Hanging Plants

March 19, 2018
Botanical designer Parker, who runs the New Zealand design firm Pickled Whimsy, offers a next-level challenge to people who love growing plants indoors: un-pot the plants. An essential part of cultivating potless plants—known in Japan as kokedama—is the art of making them: mixing the appropriate soil, using the right kind of moss and string to contain the root ball, and suspending the plant. Making kokedama, Parker explains, is both meditative and messy, requiring hands-on contact with natural materials. Parker gives helpful step-by-step illustrated instructions to guide the novice. She presents basic how-tos, then devotes chapters to different kinds of plants (tropicals, succulents, ferns, and others) that make good kokedama. Larnie Nicholson’s alluring photographs illustrate the individual steps and showcase the finished products in gorgeous full-page photos of these dangling botanical beauties thriving indoors. Gardeners of all levels will be intrigued, but the book is best suited to advanced gardeners willing to devote patience and care to creating these unusual indoor gems. Color photos.