Floral bling at West Elm & the garden gate
Sharing a little floral beauty I saw around town yesterday…This is a make-your-own-terrarium display I spotted at West Elm. I swear, it looked like a nursery when I walked in the door, with dozens of potted cacti and succulents and tiny tillandsias for sale along with glass bowls and terrariums. The plants were overpriced (hint: independent nurseries have lower-priced succulents) but cute. Have you ever tried dry-loving cacti or succulents in a terrarium though? I imagine they would dislike a moist, enclosed terrarium. Maybe a tillandsia wouldn’t mind. Still, it was a pretty display.
On the way home I saw this cheery blue gate adorned with a wooden flower. What a charming welcome for visitors.
Happy Friday, everyone!
All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
WE does know how to package their accessories! I love the door and the birdhouse perched on the post. gail
I know, Gail. I was in accessory heaven yesterday at West Elm and Anthropologie. —Pam
I can’t imagine that cacti and succulents on the whole would thrive in terrariums. The two seem mutually exclusive. Cute garden gate! That definitely works!
Yes, that’s what I’m thinking, Bernieh. Cacti and succulents like dry conditions, not moist. —Pam
Timely post, I’ve been planning to start a moss terrarium since seeing them on the Terrain website. Most succulents wouldn’t like that environment, even if it’s more open. It’s fun to see all the creative gates and entries around town.
http://www.shopterrain.com/for-garden/
Ferns and mosses, now they would be happy in a terrarium. So pretty too. —Pam
LOVE the gate!!!
Isn’t it cheery? What a sight to come home to each evening. —Pam
Love the cutout on the gate. Now who could I get to make me something for mine?
All you need is a jigsaw, Cindy, and you can easily make one yourself. —Pam
That is a nice gate!!! Hope you are doing well.
I’m doing great, Darla. Hope you are too! Thanks for popping by. —Pam
Maybe succulents and cactus would do well in a terrarium that is open and not closed. I see them sold for such all the time around here. I have to bring them in during winter anyway it might be a good way to keep them. I just need more light in my house. I am lovin’ that gate. It does look friendly.
Thanks for your thoughts about the succulent terrarium, Lisa. I wonder…By the way, is your succulent picture tucked indoors for the winter? I hope it did well for you last summer. —Pam
Wow, that’s quite the floral bling…and I bet they’re making a killing on it, too.
No doubt, Katina. I do love their other accessories at West Elm but have my doubts about the cactus terrariums. —Pam
I have found that most succulents and even cacti do well in terrariums – as long as they are open at the top… I learned this recently in the process of writing Terrarium Craft (Timber Press) with terrarium artist Amy Aiello. It seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? It shouldn’t work but the puritanical horticulturist in me – who grew up making ferny, wet terrariums in fish tanks – was proven wrong by Amy’s long-lived creations. Succulents are more likely to perish due to people not understanding their seasonal water needs than from being in a terrarium.
But there’s one thing I rarely hear anyone talk about (and I wish I’d mentioned this in our book): the effect of regional climate on houseplants! In the PNW, we can grow most succulents in open-topped glass terrariums… But those who live in a year-round, hot, humid climate might have trouble. I wonder how they’d do in your region? You should try it and let me know!
Well, what do you know! It seems very counterintuitive that cacti would be happy in a moisture-holding terrarium, but if you say it works, I’ll take your word for it. Regarding your curiosity about the effect of regional climate on houseplants in the hot, humid south, I can assure you it’s quite dry and cool in all our houses. No one goes without air conditioning down here. Couldn’t live here otherwise. 😉 —Pam
Hello again, Pam! Not to say cacti and succulents do well in damp or humid terrariums; just that terrariums don’t have to be humid. The gal who made the terrariums in the book we did mostly creates dry-scape terrariums, in bowl-shaped glass, or open-topped jars or blown glass bubbles with openings. These are different from the ones we grew up with because they are planted in a decorative natural sand substrate rather than potting soil. The rootball of soil is retained – it’s just tucked into the sand, so the roots don’t rot. It’s a different look, and a different planting paradigm: a desert-scape instead of a sweet, ferny, damp setting. I adore both. Part of the beauty of plants is that they tell us what works for them. I never thought desert-scape terrariums would work but they do – when planted in the right glass and with care that’s suited to the species of succulent. Thanks for letting me clarify. And yeah, of course… air conditioning! PS I enjoy your blog. I’ve been quietly enjoying it for a few years now!
This is all great to know. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Kate! —Pam