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Gardening In Glass: Terrariums Remain Cool

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The Washington Post

The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 22, 2009

You can still get a manual Olivetti typewriter and Doc Martens boots, so it seems groovy that another 1960s icon, the terrarium, remains alive and kicking.

Essentially an enclosed, glazed container, a terrarium could be something as small as a Mason jar - or the aquarium long since disused - or something grand and purpose-built, such as a reproduction Wardian case, the wood-and-glass tabletop greenhouses that 19th-century explorers used to keep rare plants alive during expeditions.

The beauty of a terrarium is that the plants stay humid and healthy because they are in their own enclosed world, a biosphere where leaves send the soil moisture into the atmosphere, it condenses on the glass and slides back to the soil.

Regina Lanctot, who sells terrariums at Merrifield Garden Center in the Washington area, likes to use simple candle lanterns with glass doors that give access to the garden within.

"They're really cool and they're not totally sealed," reducing the risk of mold or soggy soil, she said.

Tovah Martin, a garden writer, sees terrariums in unexpected guise: cookie jars, glass jars for cotton balls, cake stands. She has just penned "The New Terrarium" (Clarkson Potter, $25), which champions the idea that terrariums are back in vogue.

The allure of a microcosmic, self-sustained landscape is that anyone can have a garden with a terrarium, including the apartment dweller, people who don't like to fuss with plants and those on the road a lot.

The key to success is methodical preparation and, because terrariums usually don't drain, careful and economic watering.

Plants can grow in pots in a terrarium, but it's more fun to let them play in the dirt. Martin suggests a base layer made up of a mixture of granulated aquarium charcoal and quarter-inch gravel. That will keep excess water out of the root zones. The charcoal prevents mold and root rotting. Lanctot likes to cut a piece of landscape fabric and place it over this base layer to prevent the soil above from migrating down. Martin suggests using a potting mix two to three inches deep.

Start with plants free of diseases and pests, and watch for problems. If a plant gets sick, "I scoop it right out," Martin said. Terrariums work best in bright, indirect light and should be kept away from direct sunlight to avoid overheating the plants.

Among terrarium plants, Martin likes ferns, members of the prayer plant and gesneriad families, rhizomatous begonias, peperomias, creeping fig and bromeliads. It helps to pick diminutive plants and dwarf varieties.

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