Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Terrariums

My son's passion for pets gave me the idea on how to start with terrariums. His gold fish, fighting fish, gecko, redeared slider turtle and even super worms used to live in those fish bowls when all they needed was a little room for their sizes. But as their sizes increased and some grew in numbers,  bigger rooms were needed for them so there went the fish bowls, set aside in the corner, waiting, wondering what's gonna happen to them next.

Terrarium was started by Dr. Nathaniel Ward in the 1800s. His experiments with indoor plants led him to discover how plants can grow well in closed containers. Bell jars were commonly used as containers for terrariums but any glass container will do. A dish garden is even simpler by creating a miniature garden and landscapes. Delighted by the thought of having my own terrarium, I made use of the fish bowls as containers.






So there went those fish bowls, now my miniature garden. Misting the plants would make the plants moist because too much water would ruin them. I used pebbles, gravel and sand at the bottom topped with moist soil before planting. After several attempts of planting, choosing what type of plants that would be suitable in the container, I settled for white grass, fern and two other plants I have yet to identify. Ceramic shells, decorative stones were added for interest.

These Hands