Air Plants

By far the hottest commodity this year seems to be air plants. Tillisandias may be small plants but they can be used in so many ways. Some are" planted" on rocks and seashells, but look for other interesting ways to display them. Check out these wreaths, air plant orbs and miniature glass globes with air plants suspended from the ceiling. How fun is that!

I stopped at one of my favorite booths -Swanson's Nursery - where they had Tillisandias that looked like jellyfish suspended from above. Now this is something I needed to do myself!  Further along in the show I came across Ravenna Garden's booth where they sold mini tillisandias and urchin shells. Perfect!

This is an easy-peasy project that would look great hung in groups in a window.

You need:
1.  A sea urchin shell (they occur in many colors)
2.  A button large enough to block the hole in the top of the urchin shell

3.  Thread or clear fishing line
4.  An air plant (Tillisandia) that fits firmly inside the shell

Simply thread a long length of fishing line through the button holes and knot. Pull the thread ends through the inside of the urchin so that the button blocks the urchin hole. Firmly place the tillisandia in the shell and hang.

This would look nice with the button threaded through the outside of the shell too (though I'd make sure the button matches the shell in color). The urchin shell would then hang with the tillisandsia tentacles reaching upward.

To keep your air plant looking healthy immerse it in water for about 5 minutes a week. That's all you need to do. Hope you have fun with this project.