Why air plants are the solution to all your design woes
Picture the exotic-looking and increasingly popular tillandsia. You’re envisioning it in a spherical glass terrarium, right? And that’s a downright shame, according to Josh Rosen. “It’s plant torture,” he says, “because they’re epiphytes — they grow without soil and need good air circulation to thrive.”
Rosen, a landscape architect in Mar Vista, founded Airplantman to explore creative alternatives to the typical glass cages and pieces of driftwood used for displaying them. Instead, his online shop and studio/showroom (open by appointment only) offer tillandsias and sleek powder-coated metal frames, hand-thrown ceramic vessels and reclaimed wood pedestals to show them off.
Interest in tillandsias has exploded in recent years because they’re remarkably adaptable to small urban spaces and they’re low-maintenance — in addition to moving air, they require only bright filtered light and a weekly soak in water. Native to the southern United States, Mexico, and Central and South America, they’re also now widely available at nurseries as well as supermarkets, home furnishings stores and other non-horticultural retailers.
Rosen first became enamored with tillandsias during family vacations to Hawaii. “They looked like aliens that had landed and like they could get up and walk away,” he recalls. His collection started with dozens and today numbers in the thousands.
After shopping in vain for attractive and practical ways to show them off, Rosen came up with ideas of his own. “I wanted to celebrate that tillandsias can grow suspended in air,” he says. “I also wanted to figure out how to highlight the beauty of a single plant or several en masse.”
The resulting Airplantman designs provide sophisticated ways to feature tillandsias as living accents — all of them locally fabricated and sustainably grown. Here are a few examples:
Taking center stage
DESIGN PROBLEM: A unique centerpiece that’s longer-lasting than a vase of cut flowers
SOLUTION: Multiple glazed ceramic vessels, each supporting a tillandsia, that can be arranged in a variety of configurations
A work break
DESIGN PROBLEM: No-fuss, space-efficient desktop plants for the office
SOLUTION: Multiple powder-coated aluminum vessels that each hold one tillandsia
Privacy, please
DESIGN PROBLEM: A front door exposed to the street and neighboring houses
SOLUTION: A screen consisting of multiple powder-coated aluminum frames filled with more or fewer tillandsias, depending on the amount of desired privacy.
A small footprint
DESIGN PROBLEM: A focal point where wall space is limited but floor space isn’t
SOLUTION: A pedestal of blowtorched reclaimed wood with an armature that spotlights a single sculptural tillandsia
Bringing green inside
DESIGN PROBLEM: An indoor living wall without the need for heavy soil and potentially leaky drip irrigation
SOLUTION: An airy custom powder-coated aluminum frame filled with an assortment of large and small tillandsias
Looking up
DESIGN PROBLEM: A vertical outdoor garden for an entryway
SOLUTION: A custom powder-coated aluminum frame covered chockablock with tillandsias and equipped with a built-in watering system
A cheeky fix
DESIGN PROBLEM: A plant that can survive the humidity of a bathroom
SOLUTION: A powder-coated aluminum frame of tillandsias attached to a mirror where the plants receive reflected light
Super flexible
DESIGN PROBLEM: An adjustable wall installation
SOLUTION: Multiple metal swing arms, each supporting an individual tillandsia, that are able to move independent of one another
Completely unexpected
DESIGN PROBLEM: A gallery wall not based on conventional paintings, prints or photographs
SOLUTION: Multiple powder-coated aluminum frames of tillandsias laid out either randomly or in a pattern
Walls that breathe
DESIGN PROBLEM: A temporary and mobile space divider
SOLUTION: A custom powder-coated aluminum frame mounted on a rolling cart with a built-in watering system and grow lights
The Airplantman recommends 5 favorite air plants
Tillandsia ionantha: “It’s cute and small in size, with leaves that blush red when it’s blooming.”
Tillandsia caput-medusae: “This one has lots of charisma. The name means ‘head of snakes,’ and you can see why from its waving arms that curl or straighten, depending on watering.”
Tillandsia xerographica: “Known as ‘the king of air plants,’ it has bold, gray foliage and a striking form that’s both sun- and drought-tolerant.”
Tillandsia tectorum: “This one’s so fuzzy! The leaves have extra-long trichomes, or hairs, giving it a frosted appearance and making it sun- and drought-tolerant.”
Tillandsia stricta: “It’s a solid standby, hearty and prolific. It has green leaves with blue, pink or purple blooms that hummingbirds love.”
