“Kokedama” Japanese term used to describe a moss ball. Then suspending this ball gives you a String garden. I will be using sheet moss (Hypnum curvifolium) to wrap these little life bundles.

We are fortunate to have access to a unique garden store that fills the niche that 

those big box garden stores can never fill. Where you are guaranteed to find 

something that you will have never have seen anywhere else. One of those items

is live sheet moss. What do you do with sheet moss you ask? By making a 

string garden. The store owner had one made using a begonia plant and both me

and friend were noticeably enchanted by this creation. So much so that we had

to make our own.

Not one to refuse a challenge. We purchased a most unlikely candidate for our
suspension system, that being some plastic rope with questionable color.
Purchased at our local dollar store. So much for going with all natural when
you can have what our reality can deliver at hand. Why not have balance of the
natural and man made world.

Next, to find what we hope to be suitable candidates for plant material for
our soon to be our own String Garden.

Being a plant collector there will always be some suitable specimens to choose from
that may only prove to be experimental at best.

The first balled moss string garden we make will be using a Blue Fern (Phlebodium

 Pseudoaureum) (shown in photo below - the one on the left) one of many 'footed' ferns.

 This plant will be ideal to pair with the moss, low light and moisture requirement. As 

for the string it self I will have to think Macrame and yet not as disciplined, but simple.

  I just happen to have a Lady-of-the -Night orchid ( Brassavola nodosa)

(shown above) which I hope will be a good candidate for our string garden.

As for the string a bit less uniform and wanted to suspend the plant from a

single point. Only after placing a strategic knot that gave us balance.  

Also in the photo above you might notice in the top right corner some mimicry.

Not to be out done by the string gardens being suspended from the tree's branches.

There appears to be fluorescence/ a bloom of sorts from the Podocarpus tree hanging

down not unlike our string garden. 

 Bleeding Heart Vine - Clerodendrum thomsoniae

The pollen from those tiny blooms are leaving a light dusting (photo above) over all 

that lies underneath it's canopy.

Now that these two string gardens have been born from the same concept,

like fraternal twins. They look unique to their own and one promised to

another ,will now go their separate ways.

I will now go prepare one more string garden to keep the original company. 

 Using this time a Coconut Orchid - Maxillaria tenuifolia for this one. I thought

that in place of any kind of soil I would use some chunks of charcoal. This orchid

happends to be in bloom at the moment. I say this because two days ago I was 

looking to see if it may be ready to bloom and didn't notice what should have been

the obvious.This orchid is fragrant too, hence the name.

Its' Cross-eyed 3D Time again (please click on the photo above) to reveal the
new companion.

More window painting this morning and had to quick sooner than I had hoped,

due to the hot morning sun. Note to self, don't paint in the sun, even it's only 

your legs. I was melting.

Going to redo the latest one shown above this evening.