Nearly two centuries ago, Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, an English physician and amateur botanist, made a surprising discovery.\u00a0 Ward liked to study moth chrysalises, which he kept secure in sealed glass containers.\u00a0 Inspection of one such container revealed that seeds embedded in a bit of dirt inside had germinated and sprouted.\u00a0 He left the container unopened and found that the plants continued to flourish, without any intervention, for two years, until the container\u2019s seal rusted.\u00a0 When the little plants were exposed to the outside air, they died quickly.<\/p>\n
Ward published his findings in an 1842 book titled, On the Growth of Plants in Closely Glazed Cases, <\/i>and the rest is history.\u00a0 The sealed glass vessels were christened \u201cWardian cases\u201d and their use created a revolution in botany by allowing shipments of live plants to be transported safely over long distances.\u00a0 The commercial implications were significant.\u00a0 The cases were also a boon to plant loving Victorians, who had to cope with foul air, drafty indoor spaces and other houseplant killers.\u00a0 They went crazy for the innovative containers, which became the ancestors of today\u2019s terrariums.<\/p>\n
I have always wanted an authentic nineteenth century Wardian case or box, but the survivors from that time are frightfully expensive.\u00a0 Even replicas of the sometimes fanciful Victorian Wardian cases are pricey.\u00a0 A terrarium is the next best thing and now they are back in fashion again.\u00a0 After years of envying other people\u2019s terrariums, I finally decided to put together one of my own.<\/p>\n
Mine began with a round, lidded container, about one foot in diameter and equally tall.\u00a0 In my dreams it is an elegant blown-glass concoction.\u00a0 In reality, I bought it for a song at a big box store.\u00a0 Still, it is glass and fairly heavy, with a secure lid.\u00a0 Next I detoured to the garden center for essential terrarium supplies: horticultural charcoal to keep the soil sweet, sphagnum moss and potting mix.\u00a0 These elements should take up about 25 percent of the container\u2019s depth.\u00a0 Setting the terrarium stage, I started by layering one half inch of charcoal, covering it completely with a layer of moss and topping that off with potting mix to a depth of about three inches.\u00a0 My modern-day Wardian case was ready for planting.<\/p>\n
I used an old iced-tea spoon with a long handle to install my plants and firm the soil, but some people may prefer to use a slender trowel or long tweezers, especially for narrow-necked containers.<\/p>\n
In creating a terrarium, it is essential to pick a collection of plants that fit the allotted space\u2014which is always less than you think\u2014and thrive under similar conditions.\u00a0 Start with plant types that you like and see if you can locate miniature varieties.\u00a0 I wanted at least one flowering plant, so I started with a small African violet left over from a recent writing project.\u00a0 I added some lacy spikemoss plants\u2014Salaginella–for greenery.\u00a0 My original concept involved additional plants, but as I installed the violet and moss, I realized that if they grew at all, the container would be too full.\u00a0 I filled in the spaces between specimens with some blue glass beads from the craft store, watered lightly and put a lid on it.<\/p>\n
Now my terrarium is complete and not bad to look at, but it is still not quite right.\u00a0 I will probably change out the current plants in favor of some smaller specimens in order to create a more varied terrarium landscape.\u00a0 Micro-miniature violets, which are less than three inches in diameter, might do part of that job.<\/p>\n
All kinds of plants succeed in terrariums.\u00a0 Since flowering specimens go in and out of bloom, consider companions with interesting leaves.\u00a0 Flashy polka dot plant\u2014Hypoestes phyllostachya\u2014a garden center and supermarket stalwart, features green leaves splashed with rose or pink.\u00a0 Another good choice, aluminum plant\u2014Pilea cadierei\u2014sports silver variegation.\u00a0 Small ferns always work well.\u00a0 For a larger terrarium, I like the whimsically-named lemon buttons fern–Nephrolepis cordifolia \u2018Duffii\u2019. \u00a0Another option for both interesting flowers and leaves is a small begonia, like \u2018Buttercup\u2019, with quilted green leaves and lovely propeller-like yellow flowers.<\/p>\n
Everyone searches for the no-work garden, indoors and outdoors, and a terrarium comes close. \u00a0Think of Dr. Ward\u2019s container, left undisturbed for two years.\u00a0 He was lucky that his chance seedlings developed into small plants.\u00a0 Your terrarium specimens may perform differently and eventually outgrow their space.\u00a0 Keep your terrarium tools handy to do necessary foliage trimming or plant removal.\u00a0 Most lidded terrariums need only infrequent watering.\u00a0 If excessive condensation appears on the glass sides, remove the lid for a few hours to air things out.<\/p>\n
Some terrarium owners channel their inner decorators and install ornamental elements, including interesting rocks, tiny figures or structures that evoke fairy gardens.\u00a0 Terrariums are fun to do with children and, unlike many other child-friendly projects, require minimal clean-up and maintenance.\u00a0 My advice to parents\u2014get your terrarium supplies now in advance of long winter storms.<\/p>\n
Small terrarium-type plants are widely available in garden centers.\u00a0 For a wider selection, try Logees, 141 North Street Danielson, CT, 06239, (888) 330-8038, www.logees.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Free catalog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nearly two centuries ago, Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, an English physician and amateur botanist, made a surprising discovery.\u00a0 Ward liked to study moth chrysalises, which he kept secure in sealed glass containers.\u00a0 Inspection of one such container revealed that seeds embedded in a bit of dirt inside had germinated and sprouted.\u00a0 He left the container unopened … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3,5],"tags":[1037,274,1036,492,502,1035,1033,1031,1034,1032],"class_list":["post-1218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","category-winter","tag-childrens-gardens","tag-container-gardening","tag-fairy-gardens","tag-houseplants","tag-indoor-gardening","tag-miniature-plants","tag-nathaniel-bagshaw-ward","tag-terrariums","tag-victorian-gardening","tag-wardian-cases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1219,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1218\/revisions\/1219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}