GIANT Terrarium

Check out this giant terrarium at the University of Arizona in Tucson called the Biosphere 2. It uses solar panels and the sun to create this lush landscape in an arid desert.

Just like a giant terrarium!

http://www.b2science.org/

Wine Bottle Terrarium

This is one of my older terrariums in a wine bottle. It's lasted for about a year and has really filled in. In this photo you can really see the layers of gravel, charcoal, dried moss and soil in the bottle.

My sister has been asking for a terrarium for ever now. I was hesitant to give her a terrarium that hadn't properly settled for fear it would dry out or die or get diseased. However as this one has lasted so long I am proud to give it to her.

The sword fern [nephrolepis cordifolia] is doing so well that runner plants are growing off the parent plant and on the side of the bottle. Some of the older fronds are turning brown and dying but I think the decomposition will not harm the eco balance in the bottle.

Terrarium in Vase

Zero week old terrarium in glass bud vase.  

I just planted the specimens before I took this photo and the arrangement is still very messy and very wet.  I hope to swab out the bottle once it dries out a bit.  The fern was not the healthiest-looking in the batch but I was feeling impatient and wanted to plant a specimen with fronds already formed.  

Impatience in terrarium-making nearly always ends in disaster.  The old adage "a stitch in time saves nine" is completely true when it comes to bottle gardens.  I can't tell you how many bottles I hastily planted only to have to empty and start from the beginning again down the road due to some oversight in the planting process.