This time of year many gardeners are getting fidgety, waiting for warm weather and the chance to get outside and dig some dirt. But that moment is a ways away. In the meantime, you can create an aerium, a miniature garden with plants that don’t require dirt and can live happily indoors.
Aeriums are terrariums for Tillandsias, commonly known as air plants. The Tillandsia genus consists of over 600 evergreen, perennial flowering plants that are native to many natural environments, including the tropical rainforests, deserts, high mountains and swamps. Tillandias absorb water and nutrients from the atmosphere.
Most Tillandias are epiphytes, meaning that they anchor themselves by roots on other plants for stability. Some are aerophytes, meaning that they have no roots and toss around on dry deserts.
Tillandias are fantastic looking, with spidery, twisting leaves. Some look like tiny aloe plants. Most do not have noteworthy flowers, although some species produce lovely, fragrant flowers.
Some change color from green to rosy-pink or red before they flower, a process known as blushing.
You can buy Tillandias online, but local garden centers stock them. My favorite place for aeriums is Kestrel, a store in Northampton where you can buy everything you need to make your own. The containers come in many shapes and sizes and are usually glass or ceramic. They can hang from the ceiling or on a wall, or simply sit on a flat surface.
You can create a miniature world in your aerium, using moss, sticks, seashells or anything else you like to complement your Tillandias. This is a great project for children.
Aerium care is simple. Tillandias like bright filtered light. In winter, they can take direct sun, but when summer rolls around, keep them out of direct sun to avoid sunburn. Thoroughly wet your plants two to three times a week, depending on how humid their environment is. Misting can supplement watering, but it’s not enough by itself.
The plants should have enough light and air that they dry within four hours. They don’t like excess moisture or standing water. Feed twice monthly with Bromeliad fertilizer (17-8-22) to boost blooming.
Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge is hosting a class on bees Feb. 26 from 2 until 4 p.m. The class, taught by Heather Mattila of Wellsley College, is aimed at beekeepers who want a more in-depth understanding of bee behavior as well as those interested in the natural world.
It will focus on bees as pollinators as well as on honey bees, exploring the basic biology of these essential creatures.
It will help beekeepers and naturalists to better understand the bees they see on flowers, how they live and what they need in terms of habitat and food sources.
Mattila has been a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Wellesley College since 2009. Her research focuses on mechanisms of social communication and organization, including honey bee behavior, the chemical ecology of colonies, the microbiology of queens and workers and the impact of nutritional stress on workers. Members: $10; nonmembers $15. Pre-registration is advised, but walk-ins are welcome if space allows. For more information and to register, go to: berkshirebotanical.org.
On a subject I happen to know too much about, UMass Extension is hosting its 38th annual Community Tree Conference on Mar. 7 at Stockbridge Hall at the University of Massachusetts. The topic this year is “Utilities, Communities and Urban Trees: Partnerships in Practice.”
The event is designed for tree care professionals, volunteers and enthusiasts including arborists, tree wardens/municipal tree care specialists, foresters, landscape architects and shade tree committee members.
Aside from trees and overhead utilities, the talk will include an update on the UMass Arboriculture/Urban Forestry Program. Cost: $90. For more information and to register, go to: ag.umass.edu/events/38thannual-umass-community-tree-conference-utilities-communities-urban-trees-partnerships-in
On Saturday at 1 p.m., Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston will show a documentary film about gardening on a picturesque grand country estate in Holland. The film follows two long-time friends, an 85-year-old pruning master and a gardener, as they tend to espaliers and talk about food, their craft and the changing world around them. The film is in Dutch, with English subtitles. Cost: members-$5; nonmembers-$20.
Mickey Rathbun can be reached at foxglover8@gmail.com.