Back from Lotusland and my head was filled with Bromeliad thoughts and Tillandsia dreams. I already have a small collection of potted Bromeliads that spend summer under the shade pavilion — adding to them was certainly a possibility — but what I really wanted to do was bring them up off the ground near eye level. Thus the dish garden...
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I'd begun thinking on something like this while buying the Tillandsia usneoides at Lotusland.
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But once home I hung it on the trellis in Schefflera-land, and liked it there. All of a sudden I was picturing adding to it — creating a vertical Bromeliad garden. But that's a project for another time, maybe next year, once the Clematis tibetana var. vernayi is removed.
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Meanwhile the silver-white coloring of the Spanish Moss goes nicely with the Dichondra argentea just to the right.
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Breaking up the sea of green...
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Then — as though to reinforce my original idea of something hanging — this Tillandsia orb of craziness showed up at my door...
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A gift from a friend (thanks Susan!) it got my wheels turning even faster.
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Last year my chartreuse circle pot held a trio of Bromeliads. I briefly considered pulling the Begonia but I still liked them.
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Plus the black one — which had crumpled up and died — is making a comeback.
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Then, as these things happen, my friend Denise wrote a blog post about her hanging Bromeliad containers and ended it with this photo, snapped on a garden tour.
That sent me off to hunting at our local ReBuilding Center, where I found this hexagonal pie plate in a bin with metal vents and pipes. Cost? $2.00 (!!!)
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Love the patina of age.
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Holes were drilled...
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For these orange beauties! These are the same hook the fabulous Tillandisia orb hangs from. I learned that one came from Garden Fever, so scurried right over and bought more.
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Still, there was one more design challenge: how would I connect the hooks at the top? Back to the ReBuilding Center where I found this "cap" from (I believe) a light fixture. The metal disc was in another bin. When inquiring for the price of these treasures the employee asked what I was going to do with them. I pulled the pie plate out of my handbag and proceeded to share my vision. The cost was then assigned — a photo of my completed project. Sold!
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A length of metal cable, along with a ferrule and stop set, and...
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The dish was complete!
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I thought using another orange hook to suspend the dish from the tree limb would complete the project nicely, but in the end I went with a bare metal hook (you'll see what I mean in the final picture below). The orange was too much...
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Now the "plantings"...
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I wrapped the roots (and a bit of soil) of a pair of Bromeliads in moss and soaked them good (using a length of wire to hold the moss in place). This isn't a forever planting so they'll be fine until the whole thing is taken down in the autumn.
![]()
Then I tucked in a few Tillandsia (additional T. usneoides had been purchased for this project, the Lotusland hunk remains hanging on the metal trellis) and called it good...
![]()
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But there was a problem. All of a sudden the silver cap/connector looked like a spray-paint can lid. It annoyed me. Something had to be done.
![]()
I'd broken a Cryptanthus pup off the mother plant earlier in the week and been meaning to pot it up. It too got the soil and moss treatment and was placed atop the "spray-paint lid" and I wrapped a little Tillandsia usneoides around it. I dunno, I'm still not happy with this part, the silver filaments are distracting.
![]()
Maybe once the cap gets a patina it will be okay without additional ornamentation (sans the Cryptanthus)? Maybe I need to just go with moss and lose the T. usneoides? Maybe I need to keep searching for a new metal piece to use here? As you can see I'm still thinking on this, hence the title of the post "Take 1"...
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But the rest of the project I am very happy with!
![]()
Yes indeed...
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Now to start scheming on that vertical trellis planting!
![]()
For another hanging planter idea (also made from re-purposed bits) check out this post on The Practical Plant Geek.
All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
I'd begun thinking on something like this while buying the Tillandsia usneoides at Lotusland.
But once home I hung it on the trellis in Schefflera-land, and liked it there. All of a sudden I was picturing adding to it — creating a vertical Bromeliad garden. But that's a project for another time, maybe next year, once the Clematis tibetana var. vernayi is removed.
Meanwhile the silver-white coloring of the Spanish Moss goes nicely with the Dichondra argentea just to the right.
Breaking up the sea of green...
Then — as though to reinforce my original idea of something hanging — this Tillandsia orb of craziness showed up at my door...
A gift from a friend (thanks Susan!) it got my wheels turning even faster.
Last year my chartreuse circle pot held a trio of Bromeliads. I briefly considered pulling the Begonia but I still liked them.
Plus the black one — which had crumpled up and died — is making a comeback.
Then, as these things happen, my friend Denise wrote a blog post about her hanging Bromeliad containers and ended it with this photo, snapped on a garden tour.
 |
| photo credit Denise @ A Growing Obsession |
That sent me off to hunting at our local ReBuilding Center, where I found this hexagonal pie plate in a bin with metal vents and pipes. Cost? $2.00 (!!!)
Love the patina of age.
Holes were drilled...
For these orange beauties! These are the same hook the fabulous Tillandisia orb hangs from. I learned that one came from Garden Fever, so scurried right over and bought more.
Still, there was one more design challenge: how would I connect the hooks at the top? Back to the ReBuilding Center where I found this "cap" from (I believe) a light fixture. The metal disc was in another bin. When inquiring for the price of these treasures the employee asked what I was going to do with them. I pulled the pie plate out of my handbag and proceeded to share my vision. The cost was then assigned — a photo of my completed project. Sold!
A length of metal cable, along with a ferrule and stop set, and...
The dish was complete!
I thought using another orange hook to suspend the dish from the tree limb would complete the project nicely, but in the end I went with a bare metal hook (you'll see what I mean in the final picture below). The orange was too much...
Now the "plantings"...
I wrapped the roots (and a bit of soil) of a pair of Bromeliads in moss and soaked them good (using a length of wire to hold the moss in place). This isn't a forever planting so they'll be fine until the whole thing is taken down in the autumn.
Then I tucked in a few Tillandsia (additional T. usneoides had been purchased for this project, the Lotusland hunk remains hanging on the metal trellis) and called it good...
But there was a problem. All of a sudden the silver cap/connector looked like a spray-paint can lid. It annoyed me. Something had to be done.
I'd broken a Cryptanthus pup off the mother plant earlier in the week and been meaning to pot it up. It too got the soil and moss treatment and was placed atop the "spray-paint lid" and I wrapped a little Tillandsia usneoides around it. I dunno, I'm still not happy with this part, the silver filaments are distracting.
Maybe once the cap gets a patina it will be okay without additional ornamentation (sans the Cryptanthus)? Maybe I need to just go with moss and lose the T. usneoides? Maybe I need to keep searching for a new metal piece to use here? As you can see I'm still thinking on this, hence the title of the post "Take 1"...
But the rest of the project I am very happy with!
Yes indeed...
Now to start scheming on that vertical trellis planting!
For another hanging planter idea (also made from re-purposed bits) check out this post on The Practical Plant Geek.
All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.