Walls and Walls of Plants

Our friend Jim Martin posted photos of his very creative plant walls on his blog, Compost in My Shoes. To see how he turned a couple of sheets of marine-grade plywood into a very sharp outdoor wall of plants, check his blog post, here. I believe Jim could turn a turnip into a work of art!

I saw some amazing plant walls at the Tropical Plant Industry Expo in Ft. Lauderdale last weekend. The variety of plants used was pretty amazing, from bromeliads to ferns and begonias. Once again I apologize for the photos. I was trying out my new Samsung Incredible smartphone. I'd opted for this instead of the iPhone, which gets great reviews for its photos. The Samsung takes consistently awful photos. Next time, I'll use my real camera.

This is obviously a trade show display, but it's an interesting way to showcase all the colors of the anthuriums the grower offers.

The wall above is made up of different varieties of bromeliads. If you're not familiar with these plants, their native habitat is high up in trees, others out on limbs or trunks. Their roots are primarily anchors to keep them attached to tree bark. They rely on rainfall that trickles into the center of the plant for their moisture. They are a tropical plant you can grow as a houseplant, and no reason they can't be grown on a moss-covered chicken wire fence or wall, as you see them above.

The manequin (doesn't everyone have an extra manequin or two in their garage??) has a mesh wrap with peat moss attached and planted with foliage and young palm seedlings.

One of the fun new products on the market is the Wally Pocket. This is one of the Wally Pocket guys standing beside their award for outstanding new product the Plant Expo awarded. The pockets (that's one he's standing beside, in blue, the one beneath it is tan) are meant to be attached to a wall or garden fence, then planted. They're made of recycled, shredded plastic soda bottles and feel like felt, or heavy wool. They breathe, allow water to escape, but are virtually indestructible. You can grow everything from tomatoes to herbs, salad greens to bush squash. I'll be trialing some in our garden here this year. If you are interested in these, here's more information.

The Wally Pockets come in a variety of colors and sizes. They make it easy to have a wall garden.

Another new product showcased at the Tropical Plant Show were these very interesting lighted plant containers from Illuminated Pots. The container is plain translucent white, a low watt flourescent bulb and fixture is underneath, and each planter comes with a 4 color disks that go over the bulb. This would make an impressive way to light up your summer patio.

My drive back from Florida these past 2 days went well. I stopped at almost every thrift shop and junk store along the way. It wasn't warm in Florida - I think I mentioned it got down to just above freezing in south central Florida one night. People were wearing hefty coats on the beaches. But yesterday, driving back from Little Rock to home, it was 72 degrees F. all the way and I had the windows rolled down. Now why couldn't Florida have been that nice? But we are predicted to have zero here in the Ozarks by Thursday and snow and sleet on the way. One nice day of spring will have to do for now. Happy gardening!