Monday, January 7, 2019

A new mantlescape, for the New Year...

The holiday wreath was pulled from the front door in the days immediately following Christmas. The dried Eucalyptus and Dyckia wreath left its spot above the mantle and replaced it...

I think it looks good there. Festive for the winter and all. Since it's behind glass I hope the Dyckia does okay, not too hot, not too cold.

I de-Christmasize quickly; tree, ornaments, holiday sparkle, gone! I love putting up holiday decorations, but after  a month with them I'm ready for a change. Less clutter, lighter, more earthy...

The blue fern was a purchase at a "new to me" shop called Fang Pet & Garden Supply. An Instagram friend works there and told me they were having a "shortest day of the year" sale on the Solstice, 30% off all plants, naturally I stopped by. I didn't make it until sometime near noon and they'd been shopped hard by then (which is always a good thing, for plant shops to be supported), still I was happy to pick up the fern, I'd left my last one outside in temperatures it didn't appreciate.

Joining the fern is a NOID Cryptanthus and a Callisia fragrans cutting that wasn't rooting where'd put it—I'm hoping it will here.

Tucked in with the Callisia fragrans is a mossy stick I picked up on a walk.

Moving to the left...

I've been hording bits of moss, so I decided to do another fake kokedama, with an Aechmea recurvata 'Bronze Age' I picked up from Bird Rock Tropicals (fake meaning I don't use the recommended kokedama soil mix, just squeeze the root ball into an orb and cover with moss). A few Tillandsia and more moss complete this scene.

This tiny birds nest fern (Asplenium nidus) also got the moss ball treatment.

And there are Protea flowers. There are always Protea flowers after Christmas, they've become a post-holiday tradition.

A couple cut branches from the Daphniphyllum keep the tropical-vibe going with their big leaves and "rednecks"...

The only hold-over from the holiday mantlescape are the pair of Adiantum venustum in moss, I've managed to keep them alive and both are sending up new growth.

Another Protea bloom combines with from-the-garden cuttings on the far end of the mantle.

There are dried fertile fronds from Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich fern), a couple of budded up Helleborus 'Ice 'n Roses' stems, Brachyglottis greyi cuttings and a dried bloom from my Aechmea fasciata (I've had it for months, too cool to toss)...

It's a much simpler effort than last January's (shown here), it's interesting what feels "right" at different times in our lives.

Hope you're treating yourself to something special to chase away the January blues, you deserve it!

Weather Diary, Jan 6: Hi 48, Low 39/ Precip .21"

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

13 comments:

  1. I've been doing the same thing: changing it up post-holiday. I'm impressed that you've gotten an Adiantum venustum to survive indoors and send up growth. Actually, I'm jealous. Love the Protea; one of the flowers I wanted in my wedding bouquet. And I don't think I've ever noticed the scones on either side of your fireplace. Are they original to your house? I'm guessing the two of you added them as they are so perfect.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been very attentive to misting and watering the Adiantum venustum, wanting to enjoy them as long as possible. The sconces came with us from my house in Spokane. I (we both actually, that's where we met) used to work at a vintage lighting company. The owner bought a huge collection of deco slipper glass fixtures and I fell in love with these. I had sconce boxes put in my house there and took them with me when we moved. When we bought this house we had them put in here.

      Delete
  2. I agree when the Christmas glitz gets to be enough. Your new arrangement is simpler and looks lovely. Wonder how you get to your Protea to survive? Have not had any luck in a vase.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm curious what you mean by "survive"? They don't last as long as other cut stems do? I can usually count on a week or 10 days before the lower leaves start to brown, and then the rest starts to follow. The fact I still love them when they're completely dried is probably why I don't mind.

      Delete
    2. I only get 3-4 days before they start to deteriorate. Have wondered if it is our hard water. Due to their price I don't buy them very often.

      Delete
  3. Much as I love the Protea flowers, I was most drawn to all those lovely ferns. I had a lot of ferns in my former, tiny garden just 15 miles away but the hotter, drier conditions here have been inhospitable to most species I've tried - I've even killed 3 in my lath house but I'm prepared to try some more there, perhaps in larger pots. Bringing them into the house, on the other hand, would probably be a death sentence, especially as my husband's got the heater running nearly non-stop these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ya, I soaked them really well before we went to Spokane for Christmas, but even then they were dry when we returned 4 days later. And we had the thermostat sat to 65/67 during the day!

      Delete
  4. No matter the amount of material (last year vs this year) you always do your mantle up beautifully!Love the Protea blooms and especially what you did with the smaller arrangement that includes the brom bloom spike. One of these days I must try your fake kokedama idea. Are those rusty metal fern fronds to the right of the big protea vase? They're just right for this grouping.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I love those metal fern fronds. One came from Digs (new location) and the other from the Lan Su gift shop.

      Delete
  5. I really like the restrained redo of your mantel. Such interesting foliage and those proteas are fabulous. They look unreal to me. I am not used to seeing them. Of course I liked last years exuberance too. As you say, what ever the mood calls for.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't imagine being able to grow Protea in my garden, that would be insane!

      Delete
  6. Hmm....I'm not sure I'd call those Kokedama fake, just because you don't make them as recommended. They're still alive. I love the mossy stick, my favorite part of this mantelscape. A windstorm over the weekend dropped nearly an entire tree's worth of branches into my back yard, I've still got to sort through them and see if there are any worth keeping for their lichen and moss.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ya, that wind was nasty! I hope you find something interesting, nothing of any value dropped into my garden...just more to clean up!

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!