well as some personal and anecdotal experience. Take this list to the nursery with you!

Modern Hydrangea Arrangement

I hate hydrangeas. Okay, maybe hate is a strong word for my uneasy relationship with this traditional looking flower. They're useful enough, but they're just not my style. Hydrangeas also have this tendency to change colors based on the soil's acidity and can take on an unwanted muddy hue. My wife wanted green hydrangeas for the wedding, but we ended up with these insipid looking greenish white fluffballs instead. While I might not like hydrangeas, yesterday was my mother in law's birthday and she happens to like them. Here's how I gave a traditional flower a much needed update.

Germinating Easter Cactus Seeds

Have you ever seen fruits on your Easter cactus and wondered what that's all about? These are actually fruits chock full of seeds waiting to be eaten by a bird and spread to some distant tree They can also be spread by plant geeks with too much time on their hands. Yes, I know that it's much faster to take cuttings of Easter and holiday cacti, but what if you want to make some crosses? What if you're just obsessed with epiphytic cacti and want to start them from seed just because you can? Here's how!

Repotting Plants on my Balcony

Am I the only one who waits way too long to re-pot plants? My excuse for the moment is that they've just been growing too quickly to keep up with lately, and potting soil is getting right up there with gasoline on my list of expensive natural resources. A recent trip to Lowes yielded some very cheap (and chic!) containers, so I had the perfect motivation to go out there and clumsily spread dirt all over the balcony in an attempt to re-pot some pants. Now I just have some sweeping to do...

Retro Houseplant Illustrations

I've always been inspired by 'mid-century modern' architecture, fashion and design, but after watching the show Mad Men I've become especially enamored with the simple and playful illustrations of the age. I remember looking at old books on houseplants and gushing over the sleek illustrations of Monstera deliciosa and Ficus decora amid the clean lines and deep wood grain backdrops of modern homes. I used to love looking at the work of architects like Luis Barragan and Paul Rudolph, or the illustrations of Charley Harper.

Sea Beans and Drift Seeds

Besides using houseplants, decorating with drift seeds is my favorite way to bring nature into our home. If you're scratching your head at my crazy talk of sea beans and drift seeds, here's an explanation. Sea beans are large legume seeds from the tropics that wash up on beaches far from home, but the name could be applied to any durable floating seed found on the beach. That definition is fine and dandy, but where did they come from, and how did they get from a rainforest in Brazil to a beach in North Carolina or Florida?

A Snake, Some Flowers and a Long Overdue Tour of the Garden

You know your garden is a haven for wildlife when you can spot at least 20 species of animals in a five minute walk. I counted five speies of butterflies, one baby garter snake, about five bees and wasps, a couple dragonflies, three species of lizards, countless birds flitting about, and an uncertain number of mosquitoes. I was too busy swatting them or trying to ignore them to even attempt a decent ID. The garden may be suffering through a drought, but the animals and blooms don't seem to notice.

How to Fix An Orchid

This is a post about keeping orchids alive. I was going to draw a cartoon of the grim reaper in bright green gardening gloves walking away in sadness after inadvertently killing his new orchid, but figured the dying orchid and his last words of "Et tu Brutus?" would be confusing to some. I would say "Get it? The orchid is using botanical latin! The grim reaper said "I'm sick of taking work home with me!" But the joke would fall flat after hours spent over a silly cartoon. Besides, isn't this picture of my blooming Epicyclia prettier?

Orchid Daze: Liquid Landscapes

I can't believe that I neglected to share this with you! You might remember my trip to Atlanta for the Proven Winners Outdoor Living Extravaganza (long name) this March, and my posts about the Fuqua conservatory. Maybe I just forgot to post about the exhibit because I was too distracted by the montane greenhouse and the Proven Winners event. There was a lot going on in such a short period of time! Anyways, here is the Orchid Daze: Liquid Landscapes exhibit in all its glory.

A Warm Summer Afternoon Palette

I've been planning on sharing this arrangement of bromeliads with you, but decided that it would be even more fun to take a cue from the warm and spicy color scheme and create a mood board of sorts to inspire myself for the coming of fall. Sun baked hues of ochre and orange, deep greens and occasional explosions of magenta and purple seem like they would clash, but somehow seem right at home together in this imaginary subtropical garden of mine.

Tropical Looking Palms for Marginal Zones

It's hard to imagine the tropics without palm trees. Sure, you can achieve the tropical look with a well placed hibiscus or bromeliad, but would any other plant have the same impact as a statuesque palm taking center stage in the garden? I mean, come on. Try to picture the beaches of Hawaii without coconut palms swaying in the breeze, lending their fronds to tiki huts and their coconuts to pina coladas. In this post is a list of ways to take advantage of even the most common palms, and then a list of uncommon palms to look for.

My Wife's Caladium Drawing

Since I was hard at work on an editing project, my wife took the initiative and saved Sketch A Plant Sunday all on her own! The caladium arrangement I made earlier had been calling her name all week, and she just had to take a crack at those intricate networks of lines and veins before they started to fade. I for one think she did an amazing job. What do you think?

Tank Sprayers: Not Just for Chemicals Anymore

You know those big sprayers used to apply pesticides and fertilizer? It turns out they're perfect for watering and misting the plants on my balcony. In the past I've used spray bottles that were unable to withstand the daily rigors of misting my plants every day. They each broke after about a month of sore hands and puny spritzes, and each ended up with a pile of other spray bottles in the trash. My new tank sprayer on the other hand sends out a steady stream of water in a mist or jet, and is as easy to use as a garden nozzle.

How I Became a Gardener (Just Five Years Ago)

This is how I went from being a graphic design student to a gardening nut, only five years ago. I recently stumbled across an old sketchbook filled with ideas for turning my balcony into a chic and modern garden. My wife and I (we were living in sin back then) had just moved into our apartment together and I was going to school to be a designer. It was around that time that our hikes in South Florida and a book on houseplants coalesced into a gardening obsession.

Sketching Plants With My Soulmate!

What's better than enjoying time with the one you love? Spending time drawing plants with the one you love, of course! This evening my wife and I sat down together after a hearty homemade stew, set up our models (a chartreuse pothos and a Siam tulip) and put our pencils to paper for my very first collaborative Sketch a Plant Sunday! Feel free to share your own drawings too...

Hybridizing Makes Me Happy!

I thought I'd just write a blog post full of plant stuff that's making me smile at the moment. My hybrid 'Blue Bouquet' passionflower has formed a fruit even though hybrid passionflowers supposedly don't do that sort of thing. Come to think of it, all of those little nuggets of happiness have to do with hybridization, from the passionflowers to my own first hybridization attempt with rhipsalis!

Agapanthus, the Lily of the Nile

Here in North Central Florida they're ubiquitous in hell strips, parking lot medians and drive throughs, but the strappy leaves are yellowed and stressed in those inhospitable urban deserts, and the blue flowerheads are stunted remnants of how they would look with some TLC. Don't let these neglected plantings fool you!  With the right care, you'll be treated to hundreds of flowers atop tall and leaning stalks as well as strappy and arching leaves that look as if they were polished to perfection.

Sketch A Plant Sunday: Brazilian Red Hots

Happy SAP Sunday, everyone! Today I'm proud to present a sketch of a Brazilian Red Hot plant drawn by my lovely wife, Mrs. Rainforest Gardener! I really like how she captured the character and form of the Alternanthera dentata by giving it a lacy and filigreed look, making it look airy and carefree. She insisted that she only shared her sketch so that drawing wouldn't look too intimidating, but I absolutely love it. I'm a very lucky husband, aren't I?

The Joy of Gardening for Others

Those of you just tuning in might be surprised to learn that "my" garden is actually thirty minutes away at my mother's house, and that I'm only able to tend to it once every one to three weeks. I can't pull weeds as soon as they appear, I always visit just after the rosebush has finished blooming, and I quickly learn which plants are truly maintenance free because everything else dies by the time I return a week later. My mother is the only one who gets to enjoy it, and I wouldn't have it any other way.