Houseplants and Pretty Containers

I am guessing that houseplant sales go up in January and February as we all seem to be longing for some green in our homes about now!

I’ve purchased three houseplants over the past three months and I am happy to report that they are all thriving!

Lemon Cypress Topiary

First up is my lemon cypress topiary. I bought one before Christmas and then decided I needed two.  Lemon cypress is actually a shrub but here in the northeast, the winters are too cold for it to survive outside.  I really like the chartreuse green color.

When you cut them to shape them, it gives off a slight lemony scent and hence the name.  I plopped mine in two old blue spatterware bowls that I had.

 I occasionally give them a turn if I find they are leaning to one side.  I water them whenever the soil feels dry – usually 2 or 3 times a week.

For Christmas this year, I gave my friends little lemon cypress trees, wrapped in burlap and tied with baker’s twine and a chalk tag.  Sometime like this:

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Stag Horn Fern

Next is my stag horn fern.  This is a really cool houseplant that hangs on the wall.  Yep, I said hangs on the wall.  I was intrigued by it because it resembles antlers and lately I have had an affinity for antlers.

I purchased this online from ShopTerrain.com.  It comes already mounted on a cedar board.  Literally, all I had to do was pound a nail in the wall and hang it up.  It gets indirect sunlight and is doing great so far.  I know you are going to ask how I water the thing, right?  Well about every two weeks, I fill the bathtub with water, and place the entire fern (board and all) face down in the tub.  I let it float in the water for 30 minutes or so, or actually until I remember that it’s in the tub.  Then I drain the tub and hang the fern off of the spigot to let the excess water drain out.  Usually, I wait until the following day before re-hanging so it doesn’t leave a wet mark on the wall.  I also mist it occasionally with a water bottle because our wood burning fireplace tends to make the air pretty dry.

Here’s a few of my favorite pics on Pinterest of stag horn ferns:

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Job’s Tears

Lastly, I bought this little guy last month and he actually looks better than when I bought him.  He’s called Job’s Tears (I was drawn to its name).  For this one, I used a wooden mortar bowl I had.  It actually is in a plastic container with a drain saucer that sits inside the wooden bowl.

It is viney so it needs a container that will allow the vines to hang down.  I have mine on our bar cart in the dining room, so I thought the mortar bowl was a nice tie to dining.  And, I like how the chunky wood looks in contrast to the brass and glass bar cart.

  Debra