Nature's Calling: Our 50 Favorite Hort-Inspired Phone Cases

30 Nov Nature’s Calling: Our 50 Favorite Hort-Inspired Phone Cases

Posted at 03:00h in Culture, Design by Chantal Aida Gordon 0 Comments

What do you get the garden lover who has everything?

Trick question. Plant fans — so curious by nature — will never stop looking for the next exciting bud, blossom or frond. And while gardening hats are great, we’ve been thinking of ways to help hort people wear their allegiances on their sleeves. (Whether or not they have a garden of their own.) How do you show off your dahlia habit in the depths of December? Or rep the cacti growing in your neighborhood?

A mobile phone case — of all things! — is one way to carry around your favorite plant. After we experimented with putting our logo on an iPhone case, we discovered a whole treasure trove of botanical designs on Society6, a shop where artists from around the world can put their designs on tech cases, prints and apparel.

We found the options at office supply stores lackluster. There had to be a better option…

Ryan tries out our custom-designed, aeonium-filled phone case.

On Society6, we found affordable designs that we knew friends, family, coworkers will LOVE for the holidays and beyond. Opuntia against bright walls. Intense pollinator macros. Romantic vines. Yes, even peony stuff. Even (especially) when there’s ice in the air, it’s nice to hand out reminders that spring is just around the corner.

Here’s a roundup of our favorites. On each product page you’ll find cases ($35 for slim and $38 for tough) that fit a wide range of iPhone and Samsung Galaxy models. Tablet and iPod Touch cases are also for sale. Not in the market for a tech case? Many of the botanical designs are also available as mugs ($15), totes ($22), rugs ($25 and up), throw pillows ($20), art prints (about $15 and up), even duvet covers ($99). Plus, this Cyber Monday, you can get an extra 20 percent off, plus free shipping.

And…guess what. The Horticult has even designed some cases of our own! You might remember some of the photos from stories we’ve done.

Nature’s calling—and it’s for you. Below, find 25 garden-inspired cases we designed and 25 that we curated. Click the photos to learn more…

—TH

The Horticult Collection:

A sultry macro of a night-scented lily (Alocasia Odora) that Ryan snapped at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The texture of the raindrops against the wet leaf veins give the case an almost 3-D look. We call this one ‘Giant Upright Elephant Ear.’

Flash your tropical credentials wherever you go! We photographed the psychedelic foliage of ‘Begonia exotica’ during a memorable visit to the US Botanic Garden in DC.

Fans of dark-as-the-night horticulture will swoon for ‘Fields of Black Aeonium “Zwartkop.”‘ They’re the succulent answer to the coveted black rose. (As seen modeled by Ryan above.)

Pollinator passions are running high these days. This case, ‘Calla Lily With Bees,’ pays tribute to our favorite buzzy-bodies.

Want to return to your Hawaiian vacation? ‘Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden’ features gargantuan pothos vines we saw near Hilo on the Big Island. Plus a few ferns here and there. (But here’s the whole story.)

‘Joshua Tree.’ The national park of the same name is a haven for this beloved, soulful, striving yucca. (Explore the surreal photos from our Joshua Tree visit here.)

Carry a little bouquet wherever you go. ‘Golden Girls Floral Headvase’ is bursting with hydrangea, freesia and safflower. (You can check out our headvase DIY here!)

Orchid or scream emoji? We spotted this hair-raising ‘Phragmidedium Orchid’ at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show.

‘Robert Irwin Primal Palm Garden’ features LA’s iconic tree seen at LACMA.

Sometimes a cell phone case is the best icebreaker. The ‘Passiflora Edulis (Passion flower)’ is famed for the flower’s wild sizzle of coronal filaments and its sci-fi structure.

Got a sea of succulents you want to share with the world? The juicy colors of ‘Wall of Succulents’ are brought to you by plump, sassy plants like echeveria, sedum and crassula.

A vine’s on the line. This ‘Scindapsus pictus’ (or satin pothos / silver vine) looks like it’s taking over your phone.

Flora meets fauna in the sculptural, larger-than-life fronds of this ‘Staghorn Fern (Platycerium)’.

Hiker hearts will swell at the sight of ‘Zion National Park Wildflowers.’

Wildflowers are a state of mind, and a way of life. ‘Wildflowering LA’ was photographed during a citywide art installation by the same name, created by Fritz Haeg. (Here’s the story we did on it.) Make a bold statement with this field of California poppies, clarkia, bird’s eye gilia and tidy tips.

Wallpaper gets a new spin with this ‘Vintage Botanical Protea Pattern.’ (Psst, remember our temporary decal DIY?)

Late spring/early summer in New England is a magical time. ‘Rosa rugosa (Beach Rose)’ was snapped in Kennebunkport, Maine.

City, meet cactus. Cactus, meet city. ‘Runyon Canyon Opuntia’ overlooks the skyscrapers of LA.

‘Leucadendron Jester,’ a ruby-colored shrub photographed at the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas, CA.

The golden flowerbuds and in-your-face paddles of ‘Opuntia’ call out to cactus lovers.

Here’s a second dose of springtime fireworks for you — ‘Wildflowering LA II.’

Some of the largest flowers on Earth can be found growing on an ‘Aristolochia grandiflora (Pelican Flower)’ vine, also known as Dutchman’s pipe.

Phones keep getting slimmer and slimmer, but this ‘Agave americana “Variegata”‘ is large and in charge. (Photographed at Natalie Bessell’s garden art studio.)