Pink Princess and Boon Grass

I've usually got some grand scheme in mind to cover the mantel when I take down the holiday decor, not so much this year. Still, old habits and all, so I'm sharing what I did do...

The one thing I knew I wanted were protea blooms, these Protea neriifolia (pink mink or late mink?) fit the bill nicely, they're joined by a few leucadendron stems.

There are also several houseplants. Starting at the far left; Philodendron 'Red Heart' and Calathea lancifolia. These were both up pre-holiday and they've returned. I'm notoriously hard on houseplants but they've have been going strong for months.

The undersides of the calathea leaves.

This Rhipsalis NoID is another easy-going survivor. 

If it's a sunny day there's a moment in the early afternoon when light from the south-facing kitchen window shines all the way across the house and illuminates the mantel. In this case it makes the Protea glow.

This little black cup is a new purchase, a cordial glass from CB2. I cannot imagine drinking from it, I bought it for this exact purpose.

Philodendron 'Pink Princess Marble' was a new addition, I had an empty container and thought the pink was a nice play off the protea. I find it somewhat entertaining that for $8 I added what was once a hot ticket houseplant to the mix, not because I was lusting for one, but because the price was nice and it fit the scheme. 

The princess is on the left, then little begonia starts, Sansevieria kirkii 'Coppertone' and another Philodendron 'Red Heart'. The back and white pottery is vintage Royal Copley (regular readers have seen it before, and yes, I also have a few that are pink and brown and several others in a green and brown colorway).

The begonia leaves (maybe Begonia 'Red Kiss'?) are quite colorful. 

You might be thinking "but she doesn't like pink?"... true, I'm not normally a big fan. However the protea and the color of the fireplace tile set the tone.

I filled a vase with the remaining leucadendron stems and put it on the dining table, sadly I cannot ID them.

So are you wondering where the Boon Grass (in the title of the post) comes into play? And what the heck is Boon Grass anyway? It's a way to care for my tillandsia collection (you saw some of them on the mantel).

I've always struggled with where to dry my indoor tillandsia after soaking them in the sink. It's best to turn them upside down, so the water runs out of the crown, but that can bend and crease the small leaves at the center. It also tends to keep the crown wet longer if they're top down on a wet towel.

So when I saw someone offering up this tray of Boon Grass on our local Buy Nothing Facebook group, I jumped at the offer.

It allows for fabulous air circulation, the leaves aren't bent, and I can easily pick it up and move it if I need to.

The "grass" is separate from the base tray, where any water that falls collects.

Mine was the best price (free!) but it's available to purchase direct from the company or from Amazon. Of course this product isn't meant to be a tillandsia drier, it's actually designed for baby "accessories" (bottles and pacifiers), but there's nothing wrong with a little creative re-use in the name of plant happiness!

The Bit at the End

Today I'm sharing a recent snippet of writing from Photographer David Perry, You can fool some of the AI some of the time... it has to do with creative pursuits, photo editing, and of course AI.

 —   —   —

To receive alerts of new danger garden posts by email, subscribe here. Please note: these are sent from a third party, their annoying ads are beyond my control. 

All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.