Ever heard of PostCardens? They’re tiny gardens that grow up in postcards! Intrigued? Yvi-1 tried them out and is here to tell you all about it! :)
Ever since I visited the PostCarden site, I knew that I would one day have to own one. Initially, these flowering greeting cards were only available in some of the countries of Europe. I waited patiently for their arrival in the US. Around the beginning of April 2010, B5+10 (Brooklyn 5 and 10), a US online retailer, began selling them. I ordered immediately.
PostCarden produces three styles which are all available at B5+10. I ordered all three – Botanical Garden, Green City, and Backyard Garden. At a cost of $12.95 USD (plus shipping), they are expensive as just a greeting card but inexpensive when one considers that it serves as both a gift and card. The best part is that these can be mailed! The Carden comes in a cute cardboard box that has space for an address and stamp and message on one side and an artistic image on the other.
I chose the Backyard Garden for my growing experience. Once I opened the outer carboard box, I found a second box which revealed a seed packet and what looked like a pop-out book. I followed the instructions and set up my Carden. The seeds provided are of cress. When the seeds grow the plant can be eaten. I set the Carden outside in my lanai. Each day I watered the PostCarden with about four tablespoons of water and then set it in direct sunlight for a few hours. Within 24 hours my seeds sprouted!
Visitors enjoyed looking at my PostCarden and it was definitely a point of conversation. Once watered, the seeds take on the strong earthy smell of a garden. My PostCarden cardboard warped a bit due to my messy watering practices and the fact that local humidity is currently between 70–90%. My Carden lasted almost two weeks.
I will leave it as a surprise to you what a fully grown PostCarden looks like. Unfortunately, my PostCarden did not grow as high as the sample pictures on the official site but I attribute that to high temperatures and not enough water. I did not choose to eat the cress but was happy to find that the PostCarden is fully recyclable or mostly compostable (there is a thin plastic tray to prevent leaks). I have two PostCardens left and will be sending them as gifts soon!
Note that mailing seeds may be restricted by country, region, or state.
PS – Postcardens are sold on the PostCarden site, or through one of their worldwide retailers. And they have just released a fresh new batch of them, perfect for the World Cup! Check them out! :)
20 comments so far
Oh my god! This is soooo great and cute! I want one. :) Too sad in Russia it would be kinda hard to get this... :(
I saw this from another postcrosser (I forgot his/her username). Too bad, there's nothing like this in my place.
The cards are so cute, I love the idea!
Hello!
With all the water you have via canals, lol, I would think you would have enough water for them! hahaha - It is good to see you here my friend. However, reading this did make me spend money. I have to have some of these for my collection! They are brilliant! Thanks for sharing them.
What a wonderful idea. I love the PostCardens:)
Oh my!!! I'm going to have to get some :P
Thanks for sharing!
Ooooh, I want one of those! Great idea too.
This looks very cute! It looks like you (or the kids) could colour in the 'surround' and decorate it too???
Very cute idea!
I stick to these pictures. I've got the gift to make a total mess of a cute idea like this ;-)
Wow, what a great idea!
You really should have eaten the cress its yummy!!! Cool idea to send a veggie garden through postcrossing.. I am willing to receive and let it grow :-)invite some fellow postcrossers for lunch and eat the cress on a cheese butty :-)
Gardening is one of my passions. What a great idea for getting kids interested. Or just for fun!
puhahahaha :D lol
This is sooo cool!! It's great for people like me who love gardening/growing things and getting mail. Thank you for the heads up!
So cool!
I'll try it out.
Just ordering one :)
How beautiful! I love it. Why doesn't the bottom paper rot away though?
@Twoey: the bottom has a little plastic liner to stop leakage and a growth material in it. So the plants are not growing on the bottom cardboard at all.
Years ago I was into miniatures and found a small item called "French Garden" which comes with four different types of sprouts that come up in different colors and flavors. It is so much fun to add small rakes, benches, small dolls, watering cans, etc.
Since so many Postcrossers love cats, this gives me an idea: to come up with something to grow Kitty Grass in a card.
It seems easy to make. The card will be more excellent if it's colourful. :)
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