(In the plant list in Chapter 6 you will find plants that are suitable for decorative containers, dish gardens, and model landscapes. In Chapter 16, which is devoted to miniature annuals, you will find additional possibilities.)
CHAPTER 4
MINIATURE GARDENS IN GLASS
From a terraced garden in a huge brandy snifter, or perhaps in a fish bowl, to a single orchid under an upturned tumbler, there are many kinds of glassed-in gardens to be planted and enjoyed—terrariums if you like. This includes the old-fashioned partridgeberry bowl, bottle gardens, and today’s version of the classic Wardian case. In any glass container a terrarium is literally a miniature greenhouse in which the temperature and humidity can be controlled. Dish gardens and model landscapes can be a great pleasure, so these terrariums add the additional joy of permanence and variety. Most plantings will live and thrive for twice or thrice as long, and you can grow many delicate plants that wouldn’t last a day in the dry, drafty air outside.
TERRARIUMS
Most terrariums are small-scale replicas of woodland scenes with native plants, pools, streams, and rocky cliffs. These are charming and refreshing; and if there is good light, small outdoor plants will live through the winter into spring. But there are other possibilities—tiny tropical plants that love steamy warmth; miniature begonias, aroids, and marantas that are compatible under glass—in fact, that compatibility includes two-inch orchids and other dazzling epiphytes that need extra protection and humidity indoors.
Depending on your plants, your container, and your whims or desires, a terrarium can be a Lilliputian reproduction of a landscape, an artistic composition, or perhaps merely a single perfect plant enhanced by a crystal setting. Since proportions and sizes are more strictly limited as compared with gardens which are minus glass walls, the selection of your container should come first.
CONTAINERS
Ready-made, practical, and not undecorative are the fish bowls and tanks of all sizes. The flat-sided and octagonal bowls are inexpensive, though not always of good glass. Very large, round bowls and brandy snifters of all sizes are slightly more costly, but of much better quality. Rectangular fish tanks are in good proportion for miniature landscapes, easy to plant, and roomy.
Or perhaps you have an heirloom bell jar; a glass candy dish or bowl; an apothecary jar; a bottle laid on its side (rather tedious to plant. You have to reach through the neck of the bottle with long tweezers and iced-tea spoons, but a good job is very rewarding). You can still buy the traditional round, pear-shaped, and “Ming urn” covered jars for partridgeberries. If your container has no glass cover, cut one from window glass. Buff down the sharp edges. Terrarium glass is best clear, not tinted.