I’m happy to be writing this post today. So many exciting (and terrifying) things have been happening lately and it’s been hard for me to find time to do a tutorial. For example, I’m playing harp in a Capital Cities‘ music video tomorrow (woo)! But, on the other side of the coin, my grandma had a heart attack last night, but thankfully, she’s doing well now. We were extremely lucky, and my world is back in order. When it rains, it pours, right? I wish it’d actually rain here in Los Angeles to spare us from the agony of perpetual sunlight, which I must say can seriously be annoying. I guess I sound like an ungrateful diva, but when you’re born and raised in a sunny place, rain is a luxury. Forgive me!
Back to the post. I love houseplants. First of all, they help clean the air in your home. Did you know that there are likely more toxins inside of your home than out? So much for escaping the pollution by staying in, huh? So today, I’m going to be posting about mounting a Staghorn Fern to the wall, to have a cool way to clean your air (and to have cool, living decorations).
I’ve also always liked the idea of “antlers” on the wall but not the actual idea of taking antlers from an animal and putting it on my wall (vegetarian over here!). So, the Staghorn Fern is an great environmentally-friendly option for those of us who like to keep up with the American tradition of antlers on the wall without necessarily harming something in the process. Anthropologie recently had Staghorn ferns on their wall, too. We all know how much I love Anthro!
Another cool, environmentally-friendly option is cardboard cutouts of animal heads or antlers, which you can get on Etsy.
Image courtesy of Etsy shop “Cardboard Safari”
Apartment Therapy has a great tutorial for this project. I referenced it when doing mine, although I deviated a bit, mostly because I was determined to not have to buy extra supplies (aka leave my apartment).
Check out their tutorial here!
Materials:
- Staghorn Fern- Check out your local nursery for this. I bought mine for 5 dollars from Sunset Nursery on none other than Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles.
- Wooden Plaque- I got mine for 3 dollars from JoAnn Fabrics.
- Wire
- Sheet Moss
- Hammer
- Nails
Total time: 15 minutes
Total cost: Under 20 dollars
Materials for Staghorn Fern Tutorial
Directions:
1. Hammer 2 nails into the back of your board and secure wire in-between the 2 nails, as pictured.
2. Soak your moss in water.
Soaking Moss!
3. Hammer 5-6 nails in a “circle” (epic fail pictured below).
4. Place your moss on the plaque and secure it onto the plaque with wire (so it won’t fall down).
5. Take your Staghorn Fern out of the pot and gently “break apart” the roots. Basically, you want your fern to be able to attach to your moss. Staghorn Ferns are epiphytes, so they grow off of other things, hence why we can hang them up on the wall.
6. Place your fern on the moss “bed” you’ve created. Then, wrap it in more moss, so the soil/roots are covered. Then, wrap the wire around the plant, while remembering to secure it to the nails too. This will ensure it stays on the board. I don’t have a particular picture of the step, but this is the finished project because it’s the last step!
Caring for your Fern:
Staghorn Ferns like to “dry out.” In other words, don’t overwater your plant! They’re similar to orchids in this way. Spray it with water (from a bottle) once a week, or when the roots are actually dry. They like warm temperatures and high humidity. So feel free to hang them inside and spray the leaves with water whenever you feel like it. They’ll love you for it.
What do you think? Are you tempted to create some living art for your place? Leave me some comments and let me know!
-Daria
ecospired 