Terrarium Craft: Create 50 Magical, Miniature Worlds by Amy Bryant Aiello and Kate Bryant (2011, Timber Press, Portland)
Terrariums have experienced a resurgence in popularity during the past couple of years, and for great reason: easy and fun to make, a terrarium can be created in a few short minutes and are beautiful accessories to any home decor. These are also great projects for children! In Terrarium Craft, you’ll find fifty step-by-step “recipes” for making pretty and fanciful terrariums using succulents and air plants, as well as some examples that substitute dried plants or other natural objects such as shells, wood, and rocks.
Terrarium-making requires surprisingly few supplies – a glass container is a must, but as the authors point out, the sky is the limit as to what size and shape you choose. Most of the terrariums in this book are open, as excessive humidity brought on by a sealed container will cause the live plants inside to rot. Soil, sand and gravel make up the “foundation” of the terrarium and are discussed at length, including the roles each plays in keeping plants alive in their new home. Decorative elements such as shells, seedpods, and glass are mentioned as well. A key chapter covers types of plants suitable for terrariums (air plants, succulents, carnivorous plants, mosses and lichens) and details their care – including all of the necessary cultural maintenance including light requirements, feeding, air circulation, and watering.
And then there are the projects themselves! Sumptuously photographed, they include an exotic Asian-inspired creation in a cloche, a delicate arrangement of moss in a hanging glass teardrop, a concoction of deer antlers and sea urchins (I’m not kidding!) in an old-fashioned candy jar, a tiny Haworthia succulent nestled in the curve of a nautilus shell in a round crystal vase, and a mind-bending combo of rock plants and rose-like selenite in a bubble bowl. The imaginative and whimsy of some of these terrariums is astonishing, and they are fantastic inspiration for your own project.
Have you ever made a terrarium? What materials and plants did you use?
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Flowery Prose. 