Making kokedama using coffee grounds and wastepaper is a great way to recycle items in your house and use them to make decorative plants.
Kokedama are beautiful hanging plants wrapped in moss and tied together with string.
You can find the step-by-step instructions for making a traditional kokedama in Gardener’s World.
My version is different because I wanted to recycle coffee grounds from my cafetiere and wastepaper like old bills.
To make your kokedama you will need:
- a small plant like English ivy
- some bonsai compost
- wastepaper
- coffee grounds
- garden netting
- string
- bowl
As you can see there is no moss in this list – simply because I didn’t have it. However, for an authentic look you will need to get a sheet of moss to wrap around the kokedama.
First of all, soak the paper in warm water for at least two hours, ideally overnight. When it’s soft, break it up with your hands and scrunch it to get rid of excess water.
In a bowl, put a long piece of garden netting first then put a layer of wet paper and fill the middle with compost. Add the coffee grounds. Put the ivy plant in the middle, ensuring the compost surrounds the roots. Wrap the paper around the plant. Tie up the garden netting with a string.
Keep more coffee grounds aside: each time you water the plant (at least once a week) use the coffee grounds with some water to feed the plant.