Litill Ltd. Terrariums Website Now Live

You may recall the Litill Terrarium featured in the F&M a while back. Mix the perfect amount of minimalism with some arrestingly odd hand blown glass containers and you get something akin to the beautiful Litill Terrariums by Lauren Coleman. The site is now alive and you too can own a piece of Dr. Seuss meets the planet Mars.

Litill provides ample care instruction on how to manage the co-existence of the succulents and the tillandsia, which includes the removal of the tillandsia periodically to allow proper watering. I think it is a creative solution to allow these stunning arrangements and -as any terrarium owner can attest to- all terrarium plants require some maintenance and TLC now and then.


Litill Terrariums
Lauren Coleman

Coventry Terrarium at windandweather.com

Here's a classic wardian-style terrarium from windandweather.com with an open top lid. Looks perfect for small orchids. Originally spotted at greatgardeninggifts.com.

windandweather.com
greatgardeninggifts.com

Grow a Little World in Your Own Little World

To emphasize the completeness of your terrarium ecosystem why not plant it in a hollow translucent Plant-It-Earth globe from Shop M.R. Owens? It's quite thought-provoking.

Shop M.R. Owens

Morris Arboretum's Fernery

Gorgeous shot of the Morris Arboretum Fernery at UPenn as posted by the intrepid Lord Whimsy at lord-whimsy.livejournal.com. If I ever make it to Pennsylvania I will be there in a heartbeat.

Morris Arboretum Fernery
lord-whimsy.livejournal.com.

Fish Tank Terrariums at DIY-Maven

I love the terrain-like aspect to a large terrarium arrangement.

Spotted at curbly.com/diy-maven

Martha Does Terrariums

I felt I was bound to come across it at some point- a terrarium tutorial by Martha herself. The how-to section is fairly standard and straightforward. However when the instructions start talking about gluing strings of lights inside the lids (which are obviously not picutred) she lost me. I don't think putting a string of LED lights in a moist environment like a terrarium is neccesarily a bright idea? Maybe you are only supposed to put the lighted lid in for special occasions?

I'll believe it when I see it Martha. Produce the photos.

5. Attach battery pack for floral lights to underside of lid with metal/glass epoxy. Arrange string of floral lights in a spiral pattern within underside of lid, attaching with transparent tape.

6. Use hot glue to attach bark "shingles" onto top of lid. Sprinkle contents of terrarium with glitter. Place lid on terrarium.

marthastewart.com

Violet and Begonia Terrarium at Gardener's Eden

Beautiful begonia and african violet terrarium by Michaela at thegardenerseden.com. See full post for a how-to guide and some other lovely terrariums!

thegardenerseden.com

Aquascaping Forum at plantedtank.net

I recently discovered a great aquascaping forum site called plantedtank.net. Peruse the wonderful user-uploaded aquascaped tanks or check out the large, if not detailed, plant guide.

plantedtank.net

Paper Under Glass

One terrarium that will never turn brown by Helen Musselwhite.

helenmusselwhite.com

Nature Under Glass in the Chicago Tribune

Here's an article by Sean Conway in the Chicago Tribune about making terrariums. A good basic guide to constructing a terrarium is included with the article. My favorite part is the author's likening of Victorian plant hunters to "rock stars."

Chicago Tribune

Water Cycles in Terrariums

I found a great explanation of the water cycle in a closed terrarium by Oscar at arizona-plants.com.

The water cycle in a terrarium is very similar to the process that occurs in nature. The evidence of this continuous cycle can be seen in several ways. In a properly constructed terrarium enclosure, moisture will appear as condensation on the inner surfaces of the enclosure. Gravity will cause the condensed moisture to run back down to the soil. Moisture also will condensate on the surface of the plants in a process referred to as canopy interception...

Part of the terrarium water cycle involves the plants through the process of transpiration where water is expelled from the plant. Continuing the cycle, the water expelled from plant cell evaporates, condenses and precipitates all in the confines of your terrarium.

arizona-plants.com

Little Ray of Sunshine

I've been swamped with work and etc... sorry for the lack of posts lately. But I have lot's of great stuff on the way! Here's a little brightness for your day.

Terrariums in the Newark Advocate

Cute little wardian-type terrarium spotted in the Newark Advocate. The author makes a nice point of making sure to pinch out plants that crowd others in a terrarium arrangement. Periodic upkeep of your terrarium and removal of super-growers pays off in the long run.

Newark Advocate

Moss Monday

Shot in Seattle.

Winter Terrariums - Spreading Green Cheer

I, for one, am very affected by the dreary winter blues. When it gets overcast, cold and dark - I always feel glum and just want to hole up and ride it out. However- I really can't complain - because I live in very-temperate-Santa Barbara and I think it's in the low 70s outside right now. BUT - I can imagine with scarcely concealed horror- the winter blahs must be much worse for those in much worse climates.

Cue the green cheer! Everyone knows puttering around with plants is a guaranteed mood-lifter. Hence my propensity to build more terrariums in the winter. Tovah Martin, Terrarium extraordinaire, recently shared this sentiment in yankeemagazine.com. It's a short and sweet little how-to guide that illustrates the easy joy of creating these miniature worlds.

Grow in glass, and you can savor a tiny sample of summer at your elbow in any season. Today's terrariums are sleek, simple, and fuss-free. Enlist any glass container--apothecary jar, soup tureen, cookie jar, canning jar, or whatever you have on hand. Choose one with a wide mouth for easy maintenance (put a lid on it and your terrarium will run on autopilot), and tuck in green treasures that prefer moisture and shade. Terrariums don't commandeer your window space, but they do soak up your stress.

yankeemagazine.com

NatGeo Your Shot Voting Machine

For those who may not be as intimately familiar with NatGeo as I have become- the "Your Shot" feature in the mag reserves the first few pages for reader-submitted photos. In some issues these "amateur" images are the most captivating of the whole magazine - which goes to show that photography is often more timing and luck than training or professional experience.

The annual "Your Shot" photo contest is being juried this January and February- weigh in with your critique here and check back each week for a new batch of images. Turn in your shot and it could be among the finalists next year!

My favorite shot of this week is pictured above, by Ethan Daniels.



Your Shot Voting Machine

ngm.nationalgeographic.com

Moss Monday: Imagining Moss in Zero Gravity in the LA Times

If you haven't seen Avatar yet- I'd recommend it. If only for the crazy alien rain forest imagined in 3-D.

The LA Times had a crazy article detailing the painstaking scientific approach to the flora and fauna culture on a very different planet.

Jodie Holt, chairwoman of the department of botany and plant sciences at UC Riverside, was approached to consult on the film's plant life, as well as how a botanist would study such flora:

In mid-December, a book was published called "Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide." The plant descriptions I wrote are in Chapter 4. These include taxonomy (Latin names I made up using the correct rules of nomenclature), a description of each plant, and information about ecology and ethnobotany. Since some of the plants looked like Earth plants, while others were quite fantastic, and others resembled each other, I started by grouping them by somewhat similar appearance to develop a crude taxonomy.

For plants that resembled Earth plants, I gave them similar names, such as Pseudocycas altissima for a plant that looks like a tall Earth cycad. Others I named for their appearance, such as Obesus rotundus for the puffball tree.

This project was very challenging but also a lot of fun. What botanist would not want to "discover" new plants and name them herself?

LA Times

Happy 2010- A New Year and a New Layout!

Hey All,

It was a year ago this month that I began this blog with an idea to use it as a dumping grounds of sorts for my interests, photography and terrarium love. It's shifted around in content from some of my own terrariums, photography and ideas to more of a functioning blog catching new stuff out there in the terrarium world.

It's been a busy year with my graduate school applications and my various computer mishaps. I hope going into the next year I will be able to continue to update and press on with the site. I have big ideas! I just need the time and know-how to get everything moving.


To celebrate- a new layout for the F&M with some new search features.


I wish you all a bright New Year with many Happy Returns.

Best!

Lauren

Stained Glass Terrarium at Gryphon Stained Glass

Check out this great stained glass terrarium- well suited for a cacti garden as the top is open. Another great find over at gryphonstainedglass.com.

gryphonstainedglass.com.