botanic gardens sydney-pollinate exhibition

Flashback – one year ago – Pollinate, Sydney Botanic Gardens

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In April last year, we had the privilege of going down to the Pollinate exhibition at Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney . In a large, light-filled enclosed greenhouse an abundant array of amazing plants was on show. The star of the entire presentation, in my view, was the trails of cascading sagey-grey-green dichondria – aka ‘dichondria silver falls’. The entire space was kept humid and moist from a light mist sprayed into the air almost continually up near the glass ceiling.

I only wish we could have brought the whole display back with us!

growing gift delivery parkwood gold coast behind the sences

Potting up new indoor plants in hurricane glassware

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growing gift delivery parkwood gold coast behind the sences

These hurricane vases are one of the most popular items on our website, and in-store. They are a nice size and presentation for gifting. Sometimes we plant out with succulents, and sometimes with lushly-foliaged indoor plants.

In the photo above you can see the progress of planting out some tillandsia cynea in the hurricane vases.

To order one, simply phone us, order online, or pop into the shop (but do check we have stock before you come in, just in case we’ve sold out! Although, there’s sure to be something else you’ll find…)

little plants living gifts gold coast delivery

Experiment with plant forms and interesting containers

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little plants living gifts gold coast delivery

When choosing a plant or container, think about the style of the room where it will be.

Here at Little Plants, we particularly like the natural finishes – concrete, upcycled fabrics, jute, wood etc. And we love plants with contrasting shaped and textures.

Have you been in lately to see what we have? Check out our shop section online – but there is always more in-store than we have on the web, do contact us if you’re after something specific.

aquatic plants in glass flasks and vintage bottles gold coast plants delivered

Planting aquatic plants in flasks and vintage bottles

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aquatic plants in glass flasks and vintage bottles gold coast plants delivered

A couple of years ago we started to experiment with small aquatic plants. The feedback has been great. The concept is really about making cute mini aquatic ‘terrariums’ (or really, mini aquariums – without the fish!).

We have used a variety of glassware, from vintage bottles to premium laboratory glassware. All seems to work well and be fairly low maintenance. The hardiest variety would have to be the hair-grass plants.

If you are planning to make one of these yourself, here are a few tips on what worked for us:

– make sure all bottles are very clean. (We washed ours with super-hot water and a little bleach before hand.)
– if you can get it, use aquarium-grade gravel, in a very small size. We have tried both ordinary gravel and aquarium gravel, very small and small, and the very small aquarium gravel was the best and easiest to work with.
– choose the best plants. Talk to the plant person about which are going to survive the best in the type of environment you will be creating. If your plant will be in a lot of light, or not much. If it will have a lot of room in your container, or not much (in which case you might need a slower-growing type of plant). All those types of things.

Happy planting!

 

Some thoughts on Concrete Pots

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We love the look of concrete pots, but there are some things to keep in mind when planting in them. Here’s a brief run-down of some things we’ve noticed:

1. If you are planting directly into a concrete pot with a raw (unpainted) surface, it will require you to water your plant more often. The concrete will suck out the moisture in the soil, much like terracotta. For some plants, like some succulents and cacti, this can be a good thing, but for other plants, not so much.

2. If you have a raw-concrete pot and want to plant in it, consider painting or waxing the inside, to seal it against the soil, so it doesn’t steal the moisture. Or, find a plastic pot of the same size and sit that inside the concrete pot. This will also create the necessary barrier and stop the concrete from drying out your soil so quickly.

Hope that helps!

Happy planting, people!

x

Little Plants Team

peace lily plant delivery gold coast

What we love about Peace Lily Plants

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peace lily plant delivery gold coast

The humble and ever-loved peace-lily, or spathiphyllum, gives you a lot of reasons to like it.

With varieties ranging from small leafed to large, this beautiful houseplant will give back much more in green-leafed-love than the little water it takes to keep it.

These living gifts will survive in light conditions from fairly low light, to bright windows, and they will tolerate some neglect

What we like most however, is that unlike some other plants which might do what we call ‘random spontaneous death’, these spathiphyllums will let you know if they’re really really thirsty, letting their leaves sag a little if they are dry, giving you ample time to notice and remedy the situation well before it is anywhere near to death. An early-warning alarm for plants – totally awesome.

Our stock varies a little, but we usually try to have them in store. Pick up available from Parkwood on the Gold Coast, or we can deliver for you to most local areas.

living plant in glass Gold Coast delivery

Plants in Pill Shaped Glass – They’re back!

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living plant in glass Gold Coast delivery

Yep, yes, aha – our cute little plants in pill-shaped glass are back in stock. Woohoo!

How do we get the plants in there? you ask.

Chopsticks.

Yes, chopsticks.

Hold onto those fine tools after you’ve finished your sushi folks, because they are the best thing you’ll find for maneuvering little plants into these tricky places. Or, just let us do it, it’s all cool.

More different plants in store, remember you can always phone if you’ve got a question.

See you

x

LP team

fiddle leaf fig plant gift gold coast delivery

New Fiddle Leaf Figs In Store!

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fiddle leaf fig living plant gift - Gold Coast

Our new shipment of fiddle-leaf figs is totally awesome – get one now!

They are 70cm+ and super lush like a rainforest understorey plant.

You can pick one out yourself, just pop in to our Parkwood shop. Or, we can deliver for you (on the Gold Coast, most areas), all done up ready for gifting.

indoor plant in brass haning pot

What we love about Peperomias

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Ever heard of peperomias? Now you have 🙂

indoor plant in brass haning pot

Why are Peperomia plants awesome?

  • because plants are awesome, generally (but we may be biased)
  • solid, shapely leaves
  • variety of leaf shapes and colour shades
  • hardy (like so hardy!)
  • air-purifier
  • great for indoors
  • doesn’t need heaps of water

Do you need any more convincing?

Bulleen Art and Garden has some more great care tips here.

living gift Gold Coast houseplant in glass

Why put Plants inside Glass?

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There are a few reasons we often put plants inside glassware, here are some:

living gift Gold Coast houseplant in glass

Why Glass is Good for Little Plants:

  • It looks great! (that’s the main reason 🙂
  • Plants will use less water when protected like this
  • Many plants do well with a little extra humidity – putting them inside glassware will help with this
  • Provides some protection from drafts and air-con – if the position is windy or in an all-day air-con office, having smaller plants inside glass will help them to cope.

Things to look out for when planting in glass:

  • be sure to have sufficient pebbles in the base for drainage
  • don’t over-water
  • if there is no lid – keep the opening away from the draft direction
  • for a lidded container – take the lid off for a while if the humidity builds up too much
  • In a sunny position the glass may amplify the sun and heat, so keep an eye it’s not too hot, and if so move it slightly further into shade

Happy planting people!

There’s some cool ideas on how to do your own with succulents and cacti here, and even realestate.com has a great tutorial about making your own terrarium – with great pictures showing layering the pebbles and charcoal etc. check it out.

 

What we love about Aglaonemas

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Aglaonema is such a mouthful isn’t it! Nevertheless these plants are awesome.

Why are these little plants awesome?

  • easy to care for
  • interesting bold foliage – different from plant to plant
  • you can overwater or underwater and they will usually be ok
  • grows well in shade – good for indoors or office
  • like all plants it will add to air purification

Yates has some good growing tips, and Bamboo Land does too, as well as some hints on how to pronounce that tricky name! (‘Uh-glon-eh-ma’ thanks Bamboo Land lol)

If you’d like to buy an aglaonema or other living plant gift – check out our online shop to see what available. We always have more in store than what’s listed online though, so do feel free to phone if you have a specific plant in mind. Or, you are always welcome to pop in – we are part of Adam’s Garden Florist at 3/280 Olsen Ave, Parkwood 4214.

And remember – we deliver to most areas on the Gold Coast. Gifting made easy, how good is that!

birds nest fern in wooden box gold coast

What we love about – Bird Nest Ferns

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The bird nest fern, or ‘asplenium victoria’, features quite often in our living plant gifts. It is a great addition to any indoor space or office, or outside in a shaded position.

birds nest fern in wooden box gold coast

Why is it such a good plant?

I’m glad you asked – here’s why:

  • striking foliage
  • lush green
  • air purifier
  • non-toxic (safe for pets and children to be around)
  • great for the bathroom (likes humidity) (check out this post about it on FlowerPower)
  • doesn’t require heaps of water

When we have them in the shop we water once a week only, making sure they are not boggy. It is also important to make sure they are not sitting in a draft (such as constant air-con flow). Sometimes they may appreciate a spray with water to keep up the humidity if the air is dry.

 

gold coast plant gift delivery

New Succulents in this week and more new items added

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gold coast plant gift delivery

Hiya folks,
Been a while since posting – so busy… but great news – for all the succulent lovers out there we have three new trays of 80mm pots in, with all sorts of aloes, haworthias, gasteraloes, crassula, etc… Plus a few ginormo aloe-ish things all pointy and spiky and wonderful, there’s a dark green one there that looks so tough it makes me think of rhinoceros horns.

Fiddle leafs and housy planters added to the shop >link<

Plus other things in-store we haven’t had a chance to add yet – call if you are after something you can’t see 🙂

It’s getting cold out there today, rug up my darlings

x

Little Plants

living gifts delivered parkwood gold coast

New items added!

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Check it out folks – we’ve just got a delivery of awesome plants, ready to do up and delivery to all your nearest and dearest across the Gold Coast.

We’ll try to pot and post more as we get time but here are a couple we’ve got together this weekend for you:

Birds nest ferns
and
Vibrant Aglaonemas

happy planting terranians,

x

LP

P.s. Don’t forget to check out our sister site, there’s heaps going on over there too: Adam’s Garden Florist

gold coast gift plants

Unique Gifts for Mother’s Day 2017

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gold coast gift plants

Stuck for ideas? If your Mum loves plants, and lives on the Gold Coast – look no further… We love plants too!

Check out the online shop or phone us to see what we have in store that we may not have listed…

We have phalaenopsis orchid plants, cyclamen plants in large and small, and also bromeliads, all on order for Mother’s Day week.

We can deliver too! Woohoo!

x

LP

 

alocasia indoor plant gift gold coast

Limited Time

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We have billabong plants in store for a limited time – taro, alocasia, wild iris, grasses, water hyssop… all frog-encouraging pond plants. Send a set of three to your pond-plant-loving dearest for $45. Presented beautifully in a basket, of course…

terrarium valentines gift gold coast

Unique & Lasting Valentine’s Day Gift

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Looking for something different? Why not send a plant? Plants are a great idea for Valentine’s Day too (even though we would say that, because we’re biased, just a little bit…)

We have all sorts of things to make your chosen gift specially loverly, just ask us.

We will be delivering Valentine’s Day all over the Gold Coast. Or you can choose something yourself by popping in to our Parkwood studio.

 

succulent growing gifts living plants Gold Coast

Succulents, Aloes, lots arrived this week

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We are always excited getting a shipment of new plants – this week we have received trays of them. Come check out all the succulents, aloes, rhipsalis, etc… We’re busy potting and crafting and getting them all into interesting containers for gifts and friends for your home.

All ready for delivery on the Gold Coast or pink up from Parkwood, as usual.

home decor test tubes growing plants Gold Coast

Growing Plants in Test Tubes

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Have you ever tried growing plants in test tubes? (Or other water vessels?) We have!

Here’s some varieties that we find to work best in water:

  • Ivy
  • Pothos / Devil’s Ivy
  • Lucky bamboo
  • Agleonema

It’s really a lot of trial and error, you may have to try a few different things to see what works best in your space. You might be surprised at what does!

There is some great advice for growing plants in water indoors at Gardeningknowhow.com.

And some of the ideas here at SmallGarden-Ideas took our breath away.

You never know what you’ll be able to grow until you try. We have so many plant ideas on our list to try, it’s so exciting… we’ll let you know how we go.

little plants gifts delivery gold coast holiday hours

Christmas and New year closing times

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Hi all,

We will be closed from December 25th to January 10th. No orders will be processed over this time.

We hope you all enjoy the holiday season. Pop on your favourite tunes and sit down with a nice cool drink.

Cheers!

Little Plants