I love to visit Home Depot, Trader Joes and other inexpensive places for orchids and other plants to repot in my Garden Studio. Although these inexpensive orchids are never much to look at in the store, they have great potential for a lot of creativity and style. Orchids are my favorite because of the delicate flowers that last for weeks or months at a time. With proper care you can even have them bloom twice or more. I have seen these same orchids in elegant flower shops selling for over a hundred dollars. The difference is that you buy your orchid for much less in a plastic pot and then become the transforming florist yourself.
To do this project, you will need:
The following can purchased very inexpensively at any garden center:
- Two Orchid plants (such as Cymbidium)
- A decorative container or cachepot
- Moss
- Raffia
- Willow branch or a hydrangea stalks
- Garden scissors
1. Take each orchid and remove it from its existing container. Find a large enough container with a drainage hole that can accommodate both together in that pot. You’ll be throwing away the plastic container they came in, so by all means, choose a beautiful container perhaps of clay with moss, or a painted pot to coordinate with the room where it will be placed. Place both in the container.
2. Place your willow branch all the way down to the bottom of the container to support the orchid stems and to replace the cheaper looking support that it came with.
3. Take some sheet moss and add it to base of the plant for texture and color. Now, here’s where we get creative…
4. Take your raffia and moss and find the largest stem of your orchid. Fold over a peace of moss and place in between the stem and the willow branch, the moss will act as a cushion for the stem to rest on. Tie a bow around each with your raffia. Repeat with each stem if you like for a more dramatic effect.
Now that you have changed the pot, added moss and a decorative willow branch or hydrangea stalk, you have transformed two inexpensive orchids into one large orchid that now looks expensive and beautiful for all to see. You will be proud to have created this stylish centerpiece for everyone to enjoy for weeks and weeks. It costs a lot less than buying cut flowers every week!
And there you have it.