Terrarium Gardening
A terrarium is a garden in a glass container; a shaped container that is enclosed to make the interior of the container warm and to protect the plants. Terrariums are generally made of a glass that is leaded. The shapes and the sizes of these types of containers will vary. Terrariums are great conversation pieces because of their odd shapes, and due to the often decorative glass involved.

Posted Saturday, April 8, 2006

To create a terrarium you are going to start with a piece of paper or cardboard that is as large as you want your terrarium to be when finished. Using this piece of paper you are going to draw an outline of the terrarium. After drawing the outline of the glass container for your terrarium, you can start to experiment with the layout of your plants.

The layout of your plants is what is going to make your terrarium seem even more interesting. Along with the frosted glass, and the shape of your terrarium, the plants inside of the container should be arranged so that the larger plants are going to be in the center or along an edge. Some gardeners will keep the largest plants along the back edge if the terrarium is going to be placed along a wall or along another planter.

If your terrarium is going to be placed in the center of a shelf or in the center of a table you may want the largest plants in the terrarium to be in the center so the smallest of the plants will be visible around the outer edges.

Now that you have arranged the outline of the terrarium and you have decided on where you are going to put your plants it is time to get to work on putting your garden terrarium together for display.

Along the bottom of the lead glass terrarium, you should line it with a inch of gravel. Small gravel is best; you might want to buy a bag of aquarium gravel that would add to the color of your terrarium.

Place your plants in the terrarium where you want them to be located. Place the plants right on the top of the gravel. After you have moved your plants around, you can begin on one end and add a layer of soil along the bottom of the terrarium. Begin with a thin layer of soil, compost, or mulch, and as you continue you can move your plants, around more if need be.

As your plants begin to take the shape and the outline as you want, you can add more soil mixture until the plants are covered as desired and needed. Often the sides of the glass will become dirty as you are working with the soil and plants. Using a soft sponge, wet with a little water, you can wipe the sides of the glass without harming the plants. Spraying glass cleaner is going to get harmful chemicals on your plants.

Mist the leaves, the plants, and the soil after planting your terrarium plants and you'll be ready to place a cover on your terrarium. Keep the terrarium in sunlight where it will receive enough light for your plants to thrive.