Latest news with #VenusFlytrap
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
I was tired of my houseplants dying, so I switched to Lego plants instead. They're fun to build and add greenery to my home
If you're a serial plant killer like I am, you're probably familiar with the struggle. My most recent plant victim was a Venus Flytrap, lovingly named Frederick, which I somehow killed despite my promises that this time I'd keep it alive. I gave it distilled water, repotted it in specialty soil, and placed it near my sunny-but-not-too-sunny window. Despite my best efforts, Frederick tragically died. So, I've now shifted the strategy entirely from live plants and added greenery to my home using something untraditional: Lego flowers and plants. The Lego Botanical Collection has a variety of flora, from orchids to succulents, all made from Lego bricks and studs. After building eight sets and counting from the Botanical Collection since its launch four years ago, Lego plants and flowers are my favorite home decor hack. They make great gifts, too. Plus, even after all this time, they're still looking as green as ever, which I can't say about my other plants. A few of our favorites Our review of the Lego Botanicals Collection Step-by-step instructions make assembly easy Whether you're a Lego veteran or newcomer, building Lego plants and flowers is fun and easy. I think the process is simple and easy to follow. Each set comes with a full-color, illustrated booklet with step-by-step instructions on how to build your plants or flowers. The set is divided into bags, so it's easy to find the pieces you need. If you prefer a high-tech option, there's also a Lego app with instructions. Sets take anywhere between 30 minutes to two hours to build, depending on the set and your building efficiency. I love putting on some music, setting out the instructions, and building to my heart's content. It's a great way to get away from screens for a bit, and it's so satisfying to see your set come together. The sets are customizable, and mixing and matching is encouraged One of my favorite parts of the Botanicals Collection is its customization. The flower sets all come with adjustable stems, so you can change the height of your flowers for your ideal look or vase height. Other sets have different customization options, like the Bonsai Tree where you can choose between green foliage or pink cherry blossoms. I chose the pink cherry blossoms. Similarly, the Succulents set is modular, so you can make it fit your space by arranging it however you please. The flowers, in particular, are great for mixing and matching. My first Lego Botanicals set was the original Flower Bouquet, but my collection quickly expanded to tulips, roses, sunflowers, and cherry blossom branches. I'm able to mix and match my flower collection to make a colorful bouquet that's truly my own. I love switching up the flowers for a new look. They make great gifts Ranging from $15 to $110, Lego plants and flowers make for excellent gifts, too. Many of my flowers have been gifts from my partner for our anniversary or during the holidays. I'm always so excited to unwrap a new Botanicals set, since I get the fun of building it and the joy of using the set to decorate my space. It's a great alternative to traditional plants or flowers, since they'll last for years and don't require watering. Plus, you can build the set together for a fun experience. I think all ages, whether a child or an adult, could enjoy putting a set together. Lego flowers require no water and will never wilt I've had pieces from the Lego Botanical collection in my home for years, and they still look good as new. Like all Lego sets, the plants and flowers are made from extra-strong plastic that stands up to wear and tear and clicks together and apart with ease. Another cool part of the Botanical collection is how the designers use existing Lego pieces in new and unique ways. The Bonsai Tree uses frog pieces for the leaves, while the Succulents set uses gun pieces to connect leaves. Most of the Lego plants are very sturdy, but the sets that connect using clips and claws (like the sunflowers and roses) can be more delicate. This makes them a little tricky to clean and move since a slight movement can cause the petals to fall off. It's easy to keep Lego plants and flowers clean by integrating them into your dusting routine, but you'll want to be careful with the sensitive sets. Cons to consider Truthfully, it's difficult for me to find cons with the Lego Botanicals Collection. That said, some of the flower sets are delicate, so you'll have to take extra care when moving them or cleaning them. When I moved with my Lego sets, I wrapped them tightly during the packing process. The bottom line As an avid Lego lover with absolutely no green thumb, I wholeheartedly recommend Lego plants and flowers both as an activity and as home decor. Not only does each piece brighten up my home, but they also come with the memories of opening the present from my family or building the set with my partner. They're customizable, unique pieces that add a little extra dopamine into each room.
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-05-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Insect-Eating Venus Flytraps Thrive in the Carolinas as Hikers Peek into Their Native Ecosystem
Park ranger Jesse Anderson leads dozens of people on a weekly hike in North Carolina to see some of the most unique living things in the world: plants that supplement the nutrients they get from sunlight by digesting ants, flies and spiders. But the Venus flytraps aren't like the human-size, ravenous and cruel Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors." In the wild, Venus flytraps are the size of a lima bean and pose no harm to anything other than insects. Their special hairs snap their leaves together when brushed, but only twice in about 20 seconds or less to reduce the amount of false alarms by dust or rain. Once inside, the insect is doomed to become plant food, Anderson said. "It continues to trigger those hairs and the trap slowly closes and eventually starts releasing digestive enzymes to start breaking down the insect. And because they're in nutrient-poor environments, they supplement their food with insects," Anderson said. Anderson's hike at Carolina Beach State Park on the southeast North Carolina coast also showcases other carnivorous plants. There are vase-shaped pitcher plants with liquid at the bottom that traps insects, then digests them. Butterworts and sundews attract insects with glistening leaves, then secrete an adhesive to trap them in place. Bladderworts work similarly to Venus flytraps. And the hike is one of the few places to see Venus flytraps. The plant only grows in 12 counties in southeast North Carolina near Wilmington and a few nearby places in South Carolina, which made the organism the state's official carnivorous plant in 2023. Now is an especially good time to take that hike. Venus flytraps bloom from about mid-May to mid-June, Anderson said. The flytrap is a fragile plant that needs fire to survive. Wildfires in the pine forests where they grow clear off the denser overgrowth to provide the abundant sunlight the plants need. They face two big enemies: poachers and development. Harvesting the plants without permission is a felony in North Carolina and a misdemeanor in South Carolina. In 2016, a man was sentenced to 17 months in prison for taking nearly 1,000 Venus flytraps from game land in Hampstead, North Carolina. And the flytraps live in one of the fastest-growing parts of the US, where neighborhoods and businesses have been built over their habitats. Most of the plants can now be found in preserves and other undisturbed areas. Scientists counted only about 300,000 flytraps in the Carolinas several years ago. While Anderson's hike is one of the few ways to see Venus flytraps in their natural environment, he said commercially grown plants can be found around in greenhouses and plant stores around the world and can thrive in homes in the right conditions "They like nutrient-poor soils, and also they can't stand typical well water or tap water. So they need things like rainwater or distilled water or versus osmosis," Anderson said. Venus flytraps need abundant sunlight and soils that are moist but not drenched. And they don't have to eat bugs if they can get enough nutrients from photosynthesis. Please don't feed them hamburger meat, that's not what they eat. And try not to trigger the leaves shut without something to digest. That takes a lot of energy the plant needs to replace.
Washington Post
27-05-2025
- Washington Post
Insect-eating Venus flytraps thrive in the Carolinas as hikers peek into their native ecosystem
CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. — Park ranger Jesse Anderson leads dozens of people on a weekly hike in North Carolina to see some of the most unique living things in the world — plants that supplement the nutrients they get from sunlight by digesting ants, flies and spiders. But the Venus flytraps aren't like the human-size, ravenous and cruel Audrey in 'Little Shop of Horrors.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Yahoo
Insect-eating Venus flytraps thrive in the Carolinas as hikers peek into their native ecosystem
CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (AP) — Park ranger Jesse Anderson leads dozens of people on a weekly hike in North Carolina to see some of the most unique living things in the world — plants that supplement the nutrients they get from sunlight by digesting ants, flies and spiders. But the Venus flytraps aren't like the human-size, ravenous and cruel Audrey in 'Little Shop of Horrors.' In the wild, Venus flytraps are the size of a lima bean and pose no harm to anything other than insects. Their special hairs snap their leaves together when brushed — but only twice in about 20 seconds or less to reduce the amount of false alarms by dust or rain. Once inside, the insect is doomed to become plant food, Anderson said. 'It continues to trigger those hairs and the trap slowly closes and eventually starts releasing digestive enzymes to start breaking down the insect. And because they're in nutrient-poor environments, they supplement their food with insects,' Anderson said. Anderson's hike at Carolina Beach State Park on the southeast North Carolina coast also showcases other carnivorous plants. There are vase-shaped pitcher plants with liquid at the bottom that traps insects, then digests them. Butterworts and sundews attract insects with glistening leaves, then secrete an adhesive to trap them in place. Bladderworts work similarly to Venus flytraps. And the hike is one of the few places to see Venus flytraps. The plant only grows in 12 counties in southeast North Carolina near Wilmington and a few nearby places in South Carolina, which made the organism the state's official carnivorous plant in 2023. Now is an especially good time to take that hike. Venus flytraps bloom from about mid-May to mid-June, Anderson said. The flytrap is a fragile plant that needs fire to survive. Wildfires in the pine forests where they grow clear off the denser overgrowth to provide the abundant sunlight the plants need. They face two big enemies — poachers and development. Harvesting the plants without permission is a felony in North Carolina and a misdemeanor in South Carolina. In 2016, a man was sentenced to 17 months in prison for taking nearly 1,000 Venus flytraps from game land in Hampstead, North Carolina. And the flytraps live in one of the fastest-growing parts of the U.S., where neighborhoods and businesses have been built over their habitats. Most of the plants can now be found in preserves and other undisturbed areas. Scientists counted only about 300,000 flytraps in the Carolinas several years ago. While Anderson's hike is one of the few ways to see Venus flytraps in their natural environment, he said commercially grown plants can be found around in greenhouses and plant stores around the world and can thrive in homes in the right conditions 'They like nutrient-poor soils, and also they can't stand typical well water or tap water. So they need things like rainwater or distilled water or versus osmosis,' Anderson said. Venus flytraps need abundant sunlight and soils that are moist but not drenched. And they don't have to eat bugs if they can get enough nutrients from photosynthesis. Please don't feed them hamburger meat — that's not what they eat. And try not to trigger the leaves shut without something to digest. That takes a lot of energy the plant needs to replace. ___ Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this story.
The Independent
27-05-2025
- The Independent
Insect-eating Venus flytraps thrive in the Carolinas as hikers peek into their native ecosystem
Park ranger Jesse Anderson leads dozens of people on a weekly hike in North Carolina to see some of the most unique living things in the world — plants that supplement the nutrients they get from sunlight by digesting ants, flies and spiders. But the Venus flytraps aren't like the human-size, ravenous and cruel Audrey in 'Little Shop of Horrors.' In the wild, Venus flytraps are the size of a lima bean and pose no harm to anything other than insects. Their special hairs snap their leaves together when brushed — but only twice in about 20 seconds or less to reduce the amount of false alarms by dust or rain. Once inside, the insect is doomed to become plant food, Anderson said. 'It continues to trigger those hairs and the trap slowly closes and eventually starts releasing digestive enzymes to start breaking down the insect. And because they're in nutrient-poor environments, they supplement their food with insects,' Anderson said. Anderson's hike at Carolina Beach State Park on the southeast North Carolina coast also showcases other carnivorous plants. There are vase-shaped pitcher plants with liquid at the bottom that traps insects, then digests them. Butterworts and sundews attract insects with glistening leaves, then secrete an adhesive to trap them in place. Bladderworts work similarly to Venus flytraps. And the hike is one of the few places to see Venus flytraps. The plant only grows in 12 counties in southeast North Carolina near Wilmington and a few nearby places in South Carolina, which made the organism the state's official carnivorous plant in 2023. Now is an especially good time to take that hike. Venus flytraps bloom from about mid-May to mid-June, Anderson said. The flytrap is a fragile plant that needs fire to survive. Wildfires in the pine forests where they grow clear off the denser overgrowth to provide the abundant sunlight the plants need. They face two big enemies — poachers and development. Harvesting the plants without permission is a felony in North Carolina and a misdemeanor in South Carolina. In 2016, a man was sentenced to 17 months in prison for taking nearly 1,000 Venus flytraps from game land in Hampstead, North Carolina. And the flytraps live in one of the fastest-growing parts of the U.S., where neighborhoods and businesses have been built over their habitats. Most of the plants can now be found in preserves and other undisturbed areas. Scientists counted only about 300,000 flytraps in the Carolinas several years ago. While Anderson's hike is one of the few ways to see Venus flytraps in their natural environment, he said commercially grown plants can be found around in greenhouses and plant stores around the world and can thrive in homes in the right conditions 'They like nutrient-poor soils, and also they can't stand typical well water or tap water. So they need things like rainwater or distilled water or versus osmosis,' Anderson said. Venus flytraps need abundant sunlight and soils that are moist but not drenched. And they don't have to eat bugs if they can get enough nutrients from photosynthesis. Please don't feed them hamburger meat — that's not what they eat. And try not to trigger the leaves shut without something to digest. That takes a lot of energy the plant needs to replace. ___ Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this story.
