Hey there, how are you doing? It’s been a strange week here. The temperatures have yo-yo’ed between sweltering and freezing, which is very unusual for this time of the year. We don’t know if we should get our winter coats out of storage or put a bikini on 😀 Even our garden is saying “what the fudge!!?” So we spent the weekend doing some preventative maintenance just in case. Tender new shoots got little blankets of their own and it seems our Tillandsias have made a whole bunch of pups, which need a new home.

Tilly and her pups

Tillandsias or “Air Plants” are fascinating little things. They do all their feeding through their leaves rather than their roots and they can grow on almost anything. From rocks and seashells to scraps of wood, even forks. As long as the wood hasn’t been pressure treated. As luck would have it, the theme for this month’s Int’l Bloggers Club is “wood”. Perfect timing right!! Every last Monday of the month a few bloggers from all over the world get together and do something based on a  theme or a challenge. Last month we all had to take flatlays to show case our countries. It was really difficult. I struggled, alot. But wood…. I can do wood 😉

How to Make a Knitted Planter

I wasn’t 100% sure what this piece of scrap wood had been stained with so we sanded it down and used a heat gun to bring out that beautiful grain, before sealing the wood with a non-toxic outdoor sealer.

There are many different ways to attached Tillandsias to wood. Soft wire, elastic stretch cord or glue. We normally use E6000 because its waterproof and non-toxic to plants, but I wanted to try something a little different this time. So instead of gluing the Tillies on I used natural jute twine to loosley knit three rectangles, which were gathered at the bottom to form small pockets.

Knitting keeps me from #unravelling

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The pockets need to be “loose” to allow for proper airflow. Tillies don’t like feeling smothered.

I used a paper template to figure out where to drill some hole so I could sew the pockets onto the piece of wood.

Adding the Air Plants

Once all the pockets had been sewn on they were filled with a tiny bit of coconut fibre and the Tillandsia pups. The coconut fibre helped “anchor” the Tillies until they get a litle bigger. It should encourage them to grow some roots too.

Tillies thrive in bright indirect light and don’t mind a few hours of direct sun in the morning or afternoon. We’ve hung ours outside on a western wall that gets early morning sun and dappled shade for the rest of the day.

I don’t know about you, but I’m loving the look.

We’ll watch our pups for the next few weeks and if the weather carries on being temperamental we’ll probably bring them inside for a bit. Just until they’re settled.

Let me know what you think of the knitted planter. Is it something that you would make for your Tillandsias? Oh and if you’d like to make your own and your not sure where to get the supplies, I found these on Amazon. Disclosure: If you click on the links below, we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us create more crafty magic 😉

 

Darice Bamboo Knitting Needles 7, 9, 10, 12...

$9.80

Buy on Amazon Price incl. tax, excl. shipping
Last update on 2018-08-17 / Source Amazon Affiliates

5 Large Ionantha Tillandsia Air Plant Pack - Each...

from $21.95

Buy on Amazon Price incl. tax, excl. shipping
Last update on 2018-08-17 / Source Amazon Affiliates

Just Artifacts Eco Metallic Bakers Twine 55yd 11...

$8.58

Buy on Amazon Price incl. tax, excl. shipping
Last update on 2018-08-17 / Source Amazon Affiliates

So I’m off to see what the my blogging friends have done with their wood challenge. Care to join me? Their links should be down there.