custom terrarium

i met up with my dear friends greg and angie the other night and made them this custom terrarium. i was especially excited to present this planted treat to them because aside from being a designer and an artist, they have become quite the urban farmers! soon i will be revisiting their space with my camera in tow and will do a feature on their hard work. i was most impressed by the quantity of cilantro they were growing. i always struggle to grow that good stuff successfully. they had and abundance, we enjoyed it in the fish tacos they made for dinner (YUMMY!) so this terrarium features the outdoorsy couple on a desert hike with their dogs. i am working on quite a few custom terrariums at this time, hopefully i will get around to documenting them all. the scenes are getting to be more and more challenging and fun. keep 'em coming gang! i am so grateful for all the biz...



p.s. that crazy looking tall succulent plant is called a maternity plant or mother of thousands (kalanchoe daigremontiana). it drops babies like crazy and spreads. i have these in my garden and they will drop from one pot down to another. very cool when a plant is so eager to grow! grow! grow!

egg planter diy

even if you don't celebrate easter, this is a super fun diy project. who doesn't love seeing a little plant sprout out of an egg! and best of all this diy is nearly free! most of the materials are inexpensive and some can be found in nature. it makes a sweet little house warming gift, a great way to host plants in your skinny windowsill and a lovely presentation for gifting clippings or seedlings!

in this diy example i used succulent clippings from my garden. when giving the little egglings i like to include a little note that tells the story of the mother plant... but of course your note is up to you... perhaps your plant speaks the language of love and will woe the recipient with a poem (i like to make almost all occasions or gifts romantic - plants always win my heart!).



the materials...
- soil (if working with succulents use a cactus / palms mix and for vegi or other - use an organic potting soil)

- pea gravel (tiny rocks - make sure they are clean and dry!)

- egg(s) - cage free or homegrown is best

- scissors

- pine needles or long blades of grass

- twine or kite string

- plants: succulent clippings, sprout, seedlings...

- a bowl or cup (for yoke and to keep those eggs safe and not rolling about)

- paper towels



delicatly and very carefully using a sharp object, such as the tip of scissors puncture the top of the egg (the pointed part). start with a small hole, opening it up slowly till it has enough room to fit your finger plus a little extra room. be very gentle during this process and be prepared with a bowl underneath your hands.



pour all the insides of the egg into your bowl. you may need to poke at the yoke to get it sliding out faster.



once the egg is empty, clean it out with water in the sink. again be very careful - they are fragile!



when your egg is in the clear begin to place (one by one) the small rocks into the base of the egg. about 5 or 7 tiny ones should do. this will act as your water drainage system. after your rocks are in, add the soil, when your soil is more than half way in, add your clipping (if you have a sprout you may need to place it in sooner). add more soil, place a few more small rocks to position and support your plant. at this point you may need to place your egg(s) into a bowl or cup so that they don't roll all over and get all humpty dumpty on you!



next step - nests! every egg needs a nest, naturally! these nests will not only be the finishing touch to your display, but all serve a purpose - they keep your egg sitting up! take a bundle of pines (from your garden or local park) or long grass blades and with your twine tie they together at one end, then curve them into a circular form that is small enough to hold your egg in place (the tighter the better). you can then twist your twine all around the curve, keeping the form of the "nest". how many knots or how tight your nest turns out is really up to you. it can be organic and wild or more like a stiff wreath. you are the bird building YOUR nest! up to you!



and voila! egggy-planty art! enjoy!

pssst... birdies, if you decide to make some of these and take photos, i'd love to see your projects!

custom terrariums

i have been a busy lady this week. i did a set decorating gig (yes it involved plants!), worked the regular, and made 4 BIG custom terrariums and one little. 3 of which were for some fancy clients. yup! terri planty is creating mini hollywood for big hollywood! i won't name names but i think the images are pretty obvious.
all of these terrariums were made to look like the people they were gifted to. so not just kind of look alikes, i am talking total cosmetic surgery had to be performed, mustaches were painted (SO HARD TO DO) and outfits that were classic to the characters being portrayed. fun times! i really do love challenges like these and welcome more to come (especially when the people who hire you are super rad and kind).



ping pong anyone? custom table baby!

my garden

as promised, some before and afters of my little plot o' land, my garden. the back that is. one space at a time! so, i have lots of befores. lots of process shots. still working on getting you a good NOW shot since "after" is still in the works. but i think even from this body of photographs you will get a good idea of where we are at.

and here we go, the big reveal! our befores...



i couldn't find images of the early early days when it was just dirt, before i got my paws in there. so you will see some growth in the works. my ma came out kinda early and helped me start. but the images above pretty much show off the basic idea. there was the tall tropical plants, lots of mexican sage and WEEDS. i also had a lot of weird junk in the garden. leftover sculpture parts. i never removed things that were there already (broken tiki lights and plastic flowers). i also had a ton of blow up balls from an art installation that i still find on occasion dead behind a full plant. my cats loved the personalized cat nip raised bed! but so did all the other cats in the hood. i had no clue what i was planting. if i liked it - it went. big mistake! read your labels! where and when you plant is a HUGE money saver!
the borders were awful. squared off, not fun pieces of wood shoved in to the soil. i of course didn't get the bright idea of playing with the form till i went to the theodore payne foundation and saw this!



now that is what i am talking about (the above is theodore payne ). seeing their garden space was a major transition moment. it was when i realized duh! i can expand, transform, use found materials like rocks, concrete, wood! make it big! erick and i got hard core one day and leveled the soil in the back and discovered a crazy amount of concrete under the ground. it is now one of my primary materials for the borders. finding all that concrete allowed me to build out the planting beds and make for a more organic finish. and even then... i was still keeping it kinda conservative in size.

until i realized, my lack of patience bit me in the butt. i kept planting everybody so close in an effort to make the garden look more lush. well, that made for a jam packed world! oh man, i have had to go back and divide and edit since. always plant with the future in mind! even if your plant looks small for a year, be a calm soul. that little booger will grow grow grow!

the last photos show case my garden a year ago, although the very last is from this year. that last image shows where i am now. patiently and more aggressively expanding the space. even since that photo i have expanded and planted more clippings in that area.
like i said in my earlier post, my garden is not a "designed" garden. it is an experiment. a plant hospital. and existing on a very tight budget. almost all of the plants you see were grown from clippings from my mother and grandmother's gardens, given to me by folks who had no hope they would survive and i nursed them back to life mixed in with the occasional native plant splurge and lots of wild flower seeds! i have also been planting lots of my terrarium reject plants in the little pockets between the rocks and logs. i went on lots of garden tours while taking a class a horticulture class at ucla, and loved the way the gardeners created all these surprise moments between the rocks in the borders. suddenly a dudleya (a a california native succulent) would sprout out and create a beautiful hard form to contrast the soft sage above it.
ideally if i had the funds, my garden would be 85% california native plants mixed in with cacti and succulents and other drought tolerant buddies. but in the meantime i am doing the best i can with what i've got. but basically the lesson learned from this post is to research first! go for it be brave! expand! go big! and mostly to have fun! i will continue you to show you the process of my little land in hopes to inspire you to say hello to your own green thumb. if you have a garden (indoor too!) to share - please do!


p.s. that is my cute friend megan's butt in the first photo next to the photo of my cat children. her mother is one of my big garden inspirations. a garden tour of her space coming soon!

you rock my world

new materials are always fun to introduce into ones practice. and with that being said, i now present, give a lovely welcoming applause to... geodes and crystals oh my! i found a new source for the shiny stuff and i am beaming with excitement. i have so many ideas for these glittery rocks, so watch out! keep them in mind for custom terrariums too. they say crystals bring good energy! just sayin'!
the terrarium with the bikini lounger lives in my home. i scored the quartz rock on my desert trip with my dad, along with the cool vintage milk bottles. i left them a bit filthy because i like the look of the soiled details. lets you know where they've come from, gives them a little history. no folks in there yet. but they are sure to come!

hello hitched - plant piles

i am finally posting my photos from hitched at the ace hotel in palm springs. its about time! i posted more on my other blog, squirrel hobbies. but here are my favorite plant moments - naturally i reserve the plant love for the terri planty blog lands!
speaking of plants, britt of tending to it is a true master. the lady created an amazing table display of a dripping succulent cluster! so gorgeous. i am so inspired. she also collaborated with jamie of desert fete and created a sweet diorama of a desert scene, mini plants included!
there were lots of gorgeous displays of old vintage bottles, terrariums and air plants hanging out on piles of old books and such. in the "grooms lounge" casually displayed succulents hung out with snazzy leather shoes.
all in all the event was full of sweet details.