Scavenged Terrarium Makes Cover of International Art Magazine

Image courtesy of Pipeline

A terrarium by artist Wawi Navarroza graced the cover of international art magazine Pipeline this month.  The terrarium is part of a larger collaborative art project, wherein Wawi invited people to collect terrarium materials from in and around Manila.  Wawi compiled the disparate results into elegant yet ephemeral terrarium arrangements that highlight the transitory nature of the scavenged plants and materials.  Randz Manucom of Preen reports:

Hunt & Gather, Terraria is a collaboration where Metro Manila urban dwellers were invited by Wawi to search for soil, plants, and ephemera from meaningful locations in the city. These are then arranged inside glass terrariums by Wawi herself and photographed as still-lifes.

Is Moss Magic?

Goblins' Gold (Photograph: Matt Goff)

Oh the attraction of simple moss.  A vibrant green patch, a soft carpet on the forest floor or alongside a creek.  Many terrarium builders seek moss for their projects as its diminutive scale suits terrarium life quite well.  But the world's fascination with moss runs much deeper than just crafting.  Moss has associations with magic, with fairies gardens, with damp and shady glens.  Botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer explores the abstract side of moss in her book Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses.  Her affection for common moss is apparent, but her scientific knowledge of bryology allows her to share stories of some of the world's most spectacular and unusual moss.  Kimmerer describes Schistostega pennata, known as Goblins’ Gold, a unique moss that subsists in a rare habitat where the undersides of rocks along a lake receive reflected light. 

"The shimmering presence of Schistostega is created entirely by the weft of nearly invisible threads crisscrossing the surface of the moist soil. It glows in the dark, or rather it glitters in the half light of places which scarcely feel the sun.... Rain on the outside, fire on the inside. I feel a kinship with this being whose cold light is so different from my own. It asks very little from the world and yet glitters in response."

Read more about this singular book at Brain Pickings.

Artist Vaughn Bell's Hanging Terrariums

Photo credit: Vaughn Bell From: dnainfo.com

We love terrariums as they bring a bit of the outdoors indoors.  A miniature landscape to explore in your imagination, a small bottle of the sights and smells of the woodlands.  Artist Vaughn Bell capitalizes on these characteristics with an immersion experience: a hanging terrarium you can pop your head into for a look around.  This is one of many art installations at the DePaul Art Museum in Chicago that focus on soil.

50 Terrarium Ideas in the Palm of Your Hand

Cloche terrarium from "Terrarium Craft" book by
Amy Bryant Aiello and Kate Bryant

I recently had the opportunity to read the book "Terrarium Craft: Create 50 Magical, Miniature Worlds" by authors Amy Bryant Aiello and Kate Bryant.  This terrarium book is full of great photos ready to inspire your next terrarium craft.  I enjoyed the fact that the book highlights the intersection of the "crafting" part of terrariums with the "gardening" part.  The art of making and maintaining terrariums truly does involve both crafting and gardening skills.

Marimo Moss Ball Terrariums from EclecticZenMarimo.com

Marimo Moss Ball Terrarium Kit from EclecticZenMarimo.com

Looking for a new kind of terrarium to test your skills?  I recently built a marimo ball terrarium from EclecticZenMarimo, whose kits are available on Etsy.  This was an easy terrarium to set up and would make a great gift for someone looking for an unusual aquarium or terrarium for their office or home. UPDATE: Act now and you can enter to win a Marimo terrarium of your own!  Just visit EclecticZenMarimo for your chance to win.

Drawing by Arni Einarsson,
Myvatn Research Station,  from Wikipedia

Marimo or marimo moss balls are aquatic, spherical masses of algae that float free in freshwater lakes.  Best know for their appearance in Lake Akan, marimo have achieved "national treasure" status in Japan.  Observers describe marimo as dancing or moving in aquariums, due to their ability to bob along in still water.  Marimo thrive in cold tap water and are thus well suited for a life in a small desktop aquarium.

How to Build a Marimo Terrarium

The EclecticZenMarimo kit contained gemstones, shells, a piece of seaweed, and two marimo balls

Marimo Terrarium Supplies

The basic marimo kit from EclecticZenMarimo included gemstones, shells, sand, a spherical bowl with feet, a piece of seaweed, and marimo balls!  The kit also includes instructions for how to build and maintain your marimo moss ball terrarium, as well as a stick and a small funnel.  This tiny funnel came in very handy, as you'll see in a minute.

Small funnel, ready for the sand.

The seaweed can bend for positioning
into the narrow opening of the bowl.

1. Add the sand, rocks and seaweed to the bowl

After rinsing out the bowl, use the funnel to pour in some sand and stones.  I used a piece of paper to funnel the sand into the small plastic funnel provided in the EclecticZenMarimo kit.

What if the seaweed is too big to fit?
The seaweed is flexible and can be slightly squeezed to position through the hole and into the sand in the bottom of the bowl.

What if the sand sticks to the sides of the bowl?
Don't worry if some sand sticks to the side of the bowl.  Once you pour in the water all the sand will be washed into the bottom of the bowl.

Simply pour water into the bowl
using the funnel.

2. Slowly pour water into the bowl

Pour cool tap water into the bowl very slowly.  Some of your sand and stones may get disrupted - simply use a stick or straw to reposition the items in the bottom of the bowl.

What about floating sand?
I noticed some sand floating at the top of the water after I added it to the bowl.  This sand will settle naturally over time, but if you want it looking tidy in a jiffy - I had luck gently tapping the floating sand with the stick.  The sand drifted down to the bottom of the bowl.

3.  Add the marimo balls to the bowl

Nothing fancy here- just pop your marimo moss balls into the water.  Marimo will need fresh water once a week.

I will post again soon with more news about how my marimo balls are adapting to office life!

Marimo happy in their new home.

Dream No Small Dreams: Terrarium-like Art

One of the most appealing elements of a terrarium is the freedom to allow you imagination to romp among a miniature landscape.  This tiny encapsulated world depends on your care and attention to thrive, and in return, becomes your own secret, if small, garden.

Artists Patrick Jacobs, Adrien Broom and Thomas Doyle tap into this human fascination with the minute in a series of miniature landscapes, some of which appear under glass much like a terrarium.  While these works don't incorporate living plants per se, the attraction is all terrarium.  The exhibit is on display as part of show titled "Dream No Small Dreams" at the Ronchini Gallery in London.

Art by Thomas Doyle

Interested in making your own faux terrarium?  Or see more of this exhibit at wired.com.

Grow Little Terrariums

Kali Vermès, a Paris-based artist maintains Grow Little, her terrarium business.  Read more at babble.com.

Moss Monday: Terrariums for Dorm Rooms

Some artfully selected moss can make a lovely spot of greenery for a crowded dorm room.  Take a break from your dutiful studies and gaze at some greenery every so often.  Read more about making a terrarium for a dorm room at The Bates Student.

Q & A: Ants in Terrarium

Image from Wikipedia Commons, by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

I've never had the misfortune to find ants in a terrarium - let alone an entire colony moving in!  Does anyone have any ideas for Natalie K.:

"I have a 2.5 gallon desert terrarium that sits on my window sill It has a screentop lid to keep the humidity low and allow an extra light to sit on top. Ants have moved in though and are nesting in the soil. I don't know how long they've been there but I just noticed them moving pupae in. I dumped a bunch of water in(there's a layer of marbles and moss to allow drainage) and that seems to have scattered them out for now. How do I get them out for good??? Short of dumping the entire thing and starting over?"

See the solution to the ants in a terrarium.

What is wrong with impatiens this year?

Photo from Wikipedia Commons, by DenesFeri

Standard impatiens, a longstanding staple of shady flower beds, have been decimated by a fungus that has spread throughout the United States.  If you happen to see some available for sale, you are better off skipping this plant this year.

At best your impatiens will probably succumb to the fungus in the end, at worst you may introduce the fungus to your soil.  Read more at Halleck Horticultural.

Paula Hayes at Meijer Gardens

If you live in the Grand Rapids area, you can catch a lecture from Paula Hayes, renowned artists and sculptor known for her work with terrariums at Meijer Gardens tonight.  If you aren't in the area, thanks to Meijer Gardens for bringing this awesome video to my attention.  Paula Hayes shares the story behind her 2010 terrarium installation work at MOMA NY.

Cow Skull Planter with Moss

This photo of an awesome planted arrangement in a cow skull from Seed to Stem is extremely timely for me.

As I reside in Texas, my sister (in San Francisco) sees me as her source for all sorts of western themed paraphernalia.  She recently requested that I locate and mail to her a cow skull, with horns if possible.  Suffice to say this was a goose chase as the cow skulls with horns are pretty expensive - and large!  It was going to cost a fortune to mail her one.  Long story short, we found a decent hornless skull at a roadside sale in a podunk town in Texas (which looked a lot like the one in the photo) and were able to mail it to her.  What will she do with this skull?  I do not know.  Maybe make a moss planter out of it.

How to Care for Your Orchid Terrarium

Image from blog.justaddiceorchids.com

The idea of using ice cubes to provide orchids with a slow-drip watering is new to me.  While investigating this practice I discovered an instructional blog with a wealth of terrarium-orchid-tips.

Check out blog.justaddiceorchids.com for a two-part tutorial on how to make an orchid terrarium.  The trick really seems to lie in keeping the orchid in a small pot so it may be properly watered and not exposed to anything that might make it grow mold.

Minigardener Blog Reports on International Miniature Gardens

Visit the minigardener blog to see Janit Calvo's collection of fun photo spreads of miniature gardens from around the world.  a.) The miniature gardens are out of this world and b.) there is some extremely creative photoshopping of wee folk into the photos that can't be missed!

Force Begonias in a Terrarium

Inhabitat shared a fun tutorial on forcing early begonia blooms through a terrarium kit.  A bell jar environment encourages a new begonia to grow quickly and bloom faster than in the fresh air.  Growing young plants under glass shares some benefits with putting plants under quarantine before planting them in a terrarium.

Moss Monday: Sun Mosses at Mountain Moss

I often visit the Mountain Moss website to learn more about moss varieties and the environments in which they grow best.  Mountain Moss also sells trays of moss suitable for outdoor gardening.

Moss Monday: Oak Leaf Terrarium

"Oak Leaf Terrarium," from bonsaiterrarium.com

Terrarium-worthy Tools at Adana-USA

Thanks to reader Robotguy for sharing a link to adana-USA.com aquascaping tools.  We've discussed the crossover between aquascaping and terrariums before and as you can imagine- gardners in both domains are using similar tools to keep hard-to-access plants ship-shape.  This is your source for high-end and high-priced long-armed tweezers, scissors and scrapers.

Moss Monday: Ken Marten's Terraria

Photo by Martin Pope, The Telegraph

Former florist Ken Marten incorporates fossils, faces and other curios into his terrarium arrangements.  See the full photo gallery at The Telegraph.

Wax and Wane: Kate Pruskova's Time Lapse Flowers

We've all seen time lapse photography/video of flowers blooming, but this one is a cinematic-scale "super cut" of quite a few flowers that photographer Kate Pruskova and her mother had in their own gardens.  I particularly like the cacti bloom around the 1:13 minute mark. It comes and goes so quickly- much like they seem to do on my own plants.  Via I09.