I found this interesting article all about terrariums which some people call plant aquariums. The original terrarium was known as a wardian case like the one in the picture. Nathanial Ward was a victorian plant hunter who thought that his plants would have a better chance of surviving if they were transported in a closed glass case. Nowadays terrariums come in all shapes and sizes as you will discover from this article by Priyadarshini Paitandy.
Spiny, green dinosaurs prowling with their mouths wide open in a field of moss ? very Jurassic Park. Then there?s the enchanted forest with red toadstools, unicorns, green plants and goblins. Oh look, the Seven Wonders of the World are propped up there too? all in clear glass bottles along with a bunch of little plants. The world of terrariums is simply fascinating. It?s like an aquarium of plants. ?These are plants in a closed or open glass container, depending on the kind of foliage. It?s an age-old concept that started in the Victorian era,? says Natasha Raj Varghese, who started Soul Bowls where she creates a variety of terrariums using cactus, succulents, spider plants, ferns and arrowheads among others.
An avid gardener, Natasha found it difficult to meet the demands of her job and take care of her garden everyday. On a lookout for something that involved plants and was less time consuming, she stumbled upon the concept of terrariums. She got down to making her first terrarium in January this year. Soon, friends started placing orders. ?I have a full time job as a Digital Marketing Professional with Rage Communications. But on off-days it?s great to break away and do these things,? she says. The weekends are no longer about sleeping in late but about creating bottle gardens, visiting nurseries, glass blowers and sourcing garden accessories.
Read the rest at the original source The Hindu
Image source The Greenery Nursery
