More with the epiphytic experiments

Inspired by how well the Pyrrosia lingua tucked into the trunk of my Trachycarpus fortunei have done...

I decided to experiment with a couple Pyrrosia lingua 'Undulata'...

...and the chunk of tree fern trunk I bought late last year. Originally I had the brilliant idea of displaying it in a giant metal spring I had on hand. While it would have looked fabulous, it didn't work once I'd attached the ferns. What I should have done was dig down and hollow out a crater for the root ball. Live and learn.

Since I didn't go that route my first step was to remove as much of the soil as possible by soaking the ferns. I started with three, but only ended up using two.

Then I sort of splayed the roots around the trunk and wrapped it all with nylon string.

And covered it with moss.

I'm still not sure exactly what I'll do with this, but I'm hoping the Pyrrosia grows to cover more of the trunk.

Speaking of (tree fern trunk) I was thinking maybe I'd try to tuck a small piece or two of Pyrrosia in my growing tree fern trunk, we'll see. I still haven't planted this in the ground like I'd planned to do. The spot I had targeted just isn't right. I'm scheming on what to do instead.

Apropos of nothing I'm sharing a photo Andrew took while out fishing at the Tideman Johnson Natural Area sometime in February. I love it and thought it worked in with this post, what with the moss and ferns.

Next project! Another Pyrrosia lingua 'Undulata' I worked into a piece of driftwood.

The wood had a perfect planting pocket once I filled the bottom with a small piece of landscape fabric.

Moss shoved in around the top of the root ball keeps it all in place.

There was even the perfect small crack to hold one of the fern's creeping rhizomes.

I love it.

I tackled this next project while stuck indoors on a particularly rainy weekend. The pieces...

The inspiration, photos from the Instagram account of @fern_wmp...

The fern in the photo is called out as possibly Belvisia spicata / Lepisorus spicatus.

But seeing it, I decided to play with mounting the Pyrrosia angustissima I brought home from the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden last February.

I laid it out on the wood piece (from a mounted plant I'd bought that didn't make it), surrounded the roots with sphagnum moss, and then wrapped it all tight.

Then I stopped taking photos! Ha, when you're working with wet soil and moss it's not terribly convenient to stop and take photos. Before I was done I added a couple small bromeliads—not the same ones I started out with, I didn't like how they looked. I needed something larger and less grassy, so as not to blend in so much with the Pyrrosia angustissima "blades".

Pyrrosia angustissima close-up

Bromeliad close-up

Green "Oregon moss" was worked into the sphagnum to add color.

I like how it turned out. We'll see how successful these are long term, it's all an experiment... 

The Bit at the End

If you haven't heard, the plant world lost a great man recently, Pearl Fryar passed away on April 4th. Pearl was a legendary American topiary artist who lived, and gardened, in Bishopville, South Carolina. The Juniper Level Botanic Garden Blog posted a good article about the man and his life, read it here: Pearls of Wisdom.

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A Hoya meredithii experiment

For a while it seemed that all the cool kids (the houseplant lovers) were head-over-heels for Peperomia and/or Hoya. I love a good plant craze, but I couldn't get excited about either of those genera. Fast Forward to last October, and I finally ended up bringing home a Hoya. Sound Gardener brought a couple big-leaf varieties to last autumn's bloggers plant swap at Chickadee Gardens. I spotted the cool foliage but didn't pounce right away, figuring there was someone else who "needed" it. Finally when it looked like there were no takers I decided to call the Hoya meredithii mine. Here's what I did with it...

It was early March when I finally decided to get creative. Since I'd read that Hoya meredithii is an epiphytic vine in nature, I decided to mount it on the remnants of a hanging bromeliad I'd purchased several years back. When the bromeliads finally bloomed and died (without producing offspring, the nerve!) I kept the stem/root mass, figuring it had possibilities.

See what I mean? Look at all those spots perfect for tucking in a root ball, or moss, or...

And yes, I was working in the basement on our washer and dryer. It was cold and wet outside. One does what one has to do...

So here's the Hoya...

And it's root mass.

I decided to include these epiphyllum I got from Little Prince.

And a couple small pieces of Microsorum brachylepis 'Datun' that I broke off when dividing the plant I bought at Secret Garden Growers last autumn.

I wrapped the roots of each plant with a little moist sphagnum moss.

And then wired it to the hanging structure.

Once I was done I started poking in some green "Oregon moss" to add color.

The finished project... (love those leaves!)

Unfortunately this rather large bit of epiphyllum has started to rot at it's base, the sphagnum must be staying too wet. I cut it off and I'm letting end develop a callus before I work it back into the mount. I had a lot of fun putting this one together, and feel good that a month in only one plant is having issues. 

The Bit at the End

Mindful, a poem by Mary Oliver on a post from All Saints Parish Garden blog, a worthy (and quick) read.

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More from my visit to the Spheres

Today I'm sharing some of the interesting plants that caught my eye during my February visit to the Amazon Spheres. In case you haven't heard of them, the Spheres are three spherical conservatories, part of the Amazon headquarters in downtown Seattle. These buildings serve as an informal employee workspace and lounge area, the public can tour two Saturdays a month—I shared photos of the outside of the buildings in my last post. 

Most of today's plants are ones outside my area of "expertise", in other words—I have no idea what they are, but that doesn't stop me from drooling....

There's a trunk under there somewhere, supporting all those epiphytes.

Plants growing on plants, one of my favorite things.

I swear that looks like an epiphyllum with a jagged or toothed margin.

That might be a plant covered rock?

Ditto

We'll see that epiphyte covered stump from the other side in a bit.

I really wish I knew what those thin, dark, leaves belong to...

Ditto for those three-pronged, puckered leaves.

I have to admit it is kind of fun to just admire, and not have a clue what it is you're looking at.

The promised epiphyte covered stump from the other side.

I do know that's a passion flower.

And the wide dark leaves in the center here are Elaphoglossum metallicum.

Yep.

Huperzia squarrosa (the trailing plant, I think I've got the ID right?)

Kerriodoxa elegans, the white backed palm

Triangle leaves! The closest thing I could find online was Asplenium hemionitis, but I don't think that's right.

There are pyrrosia leaves in that crazy planting.

These next three photos are the odd perspective you get when you lean over the side of one of the upper floors and look down on the densely planted foliage.

And lastly, a sweet planting of species from South Africa staring the Kumara plicatilis (aka fan aloe). If you ever get the chance to visit the Spheres you should definitely do it!

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All material © 2009-2024 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.