Back in October of 2024, Fern & Fossil partnered with local Newark-based artist Andrea Fernandez to help create programming for the annual Newark Arts Festival. Focusing on the theme of Radical Reimagining, the exhibit “The Spirit of Sustainability” explores the environmentalist approach to Andrea’s work and how artist practices can influence the world around them both ecologically and spiritually. Her mixed media work beautifully utilizes biodegradable and ethically sourced organic materials to teach us the value in knowing we are not outside of nature but rather an extension of it. Andre ..read more

Happy New Year Everyone!   To start off 2025, I thought it would be nice to cover a very beginner friendly plant: Chlorophytum comosum, better known as the Spider Plant. Other colloquial names for the Spider Plant are Spider Ivy, Airplane Plant, Ribbon Plant (not to be confused with Dracana sanderiana) and Hens and Chickens (like numerous succulents). Part of the Asparagacae family, spider plants are an evergreen perennial flowering plant native to tropical and Southern Africa. Over time, they’ve been naturalized in Western Australia and Bangladesh as well. These plants do well with ..read more

Before we put a wrap on the year 2024, I’d like to spotlight a very unique succulent as our December Plant of the Month: Kalanchoe orgyalis, better known as “Copper Spoons”. While we’ve covered other Kalanchoe varieties such as the Panda Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa) and the Flaming Katy (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana), Copper Spoons differentiates itself from other Kalanchoes by its distinctly shaped and colored leaves. As the namesake suggests, this succulent has copper colored leaves in a shape similar to the fancy utensils my mom brings out once a year for Christmas Eve Dinner. Each leaf is cover ..read more

Selenite is a variety of gypsum and a sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate. Contrary to what you might think, it does not contain much (if any) Selenium despite the similarities in name (both of which come from the Greek word for “moon”). Most selenite is colorless or white in appearance and transparent, allowing some or most light to pass through the crystal. It forms in a monoclinic crystal system, meaning that it takes on a parallelogram prism-like shape. Selenite is INCREDIBLE for both gardening and metaphysical/spiritual purposes! In terms of indoor gardening, selenite ..read more

Our Plant of the Month this November is a variety of Aizoaceae called Oscularia deltoides, better known as Pink Ice Plant due to the magenta colored flowers that bloom across its trailing stems. This dwarf perennial plant is occasionally referred to as Sandstone Vygie because it often grows amongst the sandstone rocks in the mountains of southwest South Africa. Another name for this succulent is Pink Carpet due to the abundantly flowered pink ground cover it provides when grown outdoors. Regardless of what you choose to call it, the best thing about this succulent is that it has a long flower ..read more

Welcome back to another installment of Ina’s Crystal Corner! But before we take a deep dive into all things Labradorite, I have another update. Last time, I covered Pyrite for this series and I mentioned my engagement. Well, I’m officially married now! For our ceremony, my husband and I chose to do a handfasting rather than exchange traditional rings. We commissioned local artist, Andrea Fernandez (whose work is currently on display at Fern & Fossil Cafe till the end of December), to craft a beautiful handfasting cord featuring my favorite crystal of all time, Labradorite. And with that ..read more

This October, we’re spotlighting Dracaena trifasciata. This plant goes by many, many names: the Snake Plant, Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, Sansevieria, bow string hemp, Devil's Tongue (how perfect for spooky season!) and more. This evergreen perennial plant is native to tropical West Africa and its leaves grow in dense, thick spirals. You would think with a nickname like Devil’s Tongue it would be a nightmare to care for, but this might be the least fussy plant I’ve ever had! It’s often said that these plants “thrive on neglect” due to the fact that they require very little water and sun. Our Sna ..read more

Our Plant of the Month for this September is Echeveria shaviana, otherwise more commonly known as Mexican Hens. This leafy succulent is cabbage-like in texture and is usually a pale blue-green/gray color, although when grown in bright lighting it can take on a pink or purple tint. Like many Echeveria succulents, Mexican Hens grows in a rosette pattern but its uniqueness lies in the wrinkled edges of its leaves. Despite the major differences in appearance, Mexican Hens is sometimes confused with Sempervivum tectorum (a common houseleek also known as Hens & Chicks) which has a fuzzy texture ..read more

We’re back with another installment of Ina’s Crystal Corner! But first, I’d like to share some personal developments: I got engaged! My fiancé proposed on my birthday in July with a beautiful moss agate and moissanite ring. Ironically, moissanite is a form of carborundum, which we covered last in June so check it out if you haven’t already. Perhaps in the future I’ll do a segment on gardening with moss agate, but this month we’re learning all about Pyrite! Pyrite is an iron sulfide mineral known known for its gold-like appearance due to its metallic luster and yellow brassy coloring. Hence, i ..read more

This month, we’ll be covering something a little different than our usual content. Instead of introducing you all to another succulent, I’d like to present my favorite houseplant: Epipremnum aureum aka Pothos! Pothos is a genus of flowering plants in the Araceae family. Native Pothos can be found in Mo’orea in the Society Islands of French Polynesia near Tahiti, but over time it has been naturalized in tropical and sub-tropical forests across the world. Although Epipremnum aureum has many other names besides Pothos, it is commonly referred to as the Devil’s Ivy due to its ability to retain it ..read more