Life in a Jar

(Happy birthday Mom!)Quite awhile ago I saw a terrarium over at Danielle's house that she and her son Will had made together... and it got me thinkin' that I'd sure like to have some in my house, too!

So a couple weeks ago I went out to get the things that I needed in order to make them:
1. jars
2. small washed rocks
3. activated charcoal (this is used for closed top terrariums in order to keep the soil from molding....you can find this in a pet store in the aquarium supplies)
4. peat moss
5. unfertilized potting soil (this was difficult for me to find so I had to go with an organically fertilized potting soil)
5. And some plants to experiment with that have the same needs (dry condition plants like cacti, or succulents, or moisture rich plants, etc)...and ones that won't outgrow the space too fast!

This is basically the method I used to make the two that I made (which I'm happy to report after two weeks are still alive and kickin':

1. put a layer of rocks on bottom of jar
2. then a layer (1/4 in.) of charcoal
3. then peat moss
4. Then your soil (use how much you need for your particular sized jar and the plants that will go in it.)
5. Then make small holes in the soil (being careful to plan your small space so that everything can be seen nicely from the outside)...
6. add your plants
7. Then add any additional things you would like into the jar.....like a mini rock cairn, etc.
8. Spray water evenly on plants to dampen the soil, but don't OVERwater.
9. In theory you will NEVER have to water these plants again (if there is a cover on the jar) but check the plants frequently the first few weeks to make sure the plants are ok and thriving in their new environment.

I already have gathered a million ideas from all over the web for my next terrarium experiments... I was trying to make one for Mom and one for Grammy for Mother's Day and take them on the plane with me a couple weekends ago...but I thought better of dragging them across the country...and I'm glad I did given my joyful airline experience.

When I expressed interest in Will's terrarium Danielle told me about this gal's blog....and I also found some links since then that I have made into favorites for when I'm ready to make some more...like this one and this one.

Next time I will use way way bigger terrarium jars...square ones....oh and hangy glass bulbs with air plants in them to hang in the window of the baby's room....oh, and I want to do some cactus ones with sand, too,. and ones with lots of COLORFUL flowers and and and!!!! Jeff, I sure hope you don't read this - since I'm pretty sure you'll try to tame me down a bit... he he he!

I don't know why I think these are so cool - but I just DO! It's like a little pocket of green in a jar that you can put wherever you want in your house and there is NO watering necessary ~ and I like the sound of that since I have enough house plants in our home to keep the city of Missoula alive for a year with the oxygen!

I think this is a great project that would be fun to do with children!! (note to self)