Glass is sleek. Glass is modern.

Glamorous Glass for Air Plant Displays

Find out how to create glass air plant displays beginning with the quintessential terrarium and then move onto unique glass displays like re-purposed glass hummingbird feeders.

Gather Materials

To begin, gather items to set the tone for your display. To create a beach scene, use seashells and sand, or perhaps you prefer a mystical ambiance with crystals and geodes. Whatever media you decide on, make sure that it is dry. This will help to prevent your air plants from rotting.

Media

Here is some examples of items that I’ve used to create air plant displays. The things you use will be unique to yourself.

1. Preserved Moss 2. Uncut Gemstones 3. Sand 4. Plant Stand 5. Monto Clay 6. Small Pinecone 7. Dried Spanish Moss 8. Found Rock 9. Lava Rock (black) 10. Crushed Granite 11. Dried Spanish Moss 12. Grapewood 13. Geode 14. Lava Rock (red) 15. Gold Pebbles 16. Sea Shells 17. Cholla Wood

Tools

There a few tools that are helpful, but not absolutely necessary, for creating your display. The chopstick shown is stainless steel, and is free with purchase from Bonsai Jack. The other tools are part of a planting kit.

Glass Container Ideas

Be inspired by these glass containers. Let the examples below spark your imagination.

1. Cookie Jar 2. Pink Milk Glass Basket 3. Vintage Pedestal Candy Dish 4. Open Pedestal Terrarium 5. Quart Size Mason Jar 6. Milk Glass with Hobnail Dish 7. Pyramid Terrarium

Air Plants

Now for the fun part. There are lots of different air plants to choose from. The following is a small sampling:

1. T. caput-medusae 2. T. peach capitata 3. T. melanocrater tricolor 4. T. red abdita 5. mini T. xerographica 6. T. butzii 7. T. bulbosa Guatemala 8. T. ionantha fuego 9. T. harrisii 10. T. fasciculata

DIY Terrariums

When it comes to glass and air plants, we tend to think first of terrariums. And, with good reason. Terrariums are like magical little kingdoms. However, terrariums are not the most healthy environment for air plants. Excessive heat and condensation can create a deadly environment for your plants. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t create a terrarium, I’m just saying, that your plants will eventually need to be replaced. The more open to air the terrarium is, the better chance of survival your plants will have.

Lush Terrarium

When creating a terrarium, the first step is to fill the bottom of the container with some sort of dry media. In this case, I have used preserved moss. Sand and pebbles are also common choices.

Next, use branches, seashells, rocks or other materials to set the mood for your terrarium.

Finally, add air plants to your terrarium.

Desert Terrarium

As another example, in this mason jar I’ve added monto clay and tilted the jar so that the clay would lay at an angle.

Next, I’ve nestled a red rock into the clay, an essential ingredient for a southern Utah desert look.

Use your tweezers to add air plants to hard-to-reach places.

This red rock terrarium is a nod to the desert I love so much!

You get the idea of how to create your own terrarium. Here are a couple more examples, just to get your creative juices flowing 🙂

Beach Terrarium

I couldn’t make a tiny sandcastle, so I stacked up a mini cairn. No one will get lost here.

Pyramid Terrarium

A little window allows for air flow into this pyramid terrarium. It looks exquisite with a T. harrisii, polished river rocks and a dried globe thistle.

Beyond the Terrarium

When using glass to display air plants, the kitchen is a great place to start. Everything from a glass cookie jar to to mason jars are all free game when it comes to displaying air plants. Glass is great because its transparent, but don’t forget colored glass.

The green glass of this dipping bowl perfectly complements the green leaves of this melanocrater tricolor. River rock gives the plant a boost so it doesn’t hide in the bowl. (Can you see the emerging bud?)

I love the total simplicity of this fasciculata resting in this wineglass.

Just to keep things interesting, contrast this caput-medusae and dried amaranth with the above fasciculata.

Here are a couple of ideas for glass air plant displays outside the kitchen.

Another study in simplicity is this melanocrater tricolor in a square vase filled with light colored rock.

This pedestal candy dish came from my great-grandmother. The red-tinted abdita coordinates with the candy dish and brings out the blush in the ionantha. To keep the plants from getting lost in the dish, the base of the dish is filled with white sand.

Look Outside the Box

When displaying air plants there really are no limitations. I’ve had these hummingbird feeders on hand for a while. My daughter used them in her fairy gardens, but kindly lent them to me to for displaying air plants.

This peach capitata (so named because they turn slightly peach colored when blooming) has a nice, narrow base that fits in the feeder.

Rogue hummingbird feeders turned air plant vases prove you can find air plant display possibilities practically anywhere.

Your Turn

Scout around you home looking for glass to use to display your air plants. Everything is game-particularly if it’s made of glass. Nothing is safe from becoming party to an air plant display.