My strife with my not-so-green thumb has been well documented by my other type happy appendages, so every time a new doesn’t need water trend pops out of the ground, I’m usually first to grab root.  However, since I’ve managed to kill even the most manageable of plants, about a month ago I retired my potters gloves and in an act of sacrificedecided I’d leave those poor plants at Home Depot for more apt owners.

Sadly, there’s only plant left in my apartment.  That is, until last weekend when I discovered the newest trend (or if it isn’t yet, it should be!)… the mossquarium!

 

It’s adorable and unusual, which in the land of house adornments is key.  You want something that makes houseguests exclaim, “Where did you find that?”

 

Well in Los Angeles, you can find them at Potted, the charming store in Los Feliz that offers all sorts of goodies. If you’re in the area you must check it out.

 

In the mossquariums are moss balls, and at Potted they call them the new Pet Rock (sounds simple enough) known asMarimo.  Marimo is a species of filamentous green algae that form in lakes in Japan and Iceland. Even the name is cute.

 

The little balls, grow in tap water at room temperature as long as the water is changed every one or two weeks. ONE TO TWO WEEKS– I can do that!  A five year old can do that!

 

At Potted they arrange them in a glass vase, a bag of coarse sand mixed with glass mulch, a chunk of slag glass, sea shells, and a branch of drift wood.

 

You can purchase Marimo easily on Ebay and create a personalized mossquarium all your own; add some Duckweed and you’re a regular Martha Stewart Botanist.

-Arianna Schioldager

*Photos courtesy of Potted.