Tradescantia zebrina ‘Superba’ are attractive trailing plants with handsome purple and silver variegated foliage. Each leaf displays wide bands of silver either side of a central purple stripe and every leaf is enhanced with a fine purple outline. NB: The purple colouration is more subtle when plants are grown in softer lighting, as you see in the leaves of the plant at the top of this page.
Tradescantia zebrina ‘Burgundy’ is a charming, naturally trailing, sprawling plant with silver and burgundy striped leaves. Leaf colour will vary on individual plants according to the light levels and different growing conditions the plants experience. Plants grown in areas that enjoy brighter sunlight, which are only watered when their growing media has begun to dry out will display more vibrantly coloured foliage with a more vivid purple colouring than plants grown in poorer quality sunlight.
Erigeron annuus is a charming plant which is sometimes called Tall Fleabane. In the UK, Erigeron annuus plants produce tall sprays of small white-petalled, yellow-centred daisies from June to the end of October (early summer to early autumn). These plants display a relaxed and floaty air, which is always welcome in my garden. Erigeron annuus has that gorgeous meadowy vibe! Plants have a naturally open habit, which allows us many opportunities to see what other plants are growing amongst them.
I bought this endearing little plant about ten years ago. For me this is a truly charming terrarium plant. I adore Goeppertia micans leaves; their foliage may appear to be lovely, but fairly ordinary plain green, narrow leaves, but when you touch this foliage it’s a delightful surprise to discover that these leaves are sumptuously soft! The undersides of every leaf are smooth and silky, they feel like the softest velvet.
Goeppertia warscewiczii is a handsome tender plant that hails from the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. This Goeppertia produces absolutely fabulous, velvety, bottle-green coloured leaves, which are beautifully enhanced by their jade-green variegation, and nicely set off by the leaf’s contrasting claret-coloured undersides. With regular care, warm, even temperatures, high humidity levels, and bright, filtered lighting, this stunning plant will grow successfully inside our homes.
Lepanthes matamorosii is a mini miniature orchid species from Costa Rica. This incredible little plant produces brick-red-orange coloured flowers which are astonishingly large in comparison to the size of the plant; they’re very cute!
In the wild, Lepanthes matamorosii can be found growing in regions at around 2750m, in The Cordillera de Talamanca mountain ranges of south-eastern Costa Rica. This is a wonderfully diverse habitat that’s home to a range of plants and wildlife, including oak (Quercus costaricensis and Quercus copeyensis) trees that are endemic to this part of the world.
Maxillaria acutifolia is a small and compact orchid species from: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Leeward Islands, Mexico, Venezula, Trinidad and Tobago. From winter to springtime, mature Maxillaria acutifolia plants produce these very cute yellow-orange coloured flowers, which are fragrant and have a nice scent. The blooms are held low down at the base of the plant, underneath the leaves; however the blooms aren’t completely obscured and the flowers can be easily admired.
Stelis tridentata is a miniature orchid species that grows as an epiphyte – instead of growing in the soil – this orchid grows upon other plants. In the wild, Stelis tridentata plants can be found growing upon trees in the rainforests of Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Costa Rica. Stelis tridentata grows in cloud forests, where these plants flourish in this humid environment.
French beans (known by their botanical name, Phaseolus vulgaris) are such lovely vegetables to grow. These plants are both productive and decorative, with attractive flowers. French beans are super plants that will truly enhance your garden; the beans they produce taste delicious, too!
Firstly, take care to select the type of French bean you want to grow. There are two types of French beans: tall climbing French beans (often called ‘Pole Beans’) that grow up to 8ft (2.5m) tall (and taller!)
Callisia repens is a low growing, tender herbaceous perennial plant from Mexico, North, Central, and South America. Plants thrive in partially shaded conditions, in shallow, free draining, acid soils. This easy-to-grow plant readily adapts to a range of circumstances; tolerating both brighter and more shaded environments, as well as moist, humid, and drier conditions and neutral compost and soils; making Callisia repens a superb houseplant, thats hard to kill!
Courgettes, also known as Zucchini (and by the botanical name of Cucurbita pepo), are tender vegetables that are very productive and rewarding to grow. Courgettes vary from one variety to another; you’ll find seeds of yellow courgettes (like my plant in the photograph above), pale forms of courgette that are such a soft green they’re almost white, as well as light green, very dark green courgettes, and striped courgettes.
Masdevallia nidifica is a miniature epiphytic and lithophytic orchid species, which is widespread: this species originates from Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, where this plant can be found growing in areas of mountainous forest and cloud forests.
Given cool to intermediate temperatures, a shaded environment and a moist environment Masdevallia nidifica is a reliable and floriferous orchid species. This plant requires very high humidity and constant growing conditions all through the year to succeed, when it will grow into a rewarding plant that can flower at any time of year.
Runner beans, also known by their botanical name of Phaseolus coccineus, are tender perennials that originate from Mexico and South America. Runner beans are deservedly popular in the UK; these easy to grow vegetables are both decorative and productive.
Both dwarf runner bean varieties and tall climbing runner bean varieties are available – check the label before buying seeds or plants to determine how tall they will grow.
Psygmorchis pusilla is a miniature, epiphytic orchid species, which can be found growing in humid forests in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela, and other exotic locations, where the plant colonises the outer branches of trees.
Psygmorchis pusilla is a delightful, fan shaped, miniature orchid species, which has an attractive appearance even when it’s not in flower. This orchid produces very large, predominantly yellow inflorescences, which have red-maroon markings.
Dryadella simula is a cool growing, miniature epiphytic, orchid species that’s found growing in the lower regions of cloud forest in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. This orchid experiences natural variations during the seasons in its native environment, where it will experience dry seasons and drier periods. It will be interesting to see how well this miniature orchid grows in the constant conditions provided by the BiOrbAir terrarium.
