Awesome Plants

With the holidays upon us, the fragrance of pine is in the air. After buying some pine cones from the market, Boxlapse plucked and planted one of their seeds to see if it would grow into a tree. This captivating time-lapse footage condenses 300 days of growth to about two minutes. Perhaps it’ll be big enough to use as a Christmas tree in a few years.

If Bob Ross and Dr. Zoidberg had a kid, it might look something like this Cthulhu Chia Pet. H.P. Lovecraft’s creepy creature is ready to drive you insane with its beady eyes and tentacled face. Simply coat its head with the chia seeds, and in two weeks or less, your nightmares will come true.

There’s something magical about nature guidebooks filled with illustrations and insights about the flora and fauna around us. From mountains to ocean shores, wetlands to deserts, How to Read the Wilderness: An Illustrated Guide to the Natural Wonders of North America blends art and science to reveal intimate details of wild places.

Give your cacti or other small houseplants a special place on your shelf in these spooky resin skull planters. The trio is based on the classic Three Wise Monkeys image, also known as “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Though if you had a cactus instead of a brain, you wouldn’t have to worry about any of those things.

Digital artist and illustrator Markos Kay created this captivating short film that features surreal and otherworldly life forms that look like nothing we’ve ever seen before. They definitely look organic, though, combining elements of plants and animals. Markos’ Vimeo channel is loaded with many more strange beings.

Located high atop a mountain in California, a bristlecone pine tree has survived longer than any other living thing on Earth. The tree, known as Methuselah, has defied all odds to outlive billions of people despite its lack of nutrients and minimal water and oxygen. David from MinuteEarth explains why the tree has lived for so long.

Ideal Idea set out to build a unique terrarium inspired by infinity cubes. By upping the complexity to a 20-sided shape, he provided enough space for the plants to thrive. He cut the sides from acrylic and 3D printed the structure, which is held together with cord. The infinite illusion was created using reflective film and LED lights.

Traditional ropes are made by winding hemp or other strong plant fibers. NightHawkInLight got his hands on an industrial machine he found on AliExpress that can take fibers like tall grass and braids them together to create rope. It required a bit of fine-tuning to make it work properly, but it did its job in the end.

Winter is upon us, so for those with a green thumb, that means more indoor growing. This lovely copper tray from Garrett Wade helps you get seedlings started in a controlled environment. It comes with 24 square, bottomless containers so young plants can sip water from the tray and slide out easily for potting.

German design firm Nui Studio created these large handcrafted hanging lamps, which incorporate a closed ecosystem for growing and nurturing a plant inside of a glass jar. The water inside of the lamp evaporates and condenses to keep the plant wet. For more information on ordering, contact Nui Studio.

Artist and maker Peter Brown found some western salsify, a plant that looks like a gigantic dandelion and dipped it in a vat of clear resin. After a couple of failed attempts, he managed to keep one of the seed pods intact and centered, then gradually shaped it into a perfect sphere.

Add a little green space to your office with this unique planter that wraps around your computer monitor. The Monitree is a clear tube that holds small, vine-producing plants. It has watering holes for a syringe, and it comes with a full-spectrum LED light source. Available in 90º Single and U-shaped Double versions.

Aussie developer Matt Newell is working on an interactive plaything called Lushfoil Photography Sim. Matt’s goal is to envelop players in the most realistic grass, trees, and other environmental elements across detailed landscapes. From the looks of this French Alps demo, we think he’s on the right track. There’s an 8K version here.

Giant water lilies are as aggressive as they look. They clear the way for growth by crowding out other plants with their spiky, club-like buds, then blocking light beneath the surface with their enormous leaves. This footage from BBC Earth’s The Green Planet provides an up-close look at these plants which can grow 8″ a day.

There’s nothing quite as soothing as aloe vera when you get a sunburn. Business Insider visited the world’s largest aloe farm in the Dominican Republic. There’s an incredible amount of manual labor that goes into harvesting and extracting the insides of each plant leaf before it’s ready for use in products.

Filmmaker Thomas Blanchard captured this series of macro time-lapse images of insects being born juxtaposed with the carnivorous plants laying in wait for unsuspecting creatures to wander into their sticky and deadly traps. According to Blanchard, all insects captured were released after filming.

Simone Giertz was tired of looking at the boring IKEA ceiling light she had hanging from her ceiling, so she decided to replace it with something more interesting – a combination lamp and a hanging plant basket. She managed to keep the water and electricity away from each other with a bit of epoxy.

Scandinavian outfitter Fjällräven updates its classic Kånken Daypack with a plant-based fabric made from sustainably-grown spruce and pine trees. It’s still the same simple pack as always, with handles for toting, and a spacious main compartment. It drops 8.2021. Their recycled plastic and wool variants are also eco-friendly.

Volvox (aka “globe algae”) are a genus of bright green algae that like to hang out in freshwater. Now spend a minute living in their world, courtesy of Shigeru Gougi, who shared this amazing footage of the spherical green lifeforms dancing about under the lens of a microscope.

Green thumb or no, you should have no trouble keeping these little indoor plants alive and happy in your home or office. These grower’s choice plant sets from Costa Farms include an assortment of succulents, each in a 2″ pot and ready to flourish with a little sunlight and water when their soil is dry.

Take your love for The Child from The Mandalorian and channel it into nurturing a living thing. NECA did a great job capturing the adorable and mysterious Jedi creature as he peers out from his floating terracotta baby stroller, nestled among a blanket of lush greenery.

We’re suckers for just about anything in the shape of VW’s iconic Type 2 vans from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. Cedar and Stone Garden’s 5″ x 3″ concrete microbus planters are perfect for growing all your indoor succulent hippie plants. They’re available numerous colors, including tie dye.

In a bold leaf of faith, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu opera house staged its first concert since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown… to a full house of houseplants. The UceLi Quartet performed Giacomo Puccini’s “I Crisantemi” for 2,292 plants, one in every red velvet seat. Conceived by Spanish artist Eugenio Ampudia.