As a naturalistic outdoor gardener with a love of permaculture and native rewilding gardens, (which I maintain for my parents at their place), I wanted to create an indoor display that continues that feeling inside and makes a nice lush space to be able to get that garden mindfulness in the chilly, windy winters we get here on the southwest coast of WA! It’s definitely a busy style of indoor gardening, but it makes me happy and reflects nature imo. What do you folks think? Nerdy info below for anyone who cares 🤭
So we have a combo of climbing epipremnum, philos & scindapsus + various rhipsalis (who are overwintering inside-temperate climate in west australia for context) and some tillandsia.
All growing in plastic nursery pots with terracotta as cover pots, drainage saucers in use to minimise water damage on the timber shelf (which was treated with waterproof lacquer).
Intentionally chose plants with little-to-no variegation as the light available from the window is reasonable, but not reliable or strong enough to support lower chlorophyll specimens, plus I wanted to make the care minimal and the growth satisfying as this is the bathroom at my parents place and I set this up for them after they renovated it!
They enjoy the humidity, but also the airflow of the extractor fan and the open window. Most of the vines are trained with those stick-on twisty cable management clips, sometimes the aerial roots start attaching to the wall but I try and keep an air gap between the vine and the wall to minimise damage, even though I’m sure they’d love to be attached and would grow larger!
I feed lightly with every water, a dash of seasol indoor formula, and they are potted in a diy mix of coir, perlite and seasol brand indoor mix, with probably some random extras, and of course more inert chunky media for the rhipsalis!
I am happy with the leaf size, health and overall positioning of the display, it’s easy to maintain and about 2 years old I’d say. Everything can be taken down and moved as needed for maintenance and cleaning, and as I said some of the rhipsalis are on their winter holidays in there and will hang back out on the patio when it warms up, we just get some pretty crazy salty coastal winds that tear through us in the cool season and I wanna protect my hoyas and rhipsalis cos they’re my fave!
It’s just a little display with pretty simple plants, but I like it and my family does too, and it makes the space feel whimsical and inviting, and makes use of the humid environment too.