Living Rural In Edens Garden

Well not much fuss…

TERRARIUMS …

Take Care of Themselves

Giving You Low-maintenance

beauty, all winter

LONG!

…  a clear container encasing a plant or a collection of plants that thrive under the same conditions. It creates its own ecosystem: plants release moisture, which condenses inside the vessel (usually glass) and trickles back into the soil  This “rain effect” allows the plants inside to go month’s without watering.

Implements you will need to assemble your creation…

1. Rake and shovel: use a piece of string to tie a pickle or dessert fork to one chopstick and a demitasse or ice teaspoon to another
2. Tamping tool: stick a wine cork onto the end of a grilling skewer, for pressing plant and soil
3. Narrow bulb trowel: find in garden shop, planting, preparing soil
4. Pruners: find in a garden shop, trim dead leaves
5. Mister: any fine mister bottle will do, clean thoroughly,  hydrate terrarium with fine mist

Basics:

• Place terrarium in indirect light
• Usually will not need watering for 4 - 6 months - water when plants begin to wilt or condensation stops on container
• Mist sides of terrarium with ounce or two of distilled water, instead of leaves of plants
• If sides of vessel are foggy or large droplets form on top - a sign of to much moisture, remove top for a day or two to dehumidify

One Plant:

Simple … container and just one plant

1. Pick a vessel - a large cloche with saucer (13 1/4 inches high by 13 3/4 inches in diameter), $69, www..smithandhawken.com
2. Make it pretty - a maidenhair fern in a modest unadorned pot, so plant is focus
3. Position the pot - place plant in center, prune its leaves, so none are touching sides or top of container

You will need:

• A glass cloche (a bell-shaped cover) and a saucer, or a large-mouthed apothecary or cookie jar
• Pebbles for drainage
• Sterilized soilless potting mix
• A mister with distilled water
• Small scissors
• A flower pot
• Humidity loving houseplant (tropical, like a Boston fern, Flame Violet, Maiden Fern), compact, slow growing

How to set it up:

• Arrange a one inch layer of pebbles in base
• Transfer the plant from original plastic pot to a ceramic or clay pot
• Add potting mix to fill
• Use scissors to trim yellow or brown leaves
• Mist soil
• Cover

Find out more about TERRARIUMS at:  www.realsimple.com/terrarium

Remember… “Diggin’ in the DIRT is FUN!”

Garden Angel 08

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