Published February 03, 2010 10:16 pm –
Tips for terrarium gardening
By Molly Day
All the Dirt on Gardening
Terrarium gardening is creating a small indoor garden using closed or partially closed clear containers.
Their appeal is that they bring nature indoors while keeping the maintenance low. And, terrarium plants such as ferns and mosses thrive with the low light in most homes and offices.
Tovah Martin, author of “The New Terrarium: Creating Beautiful Displays for Plants and Nature” will demonstrate this simple art during her talk in Tulsa on Feb. 13.
In a phone interview, Martin said, “I’ve been doing these for decades. At any given moment I have 20 or more on display in my home.”
Terrarium plantings can be as simple as a single plant in a covered jar or as complex as a variety of plants in a large container with rocks, moss and miniature features like the ones seen in doll houses.
In the closed environment of a terrarium the plants water themselves. as they transpire, the moisture remains in the container, almost eliminating the need for additional watering.
Martin’s book is overflowing with beautifully photographed ideas. some are as simple as a vacation memory of a seashell in a glass block. others are collections of plants.
“All but two of the terrariums in the book are ones I designed,” Martin said. “I make them at workshops and then I can’t part with them.”
Other books by Tovah Martin include: “Tasha Tudor’s Garden,” “The Ways of Flowers” and “A Time to Blossom: Mothers, Daughters and Flowers.”
The plants that are suited to a terrarium include mosses, ferns, baby tears, Saxifraga (strawberry geranium), Venus flytrap, African violet, Heuchera, creeping Charlie or miniature impatiens.
In open bowl-type terrariums choose pitcher plant, air plant, Ajuga, ivy, creeping fig, maidenhair vine, flame violet, herbs, or ornamental grasses such as fiber-optic grass.
“Terrariums can be made on a budget,” Martin said. “Begin with ferns and mosses. the high humidity of the terrarium is just right for them.”
A cloche is a clear glass bell shaped plant topper that was originally used to protect early spring plants outside. Today, a glass cloche is primarily used to top terrariums.
In her talk, Martin is going to demonstrate how to create terrariums.
Here’s what you will need: