Weekend Reading 1/12/24

Welcome to Garden Center magazine's Weekend Reading, a weekly round-up of consumer garden media stories meant to help IGCs focus marketing efforts, spark inspiration and start conversations with consumers.

This week: Houseplants in the bathroom, the ancient gardening technique of kokedama, seed bomb gardening, amending store-bought soil and an artist's floral sculptures that reconsider maps and identity.

The bathroom’s an ideal place for many houseplants. Some are even happy in the shower, Associated Press

AP garden writer Jessica Damiano explains how to incorporate houseplants in your bathroom — even directly in the shower.

The art of kokedama: All you need to know about this ancient gardening technique, Tallahassee Democrat

Mary Janik explains kokedama, which means “moss ball” in Japanese. She says it’s an alternative to putting plants in containers: Instead of a pot, moistened soil is pressed around a plant’s roots, covered with moss and then secured with twine to form a ball — it’s plant and pot in one.

Gardening: Seed bombs a fun family project to do this winter, The Spokesman-Review

Pat Munts explains wildflower seed balls, a mixture of air-dry clay, potting soil and wildflower seed. In the early spring, the balls are thrown randomly into the garden to create patches of flowers over the summer — a great project for kids to join.

How To Amend Store-Bought Soil To Improve The Life Of Your Plants, House Digest

Peg Aloi explains the ways to improve the quality of store-bought soil by adding various amendments.

Ryan Villamael’s Cascading Floral Sculptures Reconsider Maps and Identity, Colossal

Filipino artist Ryan Villamael creates paper-cut floral sculptures to address complex relationships between cartography and culture, as well as tangled narratives within himself and the country, ahead of two shows opening this month in Manila and Singapore.

Enjoy your reading, have a great weekend and we'll see you next week!