Houseplant Bling, Part 2 in the Houseplant Series

Who’dve thunk I could stretch out a topic like houseplants to 3 posts?  But that’s exactly what I’m planning to do!  Today’s topic represents a collaboration between Martha Stewart and I.  It’s one part Martha Rip Off and one part Julia Original.  Let’s begin with the Rip Off.

Remember how in my very first post I told you I was reading Martha Stewart in my early 20’s?  We’ll here’s proof.  I’ve been toting this idea around with me since 2001.  Behold Martha Stewart Living’s March of 2001 Find of the Month.  Silver Pot Saucers!

You can click on these images and get more of a close-up if you want to read about this straight from the Martha’s mouth.  But the concept is pretty easy to grasp and pretty elegant once executed.  Use flea market silver plate platters with pretty edging as your plant saucers instead of those ugly, flimsy, plastic plates.  You’ve got to have something to protect your furniture.  Silver plate is cheap and if it’s flawed it either won’t show or won’t matter.  It’s available in abundance at flea markets and yard sales and with a little polish and some stick-on felt surface protectors to keep the silver from scratching your furniture you are good to go.  Here’s what it looks like in my house and I’m not even using old clay pots (which for the record look fantastic in the top picture above, IMHO):

You might have noticed the silver plate under the tulips from my roman shade post:

And also under this very same orchid on my mantle in my last post.  I keep several of these little gems on hand to embellish any house plant that needs extra sparkle. In the case of my orchid, you get all of the texture of something organic like cork dressed up with the jewelry of a little silver pedestal.  Beautiful and simple.  Thank you Martha, for the fantastic idea.  Consider it stolen.

But that’s not where the Houseplant Bling extravaganza ends.  I’ve got a few tricks of my own to share.  The first is … drumroll please … moss!  I firmly believe that adding a little moss to cover the dirt of your houseplants makes them look infinitely more finished.  And it’s totally easy.  I get my moss at Michael’s.  It’s $4.99 per bag.  This is what it looks like:

And this is what it looks like when it’s tucked around your houseplants ….

Valentine’s tulips with ugly foil wrapper (and gift of diamonds lotto ticket from hubby attached) BEFORE:

Valentine’s tulips with red foil removed, plopped into a silver cachepot that’s not even the right size, and moss gaps filled in looking VERY fancy AFTER:

Take note!  I did not plant that tulip in this pot.  I just dropped it down in there and covered up all of the terra cotta colored plastic and the gap between the ovular cachepot and the round plastic pot with moss.  Easy.

And here’s a close-up of another of our plants.  Just a plain old plant, looking WAY more finished and thoughtful with a little moss tucked in there:

And this little guy on my living room coffee table.  I had received a basket of mixed houseplants and over time several of them just got gangly and crazy looking.  This little one stayed small and pretty so I repotted it and tossed the rest.  I originally planted it to the side thinking that I would put another type of houseplant in with it.  But now with the little carpet of moss, I’m looking for a little embellishment of another sort.  Maybe some little mushrooms made of organic material or a few robin’s eggs or a couple of sticks of driftwood.  Too much?  Maybe.  But I’ve got an eye out for something that would look interesting right there and at the end of the day, it might just be another plant.  Check it out that fabulous, organic, mossy texture:

But forest floor moss doesn’t fit every plant.  I have this awesome little aloe plant that my friend Brandy gave me for Christmas.  The little lady was calling out for a bit of jewelry of her own but my usual moss selection just wasn’t cutting it.  Well luckily on the same aisle at Michael’s is Spanish Moss.  Spanish Moss is a great choice for cactuses, succulents, and anything that has more of a desert feel (ironic since Spanish Moss is a mainstay on the Georgia Coast).  Check out my little lady aloe:

Pretty, right?  Looks like it was purchased at a nursery, already all dressed up for a night out.  Not so!  Totally DIY dressed up.  (For the record, she was dressed for the holidays when Brandy gave her to me … adorable but looking a little neglected now that March is upon us … wardrobe change!)

Bling out your houseplants!  It’s cheap, easy, and makes things look so finished and fancy.

posted by Julia on Mar 1st, 2010 in Decorating, Gardening, Plants & Flowers, Julia Original, Rip Off
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