THE WALL!!!

The mist is pretty fine. I get soaked by it fairly fast.

Nothing like butting in, but.

Is there anyway that the misters could be imcorporated into the rock so you don't see the white pipe?

Another question...what is your water source for the misting system?

The misters will be painted and should be hidden very well once the plants are growing. I most cases they get covered in a moss. They have to be about 2 to 3 feet from the wall and this was the simplest setup. I plan to have them completely hidden once done.

The source for the water is city tap water. I have been thinking of adding a tank for catching rain water but that will have to be much later.

I love it, great job Brian. I also would love to live in a gh or at least have a large glass room attached to a house. Our Museum of Art has a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit that I saw yesterday and wheels have turned in my head all night. He had a 'glass house' that was advertised in 1938 Ladies Home Journal, and the pre-fab kit sold for $6,000.

Brian have you looked at the Hypertufa forum? There are some amazing faux rocks there once the moss gets growing you could never tell they weren't real.

Have you tried painting the rocks with buttermilk for growing moss?

I have never tried the hypertufa before. I have a endless supply of huge pieces of styrofoam but working with it has been a pain.
I have put manure whole milk and moss and painted rocks before to get moss to grow.

Paradise! What an undertaking .... so much work, but WOW .... I can just imagine what it will look like when complete! GREAT Job. Please keep those "progress" photo's coming. I know everyone out here in DG land is drooling, and very envious!

Love Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota! We take our boat over to Longboat Key in the summer and I always love going to Selby, visiting their greenhouses and walking the property!

Can you post a photo of your Birdsnest Philo? I've never seen one!

Thanks for a great posting and a great project!

Lin

That is nice. I am hoping to build a small version in my outside garden.

About the vinegar, is that a one time application?

Rj

Usually one good coat of vinegar left on for some time works well you can test it with a PH test kit if you need to.

Kind of reminds me of this cool cement type roots structure displayed at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

That's pretty neat Calif_Sue. They look like real roots to me.

In Thailand's Queen Sirikit Gardens they used a lot of berms in their greenhouses. Here is an example of that in the aroid house.

Update on the wall. I have the misting system working over head of the wall. The misting lines will be painted and later covered in silicon and moss to get plants growing on it. The pipes above the wall which supply water, heating and electric will be covered in moss and possibly cork bark. I have around 12 more rocks to add to the wall and the wall section will be completed for this half of the greenhouse. After this I will be putting acid water on the cement to bring its PH down. I will also be adding longfiber spaghnum moss to all the cracks in the walls. After this a small three rock high wall will be added a few feet out from the wall to give me the raised bed I want. The bottom portion of the bed will be full of the fist size chuncks of rock around 1 foot deep They a fabric will be layed over and a smaller size rock will be added around nickle size mixed with perlite and some spaghnum. I am also thinking of adding a artificial epiphyte tree and several large totems for philos and other climbers.

Here is a pic of the artificial tree at Farichild tropical gardens. Craig Allen had built this and showed me how he had constructed it using PVC pipes and cork bark. It is extremely impressive to see.

What a beautiful flower you have on your arm!

This is a pic of a friend I meet online. I never meet her before other than the internet. I told her about going to the aroid show and she planned to also drive to it. We decided to just go together once she got to KY and I took her to a lot of collectors and nurseries. It was a great trip and rather than being with a lot of people who hate plants she was a plant person just like me. I should get in touch with her again I know she was a true plant nut.

A pvc tree, looks like a great project. Your wall sounds like it is developing nicely. Will be looking for update photos.

Brian, where do you get the cork?

THE WALL IS DONE!!

I finished the one side of the greenhouse wall. Now all I need to do is spray the wall with the acid and start attaching plants. I will be working on the smaller raised bed wall around the walk area soon. This wall is only three rocks high and is stuckoed together. Here is the latest pic of the wall today.

That is going to look so cool as the plants fill in, please keep the pics coming as you go!

I plan to order it from tropiflora. You can order it by the pallet aparently.

Here's a picture of a rock wall in the orchid house at the American Orchid Society in Delray Beach - gorgeous, and an inspiration! Yours looks great - makes me jealous.

Hey, Ginger,

Maybe when Jeremy comes he will build both of us a wall......

Brian..you need some Dischidia to grow on your wall!!! and Hoyas!!! The wee ones that love the moisture of the running water.

The cork bark IS pricey... I have seen a similar "tree" made out of PVC and they wrapped with spagnum attached with chicken mesh (or similar). Soon the growing plants obscure any wire...

I am building three larger totem like PVC type trees. These are just straight up and will probably have a birdsnest fern or Anthurium on top. They will both be wrapped in longfiber spaghnum and wire. I really like the treen and I am thinking of spending a few hundred bucks on the cork bark for it. I found a place out of canada that sells large pieces for 3.00 for 1 LB From what I gather 1 lb is usually a 1 foot square give or take a few.

If you can give me a idea on which Dischidias and hoyas to use I will get them. I remember you have some nice forms. I am only worried that this area might be fairly wet in some areas. But I hope to put them in the drier areas.

Here are some updated photos of the wall today. Been working a bit slower due to the cold and lack of funds. Hopefully I can keep it going till spring with out much of a problem.


The plants in the pic are just in pots I have not more room it seems to put them. I hope to move them out of the way soon.

view walking into the greenhouse to the right. Still a lot of work to go. Ladders and supplies all over the place.

View of right corner

Moss added to the cracks in the rocks

Brian,

Thank you for the wonderful adventure. It looks beautiful and we're so very proud for you.

Judy & BigDaddy99

My next house, I want one in the entry way!! :-)

and the shower LOL!

I love being able to follow along on your projects; just wonderful to watch your progress and listen to your thoughts. I am a retired college career counselor and you are a one of the few people who are truly following their dream. Nice to see. :-)

Really love to hear everyones input and thank all of you for the support. I have been having a blast building this thing. I spent a bit of money and a lot of time on it but I think personally it will be more than worth it to me. Today I finished the smaller bed wall that runs a few feet out. This is about 2 maybe 3 feet tall and will hold the soil in. I hope to keep the plants a bit more a eye level it seems to make things more interesting to look at and touch. Pluse I figure it may make weed pulling extremely easy.

Here is a photo from yesterday I was not totally done with the smaller wall then but me and my worker Mark were able to get the moss on the misting system pipes. I believe someone here asked what would be done with them. At first I was not sure what it would look like but after applying it to a few feet I think it looks amazing.
The pipes were covered wth silicon glue and longfiber spaghnum moss added. I hope to grow a few odd things on the pipe maybe some dischidias or orchids.

I will be leaving out of town for a few days. Visiting some family and a few plant collector friends. I cannot wait to get back and plant new things on the wall.

Today I worked on the rock wall putting plants in the cracks and on the top portion. I have many rare anthuriums and philodendrons. I also added some bromeliads and ferns. It seems impossible for my camera to get the whole thing but I have the smaller rock wall for the raised bed done and the mist is now working.

todays pic

corner of rock wall

welcome home...I have missed you posting your progress here...LA

Here is a link to more photos of the construction and planting of the rock wall.

http://bwilliams92.photosite.com/Album1/

very nice, can't wait to see it finished.

That is spectacular, Brian. Really spectacular. For me it's quite a sense of achievement to get something like that finished. If I can get one or two raised beds put in this summer I'll be happy. :)

Since I was a wee lil one, for thirty-five years at least, a fellow who lives near me has been building a stone and cement porch. The mixer appeared in the front lawn in the mid 70's. In the early 80's he poured the porch itself, but it took him until two years ago to finish the steps. Now you can walk up onto the porch, and even sit on it, but there's a huge pile of left-over rocks I think he's planning on turning into a rock wall.

Stretching this project out so long might be his bid for immortality. For me it has always served as a cautionary tale. In the spring, when I want to visit the farmers' fields and pick up tons of field stone I remember the porch, and it reminds me that I would actually have to *do* something with all of those stones I want to collect. :)

Now a mortar-free wall ... HEY.

Peace,

-Joe G.

added more plants as well as drift wood to the wall today. I manly added anthuriums today most are in the mid section of the wall were I plan to grow specie orchids ferns and other cool growing plants. The top portion of the wall is much hotter and gets a lot more sun. I plan to grow bromeliads and orchids in this section.