Garden Photo of the Day

Tillandsia’s Take Center Stage

By Kim Charles

Alyssa Midla shares her easy care tillandsia collection with us.

"These are just a few pictures of my indoor apartment air plant garden, complete with large varieties. See how many you can name!
from, Lulu's Cottage Garden."

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  1. user-7007960 02/09/2017

    Morning Alyssia, Lovely collection and diverse varieties! How wonderful that you enjoy your gardening " your way". The view from the window , with grasses and tree. , is a picture of it's own also. Thank you for sharing, We are all gardeners at heart and soul. Each of us making a contribution, working with the Spirit!

  2. User avater
    meander_michaele 02/09/2017

    Your collection of indoor plants is very lovely and looks quite happy, Alyssa. For as many plants as I grow in the outdoors, your exotic beauties are a mystery to me. You obviously "speak" their language. Are the tall colorful spikes considered a flower part and they do they flower more than once in their lifetime?

  3. user-4691082 02/09/2017

    I can't name even one! Lol! Can you tell us the name of the tall one with the red top? Do they really need just air? How often do you water them, if at all? Pretty collection!

  4. annek 02/09/2017

    Love the drama of the deep colors, architectural forms and dramatic lighting. I was curious about the difference between tillandsias and bromeliads. My google search showe that tillandsias are bromeliads but not all bromeliads are tillandsias. Great photos!

  5. User avater
    LindaonWhidbey 02/09/2017

    Alyssa, love your tall bromeliads (?). Like Annek, I'm not sure which are which. We've grown both but on a much smaller scale than you have here. Thanks for sharing this lovely display.

  6. user-7007498 02/09/2017

    What a nice indoor garden. Some of my indoor plants are looking a bit ragged from low humidity. You are obviously giving them love.

    Look what we got today. First snow. View from my breakfast table.

    1. Meelianthus 02/09/2017

      Really beautiful Kevin! Our snow from Monday is at the very ugly stage right now and I just want it to disappear!

      1. frankgreenhalgh 02/09/2017

        Hey Linda - this would fix it!

        1. Meelianthus 02/09/2017

          Are you referring to your heat? Just not happening here - even my house is cold. Maybe that's the problem!

        2. Chris_N 02/09/2017

          That doesn't look too bad. It says the highest temp is only 45 degrees! :-)

          1. frankgreenhalgh 02/09/2017

            45C plus (i.e. 113F plus), Chris.

          2. Chris_N 02/09/2017

            Yeah, I did the math. Just off the top of my head I knew 35C was 95F which is plenty hot enough. So 45C would be in the "I don't even want to think about it" hot category!

      2. user-7007498 02/10/2017

        It was so nice to finally get snow. A wierd winter for us. Sunday we are supposed to have rain and 50 degrees.

    2. user-6536305 02/09/2017

      Your garden looks as beautiful in winter as in the other seasons Kevin.

      1. user-7007498 02/10/2017

        Thanks for the compliment, Lilian. I look out that window every breakfast and dinner, so I have worked hard on keeping that view looking good all 4 seasons.

  7. greengenes 02/09/2017

    What a nice bunch of fun Alyssa! I have always enjoyed seeing these but never had much sucsess with keeping them alive. I dont think we have enough light in our home. Thanks for sharing with us!

  8. User avater
    gringopeligroso 02/09/2017

    Ms. Midla!!
    Thank you for posting one of my Chief Arguments!! You beautifully demonstrate what I tell others all of the time: You can garden anywhere...you just need to use your imagination and colour outside of the box! I have years of apartment gardening under my belt, and even now still employ some of those skills in my present endeavors; even tho we now have acres to play with!
    I still remember the young lady who posted here a couple of years ago who downsized her life into a townhouse, only to repost a few months later that the management had changed, or changed their minds and ripped out her outdoor plantings, and her heart. (Several of ours, too...) She was also looking at what she could do inside walls and under her protection.
    LOVE your Guzmanias!! I've only one or two rescued from the clearance shelves of the local box store and they're not blooming now, but have begun to grow daughter plants off of the mother's main and declining stem. I'm optimistic for a show like yours later this year!
    I have only recently caught the Tillandsia bug and am catching up slowly! But, I didn't know there would be a pop quiz this morning!! ;-) I recognize a young T. Xerigraphica and of course the drapes of T. Usinoides (Spanish Moss.) Is that a Pink Quill at the end of the bench? (T. Cyanea?) The others in your collection I would have to refer to my cheat sheets!!
    Most surprising to me, however, are the orchids in your garden! Isn't that a Spathoglottis blooming? (Ground Orchid) I see your Phalaenopsis is spiking as are most of mine and will soon deliver even more colour! Most surprising of all, and perhaps a testament to your skill is the budded Vandaceous orchid!! How in the world do you get enough humidity for that to be so happy?? I shy away from that spectacular family as I don't trust my skills enough to deliver the moisture/humidity they so love and demand! I used to know a grower in Tulsa who specialized in them, and he had the best plants/flowers this side of Miami! But, he also installed a fog system in his greenhouse for our brutally dry Oklahoma summers!
    Also noticed the Euphorbia on the windowsill! I just scored one over the Holidays, and altho I've not tried them before, I've visions of grandeur and stature in the coming years!!
    Thank you so very much for sharing and showing that where there's a will, there's a way!!
    Jesse

  9. User avater
    Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 02/09/2017

    NIce collection of Tillandsia, Bromeliads and orchids. They *do* make great houseplants. Wouldn't be without them! :)

  10. sheila_schultz 02/09/2017

    You have a fun collection, Alyssa. I have never understood why indoor gardens fell out of favor, maybe it was in the 80's? Luckily, they are 'fashionable' once again! I can't imagine my home without plants inside and outside, and as far as I'm concerned Tillandsia's are all delightful rock stars. Have fun... these little guys become addictive!

    1. User avater
      meander_michaele 02/09/2017

      Aaack...indoor gardens had been out of favor for the past 30 years? Ha, color me old fashioned and out of fashion! I've always had some indoor plants although even if they were grouped together, I probably never thought of them as a garden.

  11. Meelianthus 02/09/2017

    Alyssa ~ I don't think I have ever seen such healthy looking Tillandsia, they are beautiful. I have two and they always look a little sick and have not produced a new flower. The flower it came with (a year or so ago) has just dried up and fallen apart over time. I have watered them properly and they have light - does anyone have a suggestion?

  12. Chris_N 02/09/2017

    All wonderful. I like your crested cactus by the window as well as all your other beauties.

    1. Chris_N 02/09/2017

      Also your containers for your Tillandsias. Love the blue cup.

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