A PLANTED SHOP WINDOW

Tropical plants growing in a jewellery shopfront in Puerto De La Cruz, Tenerife

Upon a recent visit to Tenerife I observed this interesting jewellery shop window display containing plants with a jewellery display between two panes of glass. Gynura Aurantiaca, a vibrant purple houseplant native to subtropical Asia and Pachira Aquatica, a tree species native to riverbanks in Central/South America. Upon first viewing it appeared to resemble a giant terrarium but on closer inspection the plants were in pots hidden from view under the jewellery shelf so in fact it was more like a greenhouse.

From my personal experience Gynura Aurantiaca is a notoriously difficult houseplant to grow inside glass due to its leaves being covered in a light fuzz which trap water droplets. This plant is a climber and does not stay long on the tropical forest floor where the air is still and humid. My smaller planted window terrariums tend to mimic the conditions of this forest floor environment and have poor ventilation coupled with high humidity which means these leaves are highly susceptible to rotting (This has also been my experience with hairy begonia leaves).

Gynura Aurantiaca draped across a shopfront window display in Puerto De La Cruz, Tenerife

Seeing this plant growing successfully inside glass in this shopfront suggests that there is good ventilation inside this shop window and that in the future this plant has potential for healthy growth in larger planted window terrarium displays where there is more space for air movement… potentially in a tall column or rectangle.

Nevertheless I love seeing plants growing in and around the display of other items; especially in this jewellery display. With a few more plants this could really resemble a scene from a movie where a lost treasure is found deep in the thick of an ancient jungle!