Flora Grubs Green Wall

Vertical Gardens, Flora Grubb and Thigmotropism

Thanks to Woolly Wally Pockets I am now aware of garden designer Flora Grub in San Franscisco (she also stocks the Wally Pockets). Flora Grubb has some amazing vertical garden installations (called ‘thigmotropes’) in her store. She creates them with Kevin Smith. They are artful arrangements of air plants known as Tillandsias.  I think they are mounted to what looks like corten steel (pre-rusted steel). Wow. check them out

They are known as air plants, because they don’t need soil to grow. They are epiphytic and absorb water and nutrients through their leaves. They do have roots, but these are used only for anchoring to other plants or structures. Although tillandsias often grow on other plants, they are not parasitic, they depend on the host only for support.

 Very beautiful indeed

A vertical gardens using airplants