Philly Grows - turning sidelots and patios across Philly into usable growing space!

Green As Art

Feb 3

Written by: Andrew Marx
2/3/2010 9:09 PM

I know I’m not the only one noticing this trend towards bringing the outside in. I’m surrounded by philodendrons growing out of old soda bottles at work, moss, vines, and herbs at home, and even a little back-window plant chilling in the car (once it gets a little warmer out). But what I make up for in quantity I seem to lack in creativity. Luckily, there are people out there filling in my design-gap.

Grass Mirror by h2o Architects

Thanks to design milk for catching this (as they’ve done for countless awesome things over the year I’ve been reading their blog). I can’t tell from the website (since I don’t read French all that well), but my guess is that water from each lengthwise segment flows into the one below it. At least, that makes sense to me. If they’re going to call it a mirror, though, maybe they could release one that actually functions as one?

Moss on Walls

I’ve heard of spray-on moss graffiti, and I’ve heard of indoor moss gardens, but combining the two? The house in the picture is in Japan, where the design firm used dried moss to create the aesthetic. Is that cheating? Probably. But it’s still a good looking idea.

Hanging Plants

Another cool idea whose time has come. I’ve grown hanging tomatoes, but the Boskke Sky Planter (right) claims to not spill any water—something my hanging buckets can’t claim. I think their photos are staged though, as anyone who has grown plants upside-down knows that the plants grow towards the light. Unless they’re beaming a grow light up from the floor, I think they grew them right-side up and then flipped them for the photo shoot.

Candle Sticks

This one is my idea for keeping my vines alive. I can usually find them at thrift shops for $1 a piece, and the narrow openings at the top reduce water loss through evaporation. I am more fascinated with the story the roots tell than I am with the one we’re used to hearing from the leaves.