Check out twogreenthumbs.com for miniature garden kits- complete with mini decorations and garden figures. Designer Janit also runs a great blog minigardener here with lots of interesting ideas including miniature ikebana flower arranging!
twogreenthumbs.com
minigardener
I've got to say I like it! I spied over at http://poppytalk.blogspot.com. Maybe I'll try this out. Lord knows I have enough jars leftover from failed terrariums that have not yet been re-purposed. Glass can accumulate.
http://poppytalk.blogspot.com
Imagine my delight to open the Sunday LA Times yesterday and to find THIS ARTICLE! I have seen photos of these aquascapes on the internet but have never really thought of them as terrarium gardening until now! The article covers many of the ups and downs of this challenging craft as well as information on the international design competition for aquascapes. Pretty neat stuff.
His aquariums borrow ideas from Japanese flower arranging, Zen rock arrangements and the idea of wabi-sabi -- that imperfect is beautiful. "It is important the tank doesn't look too symmetrical," Steven Lo said. "There is a lack of dynamic tension."
Seattle was a lot of what I expected. Lots of moss, lots of blackberries, lots of rain and lots of green. I didn't get a chance to make as many photos as I wanted but I have some cool stuff to share. Stay tuned...
While I saw hordes of kids dressed to the nines in comic character outfits and neon hair attending the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle while I was up there- I sadly did not see this fantastical "Biosphere Built for Two" by Vaughn Bell at the Kerfuffle exhibit staged as part of the Bumbershoot festivities. Vaughn also has some great terrarium-based works at his website- check it out!
Vaughn Bell's "Biosphere Built for Two," a terrarium that you can poke your head into, is part of the exhibit "Kerfuffle: The Uneasy Relationship Between Humanity and Environment" at Bumbershoot.
Hi All- I'm taking a little (much needed) vacation up to Seattle for a bit. I will be back after September 13th and I'm sure I'll have some fun photos to post!
What to do when you find an orchid so rare you are afraid to tell anyone you saw it? Keep it a secret... or try to keep it a secret.
"He would take a reporter to see it only reluctantly, he said, running the risk that the "orchid heads" would sneak out here and trample the delicate habitat. Or worse, haul out a garden trowel and steal the flower away to become a part some private collection rather than the start of a fledgling colony in the wild.
"They come here and search out rare orchids for their own gratification and remove them," Fehrer said. "Some of these folks are real sleuths."
As Wilson continued on the hunt, the sky began to cloud over. Sweat broke through his gray T-shirt as he squatted close to the ground in search of the plant. Suddenly, he stopped.
"Oh my God!" He leaned down and peeked at two thin, unremarkable green stalks with a single slender leaf, no more than about 8 inches high. A deer had most likely come along and chomped the flower and most of the rest of the rare Canby's bog orchid for lunch.
"If I found this today, I wouldn't know it's the hybrid," Wilson said, shaking his head. "I'd probably have to do DNA analysis."
Fehrer leaned back on his heels and smiled. His secret was safe."
