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.

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

danger garden Christmas, 2025

It's Christmastime! Which means, I post photos of what our tree looks like this year...

Moss baby!

I'm not sure exactly when inspiration hit, but early in November I knew I wanted to do a moss-covered tree and convinced Andrew to go collect moss with me (we've got a spot where it's legal, or at least not illegal). On Wednesday (next post) I'll share how exactly I made the tree, but today is just full-on holiday decor pics.

At first I was going to wrap the red glass bead garland around the tree and call it good, but it became obvious the moss was kind of a dark light-sink and I needed to add lights. Yes, the star is a tillandsia and that's another moss tree up on the mantel.

I've only made two wreaths this year, this one a combination of Mahonia x media 'Marvel' and Disporum longistylum 'Night Heron'

It's aging quite well, thankfully. You never know how unusual materials will react to being used in a wreath.

Looking at the mantel, left to right.

Yes, those are two more moss trees. I've had these three metal forms (now covered with moss) since the mid-90's, when I bought them at a Nordstrom after Christmas sale (they turn up in nearly every Christmas decor post that I've done). The elephant in the room, or bird on the branch, was an unplanned addition that just flew in. It helped to make sense of the Arctostaphylos branch I'd added but wasn't really working the way I'd hoped.

A mossy log (a thick branch-sized log, but a log none-the-less) anchors the elements and almost disappears, reading as a green base.

I was thrilled to find small poinsettias, as I wanted their red, but in a small dose to balance the red ribbon, beaded garland, and eventually the red bird.

I've lost track of where I found the interesting conifer cones.

The sparkle wreath, snow flake, and ornaments have been with me for years.

The third small moss tree got lights.

Looking back to the left...

The front-door wreath is also moss, and there are lights that I keep forgetting to turn on. Although it looks like they were on when I took this photo.

The aluminum wreath is up in the bedroom.

The only other decorations are in the bathroom where things are bright.

This little framed tree image dates way back as well. I'm always happy when I can work it into the holiday mix.

I did eventually add a star to the top of the glass ornament tree. I can't believe I uploaded the earlier photo without one.

So that's Christmas '25 here...what does it look like at your house?

The Bit at the End

Today I've got two Instagram Reels that show people getting creative and making Christmas trees out of twigs, vines, and other found bits of nature. First: "Built from fallen branches, seed pods and fresh botanicals" and this one: "Last year we made a base scaffold in the shape of a "fir tree" out of stable branches and then wrapped it with wild clematis branches" enjoy!

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All material © 2009-2025 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

On a tree on Monday

After visiting a private garden on Sauvie Island last Monday evening I knew I had to write an "On a tree on Monday" post to share what I saw. The title is, of course, a play on the much loved "In a vase on Monday" blogger's meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

So instead of flowers in a vase, these flowers are (beautifully) hung on a dead tree.

Why? Well, the weekend before the open garden, the owners, Linda and Chet, hosted an evening wedding. Chet's daughter got married in the garden and this is where the ceremony took place—at the end of a long and winding path through the garden. The backstory makes this display all the more wonderful.

I couldn't resist taking several close-ups of the wilting flowers, still so beautiful as they fade.

Here's a piece of the hidden magic keeping them in place.

Linda is a very creative lady and there are lots of beautiful flowers in the garden (more from the garden on Wednesday), so naturally I figured she was the one who put this all together. Nope, not her work.

I couldn't help but photograph it from every angle, I was smitten.

Back when I participated in the "In a vase..." meme I frequently shared photos of our mantel and the decorative elements I'd pulled together there. Since I haven't done that in a long time, I thought I'd share a couple photos just to let you know I'm still filling vases and changing things up.

Currently in the vase (part of my Royal Copley collection) are pieces I've trimmed from the garden; a Dioon Edule leaf (the tall number), Rhododendron 'Ebony Pearl' branches, and bits of Lomatia tinctoria. That perky Begonia erythrophylla leaf was a gift from a garden visitor and it's rooted quite nicely, perhaps it's time to plant it up.

The bright colorful bromeliad is a Guzmania I picked up for a song (by one at $5 get one free, the other is out in the garden).

And the small seeds in this little vase have been there so long I've forgotten where they came from.

So, that's a peek at a non-traditional Monday floral arrangement and what's on the mantel these days...

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All material © 2009-2025 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.