African Violet Terrarium from Dig Design Interior Gardens Gardens

I've said it before and it's still true: I have not tried to grow African Violets before in any circumstance but I am interested in whether they would be suitable terrarium plants. I have heard strange myth-like stories about African Violets needing large amounts of TLC and even certain windowsills for growth. I have always been a little afraid to try them...

Cue this Santa Cruz Sentinel article about terrariums making great gifts and citing Dig Design Interior Gardens Gardens shop terrarium designs. Oh what a teaser photo! It sure looks like African Violets in an open-top terrarium to me!

Maybe I will finally give the plant a try this winter.

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Labyrinth Aquarium in LA Times

The LA Times featured some more outrageous pricey gift ideas in the Brand X blog today. For more extremely opulent fish tanks visit the store site opulentitems.com.

To: The person who has everything.

From: The person with really deep pockets.

If a fishbowl is akin to a shack and the traditional aquarium is a house, then the Labyrinth Aquarium is like the sprawling Spelling Mansion. If a fish doesn't like the scene in one Lucite acrylic aquarium bowl, it has several others to choose from.

$5,500 without table and $6,500 with table; www.opulentitems.com
-- Alexandra Le Tellier

Image courtesy OpulentItems.com

Brand X blog

opulentitems.com

Moss Monday: Ode to Moss in the Anchorage Daily News

While we all wax poetic about moss every now and then Jeff Lowenfels recently captured the heart of true fascination with all things bryophyte in the Anchorage Daily News.

It seems that unless you grow bonsai, the appearance of moss on the surface of the soil of an indoor plant is cause for alarm. This is probably because garden columnists note that mosses like acid soils and are an indication there is something wrong with the soil and the plant needs to be repotted in fresh stuff.

Yet, clearly, when grown in a proper container, they make wonderful plants, small, bonsai fields and meadows. If you have enough moss, placing it around the base of some of your houseplants will really produce a more natural looking plant. Moss can also be grown indoors on rocks for quite an effect.

Anchorage Daily News

Bright Ideas: Repurposing lightbulbs as terrariums and planters at www.instructables.com

We've seen the repurposed lightbulbs as terrariums but here is another set of gems at www.instructables.com. While I love the terrariums I think the little bulb bud vases are really beautiful in a minimalist fashion. The one with it's own stand is adorable.

www.instructables.com

Modern Day Wardian Case Terrarium at mewpaperarts.com

Alissa at mewpaperarts.com recently put together a gorgeous wardian case-type terrarium. I love the size and the top little cupola. Very cute!

First we lined the bottom with tin foil to keep the majority of moisture off the metal base. Than a layer of pea-gravel (which was in a fresh bag) was rinsed and placed in the bottom...
We added four plants–an indestructible philodendron, a miniature orchid, an arrowroot plant and an unidentifiable cactus-y/aloe-y looking thing.

mewpaperarts.com