Rainforest Flora

Phew, I'm done with Dwell on Design! What. an. experience. I met so many awesome plant people and solved so many problems and basked in the glory of a beautiful outdoor section and got so little sleep. It was all worth it. But now I have so much I want to share that I don't even know where to begin.

Well, hopefully you saw the show, but if not I'll be posting some pictures here soon -- and I posted some fun behind the scenes pictures on flickr. I worked closely with Jen and Ive from Shades of Green who are up in Northern California. Even though I've only known them a couple of weeks, I feel like I've known them for a lifetime (working on Dwell was kind of like summer camp) and one of the first things we did when they got down here was going to Rainforest Flora down in Torrance. They loaned us Tillandsia (or air plants) and Bromeliads for the show.




Rainforest Flora is basically a wonderland. Jerry and Paul, who run the place, have been in the business of tropical Tillandsia and Bromeliads for 30 years. Paul has even written a couple of books on the subject. They're passionate, they know what they're doing, and they have a lot of plants.



We weren't there for long, but we got a quick tour of their space (they have an even larger farm (?) down near San Diego) and it was beautiful, and overwhelming and full of magic. My appreciation for air plants skyrocketed after this trip. Bromeliads (which I had associated with dated house plants) have also made their way to the top of my list in terms of interesting plants to rival succulents (though, don't be mistaken, they need a totally different climate.)





They're largely wholesale but have a retail space and sell everything in their online store. And considering what a huge trend air plants are becoming (they're the new terrarium, according to me) they are a great resource.





Thanks Paul and Jerry!

(Find their online store right here.)