A Domed Terrarium

 I found the big bubble-bowl terrarium up on the shelf and thought that it was a great day to think about making a terrarium.

It's cold outside, gray and cloudy... what better activity than putting together a little something for the show.

 It turns out that finding just the right materials that fit into the bowl purr-fectly, getting something that doesn't mind the humidity is all part of the art of design.

This display won a best container garden ribbon!!!!

The trouble with this terrarium though is it seems cranky. When I tried to move it to the shelf, it protests. I tied to slide it to the end of the work table so I could continue to work on other projects and it makes funny noises. Apparently, it demands to take up the exact center of the work space so that it's visible from all angles. *Sigh.

Just an update.

Thought it would be nice to show the terrarium after it started to fill out a little more. The violets in here are a bit of a nice surprise. "Why?" You ask. Well, let me tell you.... Violets in terrariums are a bit hard to grow long term because they stay much too wet usually. Or at least for me they do. I think I found a small trick that seems to be working to keep the African violets watered but not too wet.

I have been using an all long-fiber sphagnum moss in the bottom of the terrarium as the "dirt" part. In other words I didn't put in soil this time, just the moss. It holds many times its weight in water and looks nice from the outside too. Then I wicked the little violets before putting them in the terrarium. That's putting in a small string into the soil and letting the end of the string hang out of the end of the pot. IF the violets start out moist, the wick will "wick" (or pull up) water to the soil in the violet pot when it starts to be less moist than the surroundings.

Refresh that Terrarium! HOW TO DO IT.

Winter getting a little boring? How about getting some of the violets that are blooming on display? A terrarium is a nice way to give the plants a little more humidity in the middle of the heating season when house moisture is usually very low.

Take a glass enclosure (which are very popular currently and can be found at places like Pottery Barn etc.) and line the edges with some long fiber sphagnum moss. The main interior space may be filled with a light weight soil mix or more sphagnum moss.

Make sure the potting medium in the container is nicely moist. It is very easy to over-water a terrarium, so use some good judgment on this. No standing water in the bottom of the bowl, no musty odor coming from the soil mix.....

Get some miniature or semi-miniature violets and put in a yarn/string wick. We are leaving the violets in the pots and not "planting" them directly in the bowl's medium. This way we can remove them quickly to freshen them and get them groomed and looking lovely.

Continue planting the potted violets and any other plants that fit nicely into your "landscape plan". The planting should look like a small scene from nature, not just a bunch of plants stuck hastily into a bowl.

Finish off with some accessories. Remember to think "in scale" when choosing accessories, rocks, pieces of wood and decorations. Don't go for huge when  small will do nicely.

How to Make a Terrarium