Love the light colored curly leaves of the Xerographica with the colorful blush and bract style of the Capitata.

The link to The Living Art

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheLivingArt

We’ve added a bunch of new pieces to the store, check it out here. What is really crazy are the lengths we will go to now for finding new ideas. I put in the description of our latest piece that I would share the story here.

Okay. We are always on the lookout for new things to use with our air plants so we haunt thrift stores, estate sales, craft stores and the like. On our way to our air plant supplier for some new stock Friday, we see a couple of cars parked along the side of the road. A sure sign of a yard sale (although we didn’t see the sign at that point). Of course, we had to turn around and one of these days I might actually pick up that bumper sticker that reads “Warning-will brake for yard sale”.

Not a table in sight but we pull over and park behind another truck. Sure enough, people are walking back to their cars from the fenced back yard (darn, just missed those cute wooden flamingos painted a bright pink that every Florida yard should have). Oh well, they were much too big for our air plants anyway. I digress, sorry.

Our neighborhood features homes on 1 acre or more so there is actually a dirt drive cut across this property leading to the back yard, which is weathered wood privacy fence. Lo and behold, there are three or four cardboard arrows mounted on stakes along the drive to follow even though a couple may have been skewed by the wind. Once you enter the gate you see a large shed that has a few toys scattered in the open front, so you know you’ve found the right place. To the right (behind the house) they have made a nice area with a pond and waterfall and seating to relax. It was nicely done and it made me want to befriend them so I could sit there and relax too. Again, I digress.

So upon turning into the shed, there are the usual tables set up and shelves all around with the usual stuff of yard sales to sell. Bric-a-brac, xmas stuff, other holiday items and of course the toys, which even the grandkids must have outgrown. Jackpot! There is a nice collection of bottles too that are really neat and really cheap. He even threw in the stories of them for free (mostly from cruises they had taken over the years). Now, those bottles are great but as we moved around the circle set up, I am captivated by a collection of alligators. Plush, ceramic, plastic alligators are all featured and I had to ask about the story. Over the years these things had been collected based on this man’s nickname of Gator and he was from Idaho so I had to ask if they have alligators in Idaho. He said, “No, there aren’t any alligators in Idaho” and so my response was to ask him if his nickname had anything to do with their moving to Florida. We had a little chuckle then I gathered up most of his gator collection, some of the most interesting bottles, and his M & M collection.

Making our way back to the truck, our arms burdened with our finds and a little lighter of pocket, we already had some ideas of how to use these new treasures. These are an ideal draw for the kids for the upcoming exhibit we’re planning to do and once you get the kid’s attention, Mom and Dad will look too. Having another baker’s dozen of items to use in the shop didn’t stop my hubby from stopping in again this morning. Boy, I’m glad he did. Apparently our interest in his gators got him thinking about other gators he could part with and so we have added several new gator items to our collection.

I know I only get to keep them a little while, but I sure will enjoy them until they find a new home.

So this is a Leonameana x Stricta hybrid and it has five (yes, 5), flower buds on this single plant. Hard to believe, but I captured this beauty with my camera so you could believe what your own eyes see.

Yes, I love seeing them all around me inside, but really, it becomes a little too much when most of the family room is taken up by my “babies”. Good thing the cold front waited until after Christmas, we’d never fit the whole family in for Christmas Eve dinner otherwise.

So here are a few pics of the project and I’ll keep adding as the work progresses. So exciting……

So, for the most part we found that our snowbirds down for the winter had a lot of questions about air plants (apparently they are better known as air ferns up north). We’d like to take a little space to let people know just how easy it is to enjoy air plants, no matter where you are.

So the most wonderful thing about air plants is that they don’t need dirt. This means they’re not banned from the office like many other plants (no dirt=no bugs). It makes them the perfect gift for coworkers, bosses, and other peers in professional settings for the holiday season.

While we explained that air plants need more than air, it doesn’t take a whole lot of time or energy to care for them. As long as they get bright light without direct sun and water, they are good to go. They even do well with fluorescent lighting. As far as water, some our pieces are misted or sprayed every other day and others can be submerged for 20-30 minutes twice a week. With the dozens of pieces we have and the small nursery, it only takes me about 10 minutes to care for the many we have.

That brings us to why they are our favorites. Without the need for soil, they can be mounted on nearly anything and almost anything is fair game for holding them. Now, you see all kinds of globes and terrariums for air plants, but don’t forget they need air circulation too. In fact, we’ve gotten loyal patrons by fielding questions and advising them on prior purchases from other sellers that were not thriving or even dying.

So, that’s the lowdown on these wonderful plants and why they make great gifts for anyone, especially all those “green” friends and family.

So comment, send an email, or visit us on Etsy to see what we’ve done with these marvelous plants and enjoy!

Find us on Facebook and “Like” us…

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Visit our Etsy Shop for holiday shopping…

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheLivingArt

The link to The Living Art

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheLivingArt

Most prolific to Florida and Texas and ranging across the southern U.S. to include Louisiana and Arizona and Mexico, populations are critical in New Mexico and Georgia[1]. Attempts to cultivate it in Georgia and South Carolina have had limited effect, primarily because it is extremely cold sensitive.

Now I have found numerous photos of ball moss, (just type “air plants” and “recurvata”) and you’re sure to be able to find some yourself.

I’m not quite up on copyright law on the internet and I have such a large population right here in my own yard, I decided I will do my own photography.Let’s just hope my camera is up to the job. One of my pet projects will be to document the life cycle of this wondrous plant here as well. See, not only do they form pups (which gives them their shape), but they spread by winded seed and the droppings of birds on the tree limbs. They begin so tiny, you can barely see them in the bark of the oak. I’ll probably set up a video of photos on our YouTube channel since we had some success with the making of the Etsy Store Showcase Video.

Researching for this article I also found some pretty amazing tidbits about this plant. This wonder plant apparently may help the fight with cancer as well. In 2007, a Dr. Henry Lowe of Jamaica applied for a patent[2] for an extract of recurvata, which has been shown to be effective in cancer cell death. Since then, he’s gone on to develop an anti-cancer drug for prostate cancer. [3]

[1] NatureServe. 2011. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. (Accessed: August 20,2011). http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?sourceTemplate=tabular_report.wmt&loadTemplate=species_RptComprehensive.wmt&selectedReport=RptComprehensive.wmt&summaryView=tabular_report.wmt&elKey=139712&paging=home&save=true&startIndex=1&nextStartIndex=1&reset=false&offPageSelectedElKey=139712&offPageSelectedElType=species&offPageYesNo=true&post_processes=&radiobutton=radiobutton&selectedIndexes=139712

2US Patent and Trademark Office. 2007. (Accessed: August 20,2011). http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=lowe-henry.IN.&OS=in/lowe-henry&RS=IN/lowe-henry

Now I don’t know that I’d like to have an operation of this size myself, but what I wouldn’t give to have just one of his “greenhouses”. The funny thing is, when we get there our list goes right out the window once we walk into the first area and our eyes flit everywhere looking at all the different plants as far as we can see.

The owner recognizes us from our last visit (was that really last month?) and asks us if we need an escort. We assure him we’re fine but ask him for a quick rundown on what is and is not available. He takes us through the house pointing out the tables that hold the plants he will not sell and he tells us why too. Some are extremely rare and will probably never be available for sale. Some are “pupping” and some are for other orders.

We are captivated-there are new varieties here today that were not here last month. We are disappointed-a couple of the ones we really wanted to get are not available right now. If we had known, we would’ve bought 5 or 6 more of the Xerographicas last month when he had hundreds. There are none of that size here today, only babies. That’s ok too, we got some babies and I’ll be able to document their growth. Apparently, they are already 2 years old.

We end up getting a lot more plants than we intended-mostly new and even found that our grower actually has some varieties we thought we’d only be able to get in California. We got some more Funkiana and Filifolia, some Fasiculatas and Streptopyllas, as well as some Ionantha Peach, and Ionantha Peanut (crazy little balls of beauty). So 8 new varieties plus 28 re-stocks equals another 43 plants, yay! I’m a mother dozens of times over.

Getting them home, I feel like the little old woman that lived in the shoe with all these new babies to find beds for. Definitely have to make another air plant bed for the new additions as things are getting a little crowded. Plus, there are four more art projects in the works now that we hope to complete and put on the store this weekend.

As I learn more and find more resources, I’ll be sure to share them here with you. Now, my latest project should be dry enough to mount my little Argentea. He is one of my new favorites because he looks like a little fuzzball and I’ve always had a thing for fuzzy things.

But really, I just want to walk around the yard snapping pics of our most prolific Florida air plants, the tillandsia recurvata, or ball moss; though it’s not a moss at all. Very common, I never really thought about them as anything other than some wild plant around the yard (and they are wild).

Big bunch with several buds.

Having acquired quite a collection now of different air plants and succulents, I see that my native air plants are quite unlike many that you commonly see online. Now that it has stopped raining, there will be literally hundreds, if not thousands, of these recurvatas blooming with their delicate lavender flowers as far as the eye can see around here.

Oh, that reminds me…I should put some photos up here just in case someone wants to see the yard I’m talking about or the projects I’m working on. So that’s next….be back soon with some pics.

The Yard

Top of Driveway

To exit

Going down

Swing

Playground

I’m going to start a series showing the life cycle of these recurvatas as well, so look for that coming soon.