The
terrarium has become a sort of hallmark of hipster home decor, driving a passion for houseplant collecting that may be making “crazy plant ladies” the new
“crazy cat ladies.” But now that the glass globe’s ubiquity may be rendering it passé for some, many forward looking nesters are scouting alternative plant vessels. Here’s what’s next in interior botanical design.
Mounted Plants: The
taxidermy novelty isn’t winning over any PETA supporters, but even those who’d never hang a mounted moose head on their living room walls are borrowing from the trend—with a jungle twist. Sometimes referred to as “vegetarian taxidermy,”
staghorn ferns fastened to wooden wall plaques are appearing in design-oriented plant boutiques, like
Sprout Home (Brooklyn) and
Solabee Flowers and Botanicals and
Emerald Petals (both in
Portland). As David Kesler, Creative Director at the Floral Design Institute in Portland, noted in
an article addressing the mounted staghorn revival in PDX, “The whole vertical garden thing is so hot...With staghorn ferns, you can actually just culture it on a plank and it grows, and then you just hang that plank...and voila, you have a wall treatment!”
Succulent Planters: Try as we might, keeping the contents of a terrarium alive has not proven to be our forte. (Contrary to popular belief, terrarium maintenance is far from easy, particularly when the light and moisture levels in one’s home are unpredictable.) After numerous replanting initiatives, we have found a new dining room table centerpiece: dishes planted with cacti. Though many gardening stores, and even
Home Depot, sell ready made arrangements, DIYers are buying cacti in bulk for placement in terra cotta planters. With so many
fashion designers finding inspiration in desert landscapes lately, sand-and-succulents may be the most viable path to haute couture style without dropping a month’s rent.
Hanging Plants: While
“micro architecture” may be on the upswing, downsizers don’t have much room for frivolities like houseplants. (Out of necessity, windowsills become bookshelves and coffee tables become makeshift seating.) Enter the hanging plant, which doesn’t take up any space but for air that would normally go unoccupied. Whether this shift toward domestic efficiency is driving the hanging plant trend or not, more home goods designers are creating modern interpretations of ’70s style planters, like the hand-cast ceramic, Buckminster Fuller-informed
Geo by Kelly Lamb. Meanwhile, retro revivalists who prefer to keep their pads more authentically
Three’s Company are dangling greenery from macramé plant hammocks,
scores of which can be found on Etsy. Groovy.
