I happened across this article "Plants in a bottle; the terrarium makes a comeback" on NJ.com, featuring terrarium tips from terrarium guru Ken Druse of The Undercover Gardener in the NY area. The article is fascinating as Ken reveals a very helpful idea: creating mock natural decorative elements (i.e. driftwood) to combat the near-inevitable mold contamination that accompanies the inclusion of real natural materials into the terrarium environ. Genius! I am not sure if I am crafty enough to create a passable faux driftwood but I just might try...
Bacteria and mold also thrive in a terrarium’s damp environment. That’s why Druse is scrupulous about using sterile soil mixes and avoiding natural wood, rocks and shells as props for his terrarium plants.
Instead, he sculpts realistic facsimiles from Aqua-Resin, a nontoxic, moldable resin that can be spread on metal mesh forms and painted with thinned-down acrylic paints. Holes cut in the mesh form create pockets for plants, and the finished piece of “driftwood” or “coral” provides some artful topography for the terrarium. If you have worked with papier-mâché, Druse says, you’ll find these materials easier to use. (Sold in craft stores, Aqua-Resin is available online from the Compleat Sculptor, sculpt.com.)
"Plants in a bottle; the terrarium makes a comeback" on NJ.com
Ken Druse of The Undercover Gardener
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