JJ Bean & TPD

Alright folks, the day has come! You can now enter to win a Tomlinson Plant Design Terrarium at THREE JJ Bean cafes in Vancouver! My terrariums are at my home store on Alberni & Bute, at the Marine building over on Burrard & Pender, and at our newest little shop over on Fraser & 27th. Tickets are $1 each, 5 for $3, or $5 for an arms length! So cheap, and all the proceeds go towards the upcoming JJ Bean/ Habitat for Humanity trip to El Salvador. In short, buy tickets. Buy lots, and buy often. The raffle is open until July 31, so the winner will be announced August 1. If you need to be coerced some more, below are photos of the terrariums I've made, and the locations where you can enter to win them.

Fraser: Dracena, Schefflera, big ol' tillandsia, and a tropical I have forgotten the name of...

Alberni: Super cool fern, selangenella, croton, and tillandsia

Marine: Rex begonia, golden selangenella, boston fern, and tillandsia. 

Pin & Post

Just a quick update here: If you live in the Vancouver area, you will soon be able to enter to win one of my terrariums! Some of the amazing JJ Bean staff (including my dearly beloved Maria & Wayne) will be heading down to El Salvador for two weeks with Habitat for Humanity this upcoming November, and now is the time to fund-raise. Keep you're eyes open for the raffle to begin! My

Purple Caput Medusae tillandsia

terrariums will be available at JJ Bean Alberni, Marine, and the company's newest store over on Fraser St. Tickets will be cheap and all proceeds go to a great cause. I'll keep you posted on those details...

Also exciting...I am now on Pinterest! It's been a long time coming. Make sure to stop on by and check it out! I've even set up a few boards of things that inspire me or bring me happiness. I sense that I may get addicted to Pinterest and will be frequently adding to my boards, so make sure to check back often! 

It's a crazy beautiful evening out there, so I think it's time to mix up a G & T and enjoy the patio for a while! Or maybe I'll make a few terrariums up (too many happy options, what's a girl to do?!) Mad love!

In & Out

Aeonium and succulents

I was walking home from work. It was a hot evening, it had been a long day, and I was exhausted. No, I was burnt out. I was listening to Daughter on my iPod and was suddenly completely caught up in the moment. There were some kids jumping through the sprinkler on one of the yards I was passing, and a wave of nostalgia hit me. I had participated in this simple summer activity countless times throughout my childhood, and I recognize it as a mark of summer. Jumping through the sprinkler. Such a simple delight. And then it hit me: I have been so busy that I haven't been enjoying life's simple pleasures enough. Now don't get me wrong, I love being busy and I love having so many projects on the go. But I think that I have been so distracted by the lists of things I have to get done that my inspiration, my joie de vivre, has been suffering. In that moment, I resolved to ensure that I make time to indulge in myself a little more, make more time for social gatherings, and to enjoy the simple things that make me smile (like the fact that my olive tree has blossomed and smells AMAZING). And so far, though my body is still tired (thank God for coffee!), my spirit is feeling much better. 

Cordyline and succulent

I've been busy making terrariums and working in my own gardens, and working my day jobs too. The pictures I have included  in this post(sorry about the quality) are of a couple terrarium refreshers that I have recently done. The life span of a terrarium often depends a great deal on the human factor. Terrariums should last several months before they start to suffer from things such as root competition or water logging, and eventually the whole terrarium may need to be replanted. From my own experience, a terrarium should need the the most attention in the first two or three weeks of it's life. This attention should come in the form of figuring out a watering schedule, making sure the plants are growing/surviving well, and finding the right place for it to call home. After  a few weeks, the terrarium should have sorted itself out. At this point, a certain degree of neglect from the human factor is necessary for its survival--it is its own ecosystem after all. Even God took a step back. This is my method, and it has been working well. I've had my own terrarium growing happily now for just over four months. But, as plants are organic living matter, sometimes they just die. They just do. It happens all the time, regardless of how green your thumb is. If this has happened to you, please note that I offer an affordable replanting service: Succulent refreshers start at $30; Tropical refreshers start at $15. Prices vary depending on the size of the container and the extent of the replanting necessary.

Now for some truly exciting news! I'm doing a wedding! No, it is not mine, but I am completely psyched. This will be the first wedding I have ever planned, so there is definitely a degree of stress, but I am confident that it will turn out amazing. I am planning and setting up the ceremony and reception decor, as well as creating all the floral work (bouquets, boutonnieres, arrangements--of course a terrarium or two, and ton of greenery). So exciting! The best part of it all is that the bride and groom are super laid back and have similar tastes as me, which makes this learning experience MUCH easier. It will be great! The wedding is in August and I will definitely be posting pictures of my work, so keep checking back. 

That's about all for now. The evening looks too beautiful to spend indoors, so I think it may be time for tea and a stroll.

Light & Colour: Gardening for Shade Part I

Now that May has arrived and people are eager to get back outside in into their gardens, I find that I am solicited for gardening advice on a daily basis. One of the most common questions I am asked is: "What do you suggest for a shade garden?" Well, this post is part of a response, and will hopefully provide some inspiration to those with shaded gardens. I have a little bit of everything at my house, but I have really come to enjoy playing with my shaded spots. Though my favorite plants are those that like to be baked in poor soils and sun, shade gardens let me play with texture and colour to a greater degree.  

One of my gardens, and it gets all degrees of sun. A work in progress.

First of all, you need to clarify what you mean by "shade." Is it dappled shade, part shade, bright shade, or full shade? Dappled shade is bright and may even get a bit of direct sun, though nothing substantial. Part shade is best thought of as an area that gets 3-5 hours of sun per day, most of which is in the morning. Full shade doesn't get any direct sunlight, though how shaded it is may fall on a spectrum from bright to deep. You also want to keep soil and topography in mind. Shaded areas often have  more moisture in their soil, and if the soil hasn't been worked in a while you may be dealing with clay. You also want to be keenly aware of where water may pool because the last thing you want to do is drown your new plant! Lastly, come to terms with the fact that in the shade, you will be dealing with slugs. No getting around that one.

An old picture now, but this is my patio.

Once you have determined what kind of shade you are dealing with, you can start thinking about plants. The good news is, if you have bright, dappled, or part shade, there are many things you can plant. If it is full shade, especially deep shade, things will be trickier. If you are wanting flowers in a shade garden, your options are a bit limited and are often a bit more expensive, but nonetheless worth the investment. Below is a list of late Spring and Summer flowering options that are perennial, though begonias and fushias also come in annual forms. by no means is this an exhaustive list, but rather a few of my obsessions and some uncommon options. We all know that hydrangeas  clematis, fushias, oriental lilies, and hellebore thrive in shaded areas. I want to give you something a bit more unique.

Flowers

Kirengeshoma palmata: A deciduous shrub, 3' or 4' tall and wide. Gets unique waxy and spongy bright yellow bell shaped flowers against medium sized prehistoric-looking bright green foliage. Blooms mid-summer on into early fall. Part shade to full shade. 

One of my trilliums. This one blooms red.

Trillium: Provincial flower of Ontario! But out here on the West Coast, trillium is not so common. In fact, in the Vancouver gardening community, it is thought to be a collector's plant. Deciduous and dormant in the summer, it in clump forming and grows to about 1'. Delicate flowers with three petals against large lobed and waxy leaves in Spring (so much better than a tulip!). The most common variety blooms white and fades to pink or burgundy, but red, purple, and soft yellow varieties are also available. Dappled shade is best.

Actea/Cimicifuga: Amazing enough just for the contrast with its dark foliage (usually deep purple or black), and super fun to say. Also known as "snake root," actea gets long plumes of (usually) white flowers in summer. At the Nursery we call it the "Hippie Plant" because the flowers smell like patchouli and incense. LOVE IT! Grows to 4' tall and wide, and prefers part shade. 

Ligularia: The only ligularias that I feel are worth suffering through the slug damage for are those that get the amazing bright yellow bottle-brush plumes of flowers on them. Ergo, get stenocephala ("The Rocket") or przewalskii ("Dragon Wings"). Stenocephala gets 5.5' tall with the flowers, and 3' wide and flowers mid- to late summer. Przewalskii gets just as big, flowers late spring to early summer, and seems to be slug resistant! Part shade to full shade. 

Astilbe: A deciduous woodland shrub (if you can call it that) that gets to be about 2'. Spears of delicate flowers in the summer. Part shade. Compliments ligularias and actea for a unique woodland look. 

The green is one of my acanthus'. It has 2 flower stalks already! 

Acanthus: I. Am. Obsessed. With acanthus. It gets huge--4' or 5' wide over time--and it gets columns of white and purple sharp-toothed flowers in the summer. To me, acanthus is one of those plants that has flowers that are as cool as its foliage. The leaves are thick and strong and also get a little pokey over time. For those of us who love dangerous-looking plants like agaves and cacti but live with a shaded garden, this plant is perfect. Variegated varies seem to be more tempting to slugs than the green ones (or at least this is the case at my place). Part shade to full shade. 

Cardiocrinum Gigantium: The 7' tall, super rare Himalayan lily that takes seven years to come into bloom. If you find it, BUY IT! It'll be expensive, but then you have a truly coveted plant. And it self seeds! Part shade.

My arisaema is in the process of unfurling.

Arisaema: Cobra lilies super cool flowers that easily form a clump in part shade . The plant looks pretty hideous as they emerge from the ground in the spring, but as they slowly unfurl they become this neat and exotic-looking large pitcher-like flower with amazing dark colouring. The foliage is large waxy lobes, so you get a bit of shine in your garden. Grows to about 1' and blooms in late spring.

Begonias: Begonias...have been hard for me to come to appreciate. I find they are often done up a bit too "Granny," or that they are just shoved into city planters because they are cheap, colourful, and bloom into the fall--no thought, no love. But, every plant has a purpose, and begonias humbly serve theirs. I planted some salmon orange coloured ones in a window box the other day with some eggplant-coloured coleus , silver dichondra, and a touch of white allysum and you know what, they look great. If you get begonias, get the non-stop tuberous ones because in the fall you can dig up the corms, through them in some vermiculite in a closet, and save them until next Spring. Easy. JUST DON'T MAKE IT LOOK LIKE GRANNY'S!!!!!!!

That's about all I have for flowery plants. I'll follow this up with a post about foliage for shade, and trust me, this is where it gets REALLY good. 

Teaching & Learning: Workshop at Pixar Studios

Oh my good gravy, how has a month gone by since my last post?! My sincerest apologies. I have been busier than ever with all of my little side projects, mostly in regards to reclaiming the gardens at my house. Perhaps I shall share my work with you in the coming days...

A couple of weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to teach a class on how to make terrariums down at Pixar Studios down in Gastown. Words can not fully express how much I enjoyed the experience; it was an honour to be asked to teach the class, and incredibly inspiring to be doing my craft with a group of creative folks. To think that all this has stemmed from one little terrarium in a coffee shop and some supportive customers and co-workers, it just blows my mind! 

It was a nice small class of eight, but I brought my dear and similarly plant-minded friend Louis along as an extra set of hands (but also so we could do some much loved nursery hopping for resources...). The set up was pretty simple: the attendees brought their own containers, and I supplied the rest of the supplies. If I am honest, the containers were smaller than what I had been expecting, but I absolutely loved how unique each one was; there were mason jars, fish bowls, terrariums that hang, and even a dog dish! I decided to bring exclusively tropical plants partly because of availability, but also because I wanted people to have something that they could keep on their desks where there may not be too much light. The workshop took over the 20' table in lunchroom at Pixar (oh how I wish I had taken a picture!); we set it up so that each seat had access to soil and moss, their own pots of charcoal and rocks, some cut stems and sea shells for aesthetic, and a tillandsia--it honestly looked like a feast had been set out on the table! After a brief introduction of myself, terrariums, and what plants I brought, everyone selected which plant or plants they wanted to use and we got planting! Pixar has a great location too, and because the sun was out that day, which is a rarity in Vancouver at this time of year, we got to build our terrariums with an amazing view of the North Shore mountains and the harbour. How blissful it was! The following pictures are some of the creations that came out of the workshop.  And if you are someone who made one of the terrariums pictured, be proud! The all turned out great. Enjoy!

Capsule terrarium with fern

Fish bowl terrarium withe dracena and fern

Dog dish terrarium with ficus and "Piggy Back" plant

Terrarium with pilea and dracena

Mason jar terrarium with fern 

Terrarium with coffee plant

Terrarium with rex begonia and echevaria

Terrarium with pothos and a tropical plant.

Fields & Asphalt

July in Linden, AB

No matter how much I love living in Vancouver, part of me will always be a country girl. I go through very regular cycles of homesickness. I miss my family, my oldest friends, the uncomplicated and less stress-filled life...but I also know that I am exactly where I need to be right now. Typically these cycles coincide with the seasons; July in Alberta is unmatched in beauty, though "winters" in Vancouver are much more tolerable than those in the prairies. I am a summer baby and I find that I so often spend my time yearning for muggy hot summer, that I forget that Spring is probably my favorite season of all, even in the city. Spring has always brought change and upheaval to my life. A year ago I unexpectedly moved to Vancouver and started my life over from scratch. I can't believe how fast that year has gone by! Deciding to move on was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Now, a year later, as Spring unfolds yet again, I feel  that rush and anticipation for what this year may bring. Spring, in my world, is the beginning of the new year; the world feels refreshed and reset, and just as eager as I am to get on with it.

I live in a particularly magical area of Vancouver, and as I was out for a morning stroll today, there was an unmistakably lightness that reminded me of home. Perhaps it was the sweetness in the air from the dewy grass and blooming trees, or just the particular warmth of the sun--I was suddenly transported back to lilac and crocus lined coulees of Linden, Alberta. I must admit that I generally find the bright colours of spring blooms like tulips and daffodils tacky (I am more of a foliage girl after all). But with the cherry and magnolia trees beginning to bloom, garish spring blooms just fade into the background. 

I just wanted to take a moment this morning to share my love of Spring with you, and I hope that as you go about your week, you too feel recharged and enjoy the simple pleasures of the season. 

Hellebore. 

FAQ's & Answers

I apologize for having not posted in a while; between a hectic life schedule and battling the flu, time has most certainly gotten away from me! But now I'm on the mend and I see that Spring has firmly arrived in Vancouver, so maybe it's worth getting out of bed. All whining aside, in this post I want to address a couple questions I regularly get asked regarding watering, replanting, and mold.

How often should I water my terrarium?

Watering schedules are dictated by three factors: plants, vessel, and location. For a more traditional terrarium containing tropicals plants, mosses, ferns, air plants, bromeliads, orchids, etc. you will want to keep humidity levels high, and the soil just moist (not soggy!). If the terrarium is more of a xeriscape (cacti, succulents, sansevaria, etc.) let it dry out between watering. Succulents are great at telling you when they need water: if they start to shrivel up and look like the skin on your elbow, it needs a drink--otherwise leave it be! If the terrarium is mostly or entirely enclosed, it is unlikely that you'll need more than the occasional spritzing of water just to help maintain the humidity. If the terrarium has more of an open top, you'll probably have to keep a closer eye on the moisture levels. As terrariums do not have drainage holes to allow excess water to run out, it is essential that you NOT OVER-WATER! If in doubt, stick your finger right into the soil; if it is dry and inch down you can water, but if it is soppy, let it dry out and keep your eye on it. The location of where you place the terrarium affects it as well. If you put even a full enclosed terrarium by a heat source, you'll probably have to water it fairly often. If it is in a bright window getting lots of indirect light, you'll probably have to water a little more regularly than you would if it were sitting on a coffee table with less light. Is is in a moist room (such as a bathroom)? You may never have to water it! You also have to take into account how dry the air is in the location in which the terrarium will go. Lots to consider! Generally, a light water once a week for tropicals is fine, and once every two-three weeks for a succulent terrarium. When you do water, make sure you water evenly, making sure that every plant gets some water to its roots. Watering unevenly can lead to plant death or mold. 

A xeriscape terrarium like this requires very little water

Does my terrarium need replanting?

The Bean 2.0

Again, it depends on the plants. Plants such as cacti, succulents, sansevaria, moss, palms, and bromeliads don't have much of a root system so you generally don't need to worry about them getting root bound.  Succulents LOVE to grow up all close together in tight little bunches; they're like a happy little family. Don't destroy that happy little commune that they've built up! If you do though, they will probably forgive you because they're cool like that. On the other hand, some tropical plants get quite large and are quite competitive for space within a container. Ficus elastica wants to be a very large tree, diefenbachia becomes a large plant, ferns and mosses often take over... In such instances, it really is up to the person maintaining the terrarium as to whether they remove the gangling or disproportionate plants. For instance, I recently had to replant my beloved "The Bean" (long story short, it got vandalized  my heart broke), and when doing so, I found that that the diefenbachia was starting to struggle as it had simply grown too large. So I left it out, but salvaged the palm (and the turtle) for the new terrarium. If a plant has leaves that are turning yellow or a succulent that has going black and mushy (a.k.a. rotting) it may need to be replaced because it has been over-watered and is a potential threat to the rest of the terrarium. If you have leaves that are turning crusty and brown, you probably need to give the plant more water, or the terrarium is getting too much direct light and the plants are literally frying. In this case, you can probably get away with just removing the dead leaves rather than removing the whole plant.

What do I do if I see mold?

Mold is pretty much inevitable with a terrarium, so if you have it, don't worry it isn't you, it's the fact that a terrarium is a living breathing environment full of organic matter and moisture. Mold can happen for a number of reasons. Often it happens because the container is over-planted and the plants within it don't have the room they need to grow and breath. Just as often it is because there is moisture trapped somewhere and the heat produced from the photosynthesizing plants is providing a delightful environment for mold to grow. If you see mold on the ground within your terrarium do things immediately: try and remove as much as you can, and clear the area around the mold so as to let air get to it. Then, let the terrarium dry out a bit. You may be over-watering, or you may be watering unevenly. Figure that out, and keep your eye on the mold situation. If you see a molding plant, don't panic! If it is just a molding leaf, remove the leaf right away and try to get more air into your terrarium by either letting the humidity and moisture levels drop or by removing the cover (if it has one). If the entire plant has turned, remove it immediately, check the soil where it was to make sure there is no mold, and again, let the terrarium dry out and get more air. Keep a close eye on the welfare of your other plants to make sure there is no more mold. But again, don't panic if you see mold! It's not you, it's the fact that you are playing with a tiny environment of living, photosynthesizing organic matter. It happens. A little mold is nothing to worry about, just make sure it doesn't become a problem.

The NW Special

I hope that this has answered some of your questions! What I really hope is evident here is that you do not have to be a so called "green thumb" to keep a terrarium alive. It's just the rudimentary science we all learned in primary school! Plants need a degree of moisture to photosynthesize  Too much moisture + not enough oxygen = mold. Just think about how our own world works: it rains sometimes, it's dryer sometimes. If it rains too much or too hard, it floods, plant life washes away and things drown. When it is too dry, plant life is suffocated and dies. But at some point, everything tries to balance out. Find the balance!