Loop the Loop: Australian Natives

Hibbertia microphylla

Hibbertia with grass seeds sprouting through

Phebalium glandulosum

Conostylus candicans - beautiful silver foliage

About

We make beautiful string gardens. String gardens are hanging plants wrapped in soil and moss and tied with string. The art of string garden making is based on a Japanese practice called Kokedama meaning ‘moss ball’. They can be hung anywhere and enjoyed all year round, appearing like weightless, miniature floating islands. If you are limited for space string gardens are an excellent way to bring plants into your garden, courtyard or into your home, adding instant beautification. They make a stunning gift for the hard-to-shop-for friend, an eye catching shop window display, or a quirky addition to your home, everyone who comes to visit will be curious, intrigued and charmed by your string gardens.

String gardens can be made with many different plants, suitable for both indoors and outdoors, shady positions or sunny spots. Each string garden we make is unique, we hand pick all our plants and make the string gardens with really good materials and a lot of love and care. Plant selection is based on seasonal availability so we focus on different plants throughout the year to capture the best seasonal displays; flowering bulbs in spring, drought resistant Australian natives in summer, ferns with green moss in winter, and some special colourful foliage plants in autumn.

We love plants, and have lots of experience working with them. Our small business is comprised of a Horticulturist and a Landscape Architect, and yes we are both currently practicing whilst making string gardens on the side for the love of it. We can help you select the perfect individual string garden for your environment or, if you want a bigger collection of string gardens we can recommend some stunning combinations (we think the number three is a good minimum). We are based in Melbourne and have a space in Richmond where we make all our goodies. We can make string gardens to order (subject to seasonal availability) or you can select from our current range of stock. If you have a special project in mind, whether it be a cafe fit out, a shop window display, a fashion shoot or a temporary exhibition then please contact us, we’ll be happy and excited to get creative and talk about your vision.

Care and Maintainence

Looking after your string garden is simple. Each string garden will come with a tag to tell you the species of the plant and some basic instructions for positioning and watering. Finding a good position to hang your string garden is the first step. Some plants like lots of sunlight, others prefer dappled light or shade. It is best to position string gardens somewhere sheltered from the wind to prevent them from drying out too quickly. Hang your string garden at a height that suits your space but can easily be reached so you can move them for watering or to rearrange them into new and exciting configurations, just above head height is ideal in my courtyard above my BBQ.

Most string gardens will need to be watered every couple of days. Simply remove the string garden from the hook and place the plant in a bucket of water and leave for a few minutes, or press down to submerge the ball and wait until the ball is damp all the way through. If the soil is quite dry air bubbles will stream out, so wait until they have stopped before you take your string garden out of the bucket and rehang it on the hook. In the hot dry months of summer it may be necessary to water your gardens every day, and conversely in winter you may be able to leave them for longer than a couple of days between each watering. You can also lightly spray your string gardens with a hose or watering can, but the bucket watering technique will ensure that the water seeps all the way through the soil so make sure you do this regularly.

Plants such as Rosemary, Mondo, and various Australian natives are happy to dry our completely between each watering so be careful not to overwater them.

For string gardens wrapped in green moss it’s very important to keep the moss moist at all times. Try to spray it with a spray bottle or a light spray from the hose or watering can every day to keep it from drying out. It should be bright green and fluffy.

Fertiliser can be applied a couple of times a year. Simply add a little liquid fertiliser (ie seasoll or nitrosol) to the bucket of water before dunking your string garden. Strawberries and other fruiting plants will really love this during the summer.

For any queries or concerns about your string gardens please don’t hesitate to contact us, we are more than happy to help you get the best from your string gardens. You can also find lots of information online about the different plant species you select. This will be handy to help you decide where to position your string gardens and how often to water them, if you ever lose your handy tag.

Australian Natives

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