6 Stylish Ways to Show off Your Air Plants
From glowing lanterns to an artful steel frame, Josh “Airplantman” Rosen has plenty of ideas for your favorite Tillandsia.
Thomas J. Story
Josh Rosen has cracked the code for showing off air plants like living works of art.
Rosen, known as the “Airplantman,” works in a fantastical courtyard in Mar Vista, California, filled with hand-strung Tillandsia lanterns, custom air plant frames, and gallery walls filled with the greenery. The botanical rockstar (and landscape architect with the firm Studio Grey Green) became a collector and fell in love with the air plant after a trip to a nursery in Hawaii, and now he’s sharing his love for the plant with anyone and everyone.
“Air plants are so charismatic,” Rosen says. “They’ve got these weird shapes, and they look like aliens from another planet. I was like, ‘I need to get as many of these as I can.’”
Thomas J. Story
After Rosen moved to Los Angeles, he started an air plant business, selling frames, travertine vessels, lanterns, and more. He now does custom installations for businesses like the London Hotel, Quicksilver, and Starbucks.
Here are six ideas for styling your air plants, from the “Airplantman” himself.
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1. A custom “gallery wall” features an air plant plant frame, steel hoop “sconce,” and air plants resting in a wood and steel mesh tray that Rosen uses for storage. $120 for sconce. Custom wall orders by request.
2. Hand-strung concentric rings create a Tillandsia lantern with an optional LED light and mister. From $250.
3. In these travertine air plant vessels, the wire slides out of the base so you can soak your air plant without touching it with your fingers. From $45.
Thomas J. Story
4. An air plant frame is made of powder-coated aluminum and nylon-coated stainless steel strings. The entire frame can be dunked in water, then dried and rehung. From $180.
5. Japanese kokedama, or moss balls, inspired this felted wool air plant holder. Custom order by request.
6. Tillandsia aeranthos ‘Minuette’ grows on a simple wire; on a trip to Mexico, Rosen observed them growing like this on telephone lines. 12-gauge galvanized steel wire, Home Depot, $2.48.
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