MySecretGarden

U.S.A., Washington State. USDA zone 8b. Sunset climate zone 5

Terrarium and Books Winners



I did it! I made my own terrarium! I like The Fern and Mossery blog. Lauren has 108 posts labeled Terrarium! After seeing another featured terrarium I would leave a comment and tell myself that one day I will try to make one of my own. It looked so easy! And now, I can say that it's true - it is not difficult to make a terrarium. There are many sites on the web with detailed instructions. Supplies are available and not expensive.
Why did I want a terrarium? To have some living greens during grey winter days.
Why did I choose a moss and fern type of terrarium? It was easy: I love mosses and ferns, and they have the same lighting, humidity and watering needs.
Where did I get the mosses and ferns? In my own garden. Fern seedlings are abundant on the ground under the place where I hang baskets of ferns every year. I chose just two small plants to give them enough space to grow.
Supplies and materials I bought: A big glass jar (rummage sale), two types of rocks, potting soil and charcoal. The charcoal is needed to keep the air fresh, eliminate any odor and also helps drainage.
Steps I made:
-Put bigger rocks on the bottom and smaller pebble rocks on top of them.
-Put activated charcoal above the rocks. They especially recommend it for a closed terrarium. It is not a must for an open container. I put it anyway and I'm glad I did, since I feel a very light odor when I put my nose close to the opening.
-Poured soil.
-Watered soil with a spray bottle.
-Planted ferns and laid moss.
-Added decorative rocks and a glass kitty. Thank to his thick white wiskers, he looks like a sable-tooth tiger, doesn't he?
It took me a bit more than an hour to make my terrarium.

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What would I do differently next time?

- I would add moss on top of the charcoal. It would prevent the potting soil from mixing in with the charcoal and stones. Then, my pretty rocks would show. Right now, they are mostly hidden.

-I would mist moss more often so it wouldn't get yellowish. I moved my terrarium into the unheated room near the southwest looking window after several patches of moss started to lose their green color.

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The second part of this post is about the winners of my first blogiversary book giveaway.

The winner of the first book, "Projects For Small Gardens" by Richard Bird and George Carter is Kathleen at Kaseys Korner( http://kaseyskorner.typepad.com/kaseys_korner/). Kathleen wrote: "I think book number one looks very intriguing and fits my garden (small!) ~ if I should be so lucky to be selected".

The second book, "All New Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew, goes to Marie at Garden in Bethlehem PA . Marie wrote in her comment: "I would like to enter to win "Square Foot Gardening." I think it would be helpful for my overgrown garden".

Congratulations, ladies! Please, leave me a comment with your mailing address (it won't be published).

Copyright 2010 TatyanaS

43 comments:

  1. I just love terrariums. Each its' own little world.

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  2. What a cute terrarium...congrats to the book winners!

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  3. I was once given a huge, huge, glass, globular bottle for a terrarium. It needed far more floor space than I could offer it so nothing ever happened. It didn't strike me I could have had a little one. I don't think I would want one now but I'm wondering if a small person I know would abandon demands for a fish in a tank in exchange for a terrarium to look after instead.

    Esther

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  4. Such a cute terrarium. At first I thought that you had bought a snake =)

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  5. My first gardening days trace back to creating a terrarium in my apartment back in my college days. They are lots of fun and yours is very nice.
    Congrats to the winners.
    Meems

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  6. The terrarium looks great. Congratulations to the winners.

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  7. wow.........fern, mosses with some rock pebbles make so cute terrairium, I did'nt know........thanx for displaying it :)

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  8. Oh this looks so effective - the moss I agree really sets the ferns off - all the different textures aswell in there will make it very pleasing to the eye.

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  9. Congrats to the winners! Terrarium looks wonderful.

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  10. Congrats to the winners. I love your terrarium. I have a large fish bowl that I want to use to make a terrarium.

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  11. Cool beans! I love terrariums! What a fun project. I'll have to go check out her blog...

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  12. I like your terrarium. I think it would be fun to make one. Thanks for sharing yours!

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  13. Love your little mossy terraium! I did one a few years ago but I failed to keep up with it's watering needs. It did hang on by itself for a long time though. I think I was really just too busy with the outside garden at the time. Oops. I didn't know about the charcoal, that was interesting to learn. I hope your Saber Tooth's landscape grows thick and lush. It looks like your off to a fantastic start.
    You make me think that maybe I should take a look at re-doing my neglected terrarium. hmm...

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  14. It's been years since I've had a terrarium, however I recently saw some really nice ones that were made using glass domes and since I have a few that are bare right now I may just do something with them. Yours is lovely! Great winter project!

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  15. Great choice but then you already know I'm a moss and fern lover! Will your fern get big and have to be replaced now and then? Very nice! Congratulations to the winners!!!

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  16. aloha tatyana, that looked easy, i've always wanted to do this but always had too many distractions and no large glass enclosure...i'll have to go garage sale shopping soon.

    your new indoor garden looks great!

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  17. That's really cool! :D

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  18. Very sweet terrarium, Tatyana. I like that you have included your tips. And how generous you are! Have a great weekend! :-)

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  19. Wow, you put your terrarium together the right way Tatyana. I did a zillion things wrong (I know now) when I threw my little one together. Yours is a delight and will make you happy for the rest of the winter I bet.
    I can't believe I won!!!! THANK YOU!!!! It's so GENEROUS of you. I'll e-mail you with my address. :-)

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  20. It turned out so wonderful! I made one for my grandmother way back -- years ago. LOL! She kept it for the longest time. Haven't made any since and I do not know why because I think they are so pretty. I like the smooth stones you added to yours with the tiny fern.A fun winter project.

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  21. Thank you Tatyana! I can't wait to read "Square Foot Gardening" on these cold winter days.

    The terrarium looks wonderful - it's own little world.

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  22. I love your mini-world in your terranium. Mosses and ferns are my favorites, too. Thank you for your well wishes.

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  23. Tatyana, the terrarium looks amazing, love the moss and fern combination.

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  24. You are a natural terrarium designer, Tatyana...it looks professionally done;-) You can tell it's been a while since I've been over to see you...not even aware of the goodies you were passing out! I've fixed my blog so I can actually see the blogroll going by again so that should catch my attention more easily! Don't forget to participate in the sustainable living giveaway on my blog...now since i've personally invited you, you have no excuses to forget;-)

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  25. When you get this, will you come over and tell me if there is a comment right before this one from me? I'm not sure it went through! I was just saying it looks terrific! I remember my grandmother used to have them, in fact she would take me to the woods to get mosses and ferns like yours. Sorry I didn't know about the giveaway, I've been 'tardy' from your blog;-( I'll try to do better in the future! What a great idea! I have a 'project' on my blog, with a giveaway too, for earth day. Be sure to check it out.

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  26. Cute project, Tatyana! Good one for the winter gardener who doesn't get enough chance to get her hands dirty. :) Fun give-away, good time of year for garden book reading too!

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  27. Sure like the terrarium with the moss and ferns. I made some terrariums in college, but not with moss and ferns. Love the rocks and even the little kitty. Nice bit of color to have inside during winter.

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  28. oh i love little terrariums i have a window full and a larger fishbowl one the my grandmother made over 80 years ago that is still thriving
    nicely, the small philodendron in there lasted 70 years before it got too tired and i replaced it, secret hint for terrariums from me, if you drop in a leaf from your favorite
    African violet there will be baby violets in there in 2 months no effort needed.

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  29. Hello Tatyana,

    I love your terrarium. It brings back memories of when my mother used to make them when I was a child and she let me make a small one.

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  30. It seems like this post has been stirring some old memories here, as with Noelle, i was reminded of our first gardening laboratory exercise in College undergrad days, terrarium. It is easy in the tropics to make terrariums as we just roam around the vicinity and look for slow-growing plants with variegations and voila, we already have beautiful terrariums and/or dish gardens. These are something for the office or tables indoors. It looks a great deal to do these in temperate countries as combinations of plants might be a little harder to do.

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  31. I have never tried a terranium before but after seeing yours, now I'm thinking about it.

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  32. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are so kind, people! I know I could do better, but I am also proud that I finally made it! I learned a lot from your comments, for example that terrariums could live so long, and that they've been around for so long!
    It was fun to make it and easy. Go ahead, make yours before the busy season starts. I am looking forward to seeing your miniature glass gardens! Hugs.

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  33. I like your fern and moss terrarium. You have inspired me. I have an old fish bowl I may try his in.

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  34. That is one fine looking terrarium Tatyana! I have always wanted to try making one myself and now I may have the motivation to do it! Hope all is well and winter is going well for you and your family~

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  35. Your Terrarium look so beautiful. Hope that you manage to get more exotic plants and that they thrive in the bottled condition.

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  36. Great Terrarium! I made one not so long ago in my daughter's old fish tank...mainly to stop her buying fish that seemed to keep dying and breaking her heart. She still wants the bowl back, but the plants seem to like it there!

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  37. Wow, this post brought back many memories, Tatyana! Terrariums were big back in the 70s and I loved making them! Baby tears, moss, ferns ... hum ...

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  38. I love the idea of a terrarium! I even picked up a bird house a couple years ago so I could put a terrarium inside - I just haven't done it yet. I'm full of excuses. Thanks for sharing - I love the kitty cat & his white wiskers!

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  39. Congratulations to the book winners! Thanks for the great tips on creating your own terrarium--yours looks great, Tatyana. I've never tried to make one myself; you make it look so easy!

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  40. What a great idea. Maybe I will try a terrarium. Thanks for the idea!

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  41. Our landlord in Germany gave us a terrarium as a gift. I loved it but did not have much luck with it. Things kept dying and I would replace them only to see the replaced items die. sigh... The death of the cute apple shaped terrarium was when I dropped and broke it into a million pieces. Sad day and the last of my terrarium experiences...

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  42. The terrarium turned out so cute! Thanks for the detailed instructions and your results assessment...I'm sooo doing this!

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