While I have seen plenty of adorable clay mushrooms adorning terrariums right and left, Andrew Craig Williams takes the idea to a new realm with glow in the dark clay! I think it's such a fun idea. Very Princess-Mononoke-forest in a bottle. I would like to know if they do really glow at night?
andrewcraigwilliams.blogspot.com
Shout out to Jeffery for his recent feature of his James Terrariums at Apartment Therapy! Gorgeous as always.
Apartment Therapy
James Terrariums
I fell in love with the work of Gene Bauer through a recent article in the LA Times. I'm a sucker for fine prints and I love the beautiful yet authentic imagery.
"Botanical Serigraphs: The Gene Bauer Collection."
Bauer started making her botanical serigraphs in 1972, when she became the native flora chairwoman of California Garden Clubs Inc. She was the first person to hold this position, and her main job was to help educate other members of the club about the native plants of California.
A normal person might have simply sent an occasional letter or postcard to leaders of the 26 districts in the club, just as a normal person might plant three dozen daffodils behind her house instead of hundreds of thousands.
Bauer skipped postcards and created a series of monthly booklets, each dedicated to one flower that inspired her during trips to arboretums and botanical gardens around the state. When she came across a plant that caught her eye, she would draw a picture of it with colored pencils, then she hand-screened that image onto thick cover stock. She screened another depiction of the plant on tissue paper, and a simpler drawing — often just a leaf detail — went on an oversized envelope. The serigraphs were steeped in '70s colors but still have a graphic freshness 40 years later.
Terrarium LOVE! I discovered these lovely terrarium icons created by Greg Barnes at biggitybarnes.com. Talk about a neat find.
biggitybarnes.com
It seems like every time my web surfing lands me on the UK Daily Mail site I am reading some trashy gossip. But not today! Here's a cute article citing terrariums as a great project for "bottled up kids." Terrariums may be a bit challenging for younger children but for kids old enough to harbor some patience I think it might be a great idea. And how cute is that photo!?
dailymail.co.uk
When you just can't get moss to take in your terrarium against all odds and the best laid plans... perhaps it is time to move on to felt. Check out this awesome tiny felted terrarium by Amanda at amandafiebing.com. I love that toadstool and the fuzzy moss effect.
amandafiebing.com.
Steve at stevefalcioni.com has recently posted new photos of a lovely fishbowl terrarium. I certainly didn't recognize the plants but Steve has anticipated all my questions:
I’ve filled it with a type of bromeliad commonly called Earth Stars but their botanical name is Cryptanthus. These guys are mostly native to Brazil and are almost all terrestrial (they grow in soil rather than clinging to trees like other bromeliads). They like high humidity and for their soil to never dry out making them perfect for terrarium culture.
The small green one at the front is a hybrid called ”Earth Angel” and the one at the back to the right is “Cascade”. The large striped one I found at a big box hardware store and was unnamed so its a mystery to me. Does anyone know it?
artintheage.com and purveyor of ROOT posted these lovely terrariums created in emptied out ROOT bottles. A.) The terrariums look great and I love the shape of the bottles. B.) This ROOT stuff sounds delish.
In the 1700’s, it was called “Root Tea.” An herbal remedy made with sassafras, sarsaparilla, birch bark and other wild roots and herbs. Native Americans taught the recipe to colonial settlers. As it was passed it down from generation to generation, it grew in potency and complexity. Particularly in the Pennsylvania hinterlands, where the ingredients naturally grow in abundance.
At the close of the 19th century, as the Temperance movement conspired to take the fun out of everything, a Philadelphia pharmacist removed the alcohol from Root Tea and rechristened it (ironically) “Root Beer”. He did this so that hard drinking Pennsylvania coal miners and steelworkers could enjoy it in place of true alcoholic refreshment. He introduced his “Root Beer” in a big way at the still legendary 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. The rest, as you know, is flaccid history
Here at Art in the Age, we thought it would be interesting and fun to turn back the clock and recreate a true pre-temperance alcoholic Root Tea.
I featured the handy how-to guide from Instructables on making light bulb terrariums a while back. There has been a light bulb terrarium BOOM but I have found the ultimate example by Julie, featured guest blogger at thehipsterho.me. She has posted a wonderful step-by-step guide and the finished product is A+.
handy how-to guide from Instructables
thehipsterho.me
A small terrarium filled with tillandsia and reindeer moss hangs at Dig Gardens in Santa Cruz (Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel)
The dreary winter weather has everyone gardening in terrariums and we have another article on terrariums in the SC Sentinel.
SC Sentinel
Some of you long-time readers may have noticed I am a huge fan of macro orchid photography. If I could grow the orchids- I would, but golly they photograph well and I love them for it in spite of my lack of orchid gardening skills.
To witness some master mini orchid growing skills and macro photography check out orchids-ross.blogspot.com and alamy.com. Sure not to disappoint!
orchids-ross.blogspot.com
alamy.com
Peep this great how-to guide from Sunset Mag re. creating this visual stunner of a succulent wall frame. I've seen succulents woven into wreath shapes but I must say- the frames look way cooler! Thanks to my sister Alyssa for alerting me to this blog-worthy topic. Another great vertical gardening opportunity.
Sunset Mag
I am inspired by this part mirror, part planter for your home by H20 Architectes and as highlighted in the LA Times a week or so back. I love anything with mirrors really.
One of the most interesting: the Miroir en Herbe, or Grass Mirror, designed by Jean-Jacques Hubert for Paris-based H20 Architectes in collaboration with Edition Compagnie.
Plants sit in modular planters that can can be stacked to varying heights. A hidden watering tube allows irrigation to flow directly to the roots.
The result: a sleek and sophisticated work of art meant to fragment one's reflection and blur the boundary between culture and nature, the H20 team said.
Imagine a crystal tent, part greenhouse and part recycled glass art. I could imagine spending all afternoon under this sculptural work, over at Inhabitat.
“I like the idea of recovery,” says maker Sebastien Ramirez, who created this warm cocoon without a budget.
I didn't realize the "Dos and Don'ts" I published from the MN Star Tribune yesterday were part of a larger article- which may explain the brevity in the Do's and Don'ts article.
Anyways- here is the parent article at the MN Star Tribune. Apparently terrariums had their heyday in "the age of Aquarius"--- chuckle chuckle. But I am an aquarius... maybe this explains the appeal. My fav quote below:
The "new" terrarium is different from your mother's model. For starters, it's a lot more stylish. The '60s and '70s terrariums were frankly "frumpy," Martin said. "They were more like science experiments. This time around, it's more about beauty and sparkle, very much like creating an object of art. The containers are beautiful vessels that you'd display even if they were empty."
Well said.
MN Star Tribune
Here are some rather no-brainer tips pertaining to terrarium maintenance as featured on the Minnesota Star Tribune. The best part is that the advice comes from Mary Beth Gullickson of Bachman's- which sells adorable terrariums (as pictured above) as part of their landscaping/Floral Gifts & Gardening magical goodness. I love that little bonsai tree! You just have to live in the twin cities to order one. C'est la vie.
My favorite tip from the article:
Don't neglect pruning. "A terrarium will always outgrow itself eventually, if it's healthy," Gullickson said. "Don't be afraid to give plants a haircut. You're actually doing them a favor."
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.)
My favorite article in this month's NatGeo is "Within One Cubic Foot" - a photojournalism piece inspired by the thought that many small creatures can inhabit a relatively small amount of space- be it in a coral reef, on a mountain or ringing the trunk of a tree. The photos are fantastic - very Charley Harper - I wish I could repost them all but the majority are flash. Check out the full article!
A small world awaits exploration. As the floras and faunas of the surface are examined more closely, the interlocking mechanisms of life are emerging in ever greater and more surprising detail. In time we will come fully to appreciate the magnificent little ecosystems that have fallen under our stewardship.
I normally approach "faux" terrariums with some reticence but I am head-over-heels over these Terrarium Lamps from Poppies & Posies. I thinlk they are understated enough to be intriguing and I really do love the butterflies in the arrangement.
Poppies & Posies
