c. Lift off top of jug
d. Terrariums in use
AQUATIC GARDENS
Any watertight, glass-sided container can also be used for a fascinating water garden with fish and plants and many types of colorful decorations. To me, the most pleasing are those re-creations of natural underwater scenes with coral reefs, rocks, and the fantastic aquatic plants sold at aquarium supply stores. Quite honestly I’m bothered by the suited underwater diver who brandishes a spear and spouts bubbles at intervals. I’m bothered by the obviously artificial remnants of a wrecked ship, or the opened treasure chest spilling out coins and jewels. It is artificial to the point of being phony.
The planting and care of these underwater gardens has become an intricate science and art and requires knowledge of the delicate balance of plant and animal life, the proper supply of oxygen, and other technical matters beyond my ken. About all I know is, I love a beautifully executed aquatic garden. If you have a yen for one of these gardens, find an expert who knows his subject and ask his advice. If you can’t find an expert, there are many excellent books on the subject.
PLANTS AND ACCESSORIES
Rocks, twigs, bits of decaying wood, and other naturally indigenous materials are suitable for gardens in glass. Tufa rock is always good, whether the plants sink their roots into it or not. If you happen to live near an old ironworks, you’ll find fascinating pieces of slag in many sizes and colors.
But many of the figurines offered for sale in stores—bridges, benches, and the like—are questionable, even doubtful, in a setting with native plants. If they are to fit at all, they must be artistic, believable, and in exquisite harmony with everything else in the woodland scene. If you want to try it, set them in place, look at them from all angles, and think it over carefully. Decide whether they “belong” or are merely cute. Cuteness is something that lasts for a moment—beauty is something that is forever.
Just as with dish gardens, model landscapes, and other gardens where plants live and grow together, terrarium plants should be chosen first for their cultural compatibility. In fact, the principle is even more vital here because terrarium gardens are usually meant to be lasting. Think for a moment—you wouldn’t tuck a dry-growing peperomia in the soil beside a moisture-loving fern, or a cool-growing wild flower beside a tropical selaginella. They just aren’t meant to live with each other.