How to plant a room and grow a happy home, no matter where you live
Bring some of the lushness of nature indoors to brighten up your home this winter.
During the pandemic, house plants had a bit of a renaissance, even for those without green thumbs. Now, a new book can help you transform your abode into an arbor, bringing happy, harmonious and healthy vibes into your home.
Following the success of How to Raise a Plant, How to Plant a Room ($16.99) features unique plant projects and styling ideas to make the most of your houseplants, in an artistic way.
This book is an easy-to-read, friendly guide that can take you step by step through the process of how to make a mounted wall garden, create a terrarium, hang an air plant mobile, and many more cool and trending plant projects. Please enjoy this excerpt from How to Plant a Room by Morgan Doane and Erin Harding, published by Laurence King, republished with permission.
Mounted Wall
There is nothing more beautiful than walking through a garden in the springtime, taking in the perfect combination of flowers, plants, and grasses. Or strolling through a forest and seeing a lovely log adorned with moss and plants living in harmony. You can re-create something very similar that will hang beautifully in your home! This mounted wall garden is perfect for just about any space. A combination of plants, moss, and bark is all you need to make a stunning piece of living art.
Choosing plants
Epiphytic plants—those that grow on other plants and trees in their natural environment—are the best to use in a project of this kind because they do not have to be planted in soil. They take the nutrients they need from the host plant and absorb water from rain and the air around them. Below are some suitable epiphytes for a mounted wall garden.
Rhipsalis species
Platycerium species
Hoya species
Anthurium species
Monstera species
Orchids
Philodendron species
Bromeliads
Ferns
Supplies
- Plants
- Moss (harvested)
- Fishing line
- Cork bark (from a reptile supply store), or tree bark or cedar board
- Craft wire
- Drill with a bit slightly larger than the craft wire
- Nail or wall hook or rustic wall mounts
Tip
Combine plants with similar care needs on one mount, to make it easier to look after them collectively. Plants that tend to have plump foliage, such as Hoya, Rhipsalis, and Bromeliads, work very well together. Those with delicate foliage, including Monstera, Anthurium, and ferns, will cohabit nicely. Within these groups, choose plants with different shapes, colors, and blooms to create a visually pleasing wall garden.
Steps
1. Remove the plants from their pots and gently massage most of the soil away from the roots.
2. Wrap a layer of moss around the roots of each plant and shape into a rough ball. Secure the moss with a few rounds of fishing line and finish with a double knot. This step allows you to hold the plants more easily as you design and protects the roots.
3. Lay the piece of bark in front of you and play around with the position of the plants. We suggest using one plant as a focal point, close to the middle, and working the others in around it. It may take you some time to get it just right.
4. Fill the spaces between the plants with moss, to create one large moss bed.
5. Once all the plants are in place and you’re happy with the look of your arrangement, wrap fishing line all the way around the moss and bark to secure each plant lightly.
6. Wrap the fishing line around the bottom of the mount once and tie a double knot to secure it. Working your way up and then back down the mount, wrap the fishing line tightly around the entire mount, until all the plants and the moss are secured.
Care
Water
Fill a tub or large sink with room-temperature water. Soak the whole mount (plants and bark) in the water for approximately 30 minutes. Remove the mount from the water and allow to dry on a towel until the bark is dry to the touch. It is then safe to hang it back on the wall. Over time, you will get to know your wall garden and be able to spot when it needs to be watered. Until then, the wall garden will most likely need to be watered every 7–10 days in the spring and summer. In the fall and winter, it can go closer to 14 days without being watered.
Light
Hang the mounted wall garden as close to a window as possible. It should ideally receive a minimum of 2–3 hours (and a maximum of 6 hours) of direct sun every day.
Fertilizer
Just like other house plants, the mounted wall garden can be fertilized throughout the spring and summer. Add liquid fertilizer to your soaking water, as directed on the packaging.
About the Authors
Morgan Doane from Tampa, Florida, and Erin Harding from Portland, Oregon, are the creators of @houseplantclub, an Instagram page with 1 million followers. Their first book, How to Raise a Plant, has been successful on both sides of the Atlantic.
Purchase How to Plant a Room here.
Follow How to Plant a Room on social media: @laurencekingpub | @houseplantclub | @cleverbloom | @plantingpink
