Monday, August 16, 2021

The latest addition to the "green wall"

The fence on the south side of our back garden is covered with so many plants now that Andrew has taken to calling it my "green wall"...

Here's the latest addition. 

These bromeliads have all been "in-waiting" for a couple of months, I started accumulating them with this project in mind before I broke my ankle. 

The base—a mix of cork and some other sort of plant material—was one I purchased from a local bromeliad collector when he was downsizing (I shared a visit to his greenhouse here), of course it was covered with bromeliads when I purchased it, they'd since bloomed and died without producing pups.

Here's the unfortunate news, I didn't take a single process shot! I've never done a mount like this before and I was making it up as I went a long, The bromeliads were sold to me as cuttings with little to no roots. I'd put them in soil back in May and they'd started to root. To build this I wrapped their roots, along with a little soil, in sphagnum moss and then green moss from my garden, and shoved the bundles into nooks in the base, tying them in to secure them in place. My hands were covered in soil and moss bits, not very conducive to taking photos!

This beauty is Billbergia 'Mamie B', she should get a little darker and more dramatic now that she's in more light.

There are a pair of Nidularium procerum cv. Stripes, they are pretty cool for (yes)... their stripes!

The tall, thin, green one is a large form of Billbergia nutans.

And the fabulous earth star (cryptanthus) is Cryptanthus’Elaine’.

Once I was done I felt like another plant shape was needed and so I took cuttings of my Rhipsalis baccifera and stuck them into the moss and soil pockets. Past experience tells me that about 80% of them should root.

Even though there is very little soil this planting should do great as long as the bromeliads keep water in their cups and the whole thing gets drenched every few of days (or every day when it's in the mid 90's to 100 as we've been). Something that's easy in the summertime, but will be a little more challenging when it has to come inside for the winter...

All material © 2009-2021 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

10 comments:

  1. Great name, and I love it! The Bromeliads look right at home. Very nice.

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  2. I want to sit in that chair right now and stare at that wall for hours. Beautiful!

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  3. That fence looks made for mounting plants to me! Did you have that in mind when the fence was installed? Your new creation is wonderful. I should try that with one or more of my bromeliads - mine seem happier in containers than they are in the ground.

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    1. I did plan to hang things on the wall when I came up with the design, but planters not things like this.

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  4. Love your creativity with this project! It's so fun to see your green wall grow.

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  5. I remember your trip to the bromeliad collector. Or I should say, one photo in particular imprinted on my mind: its of you, standing in a doorway, with the most ginormous bromeliad I've ever seen!
    A beautiful, creative addition to an already stunning "green wall". (Andrew is good with names).

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  6. Do love your green wall brom arrangements. You seem to have access to some really cool cultivars. I have been looking all over for Crypthanthus 'Elaine' as it's my name.

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