Musings

Plants Under Glass

by Barbara-
plants-under-glass

Hi plant lovers! It has been forever since I wrote a blog post. That’s because D and I are expecting our first child and my pregnancy has not been the easiest. I am home off work awaiting baby’s arrival which could be any day now.  

Anyway, as I decided on what to write about, I thought I’d start by sharing one of my favourite things – terrariums. I have blogged about terrariums and how to make one in the past (click here and here and here). One thing that made me appreciate them even more is that since I’ve been battling with side effects of pregnancy, I totally slacked watering my plants and had to depend on D to do so for me. Well, of course my neglect meant I lost a few tropical plants. The succulents however always survive neglect (Thank God for succulents). Also, all the plants in my terrariums held up. Of course, this is because my closed terrariums did not need any tending to. This has made me want to perhaps just keep more plants in terrariums as I think of the busy motherhood ahead.

I remembered I had taken a few photos of some of my terrariums back in September and never posted them.  So here they are. The picture at the top of this post is made of preserved green moss – just decorative. Forgive the poor photography in this post. It was quite difficult to get a good shot of the plants through the glass.

 

This terrarium case was purchased from Lee Valley Tools, but unfortunately they don’t carry them anymore. It has ventilation at the top and you can life the glass portion of the base and for watering. I water this terrarium about every 2 weeks. Although it is vented, it keeps moisture in quite well so no need for frequent watering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The terrarium on the right was just made from a glass container I had from Ikea. I don’t know what that plant is as it was sold under the ‘fairy plants’ section with no name. It looks like a mini tree. This one I had to vent quite a bit over the summer because it would get foggy. I also ended up with small algae growth which was probably due to the fact that I over watered it the first day and had originally placed it in bright light. In the winter though it has been ok. Never had to water it since the first day I put it together.  Please feel free to comment below if you know the name of the plant.

 

 

 

 

You probably can’t see this clearly, but its a blooming African violet. I’ve tried to keep African violets in the past in regular container and they fail to bloom for me. I had one bloom for me in a terrarium once, but had to get rid of it as I noticed soon after it was infected with mealy bugs.  I blogged about it here. I took a single leaf with stem from the old infested plant (which I eventually got rid of) and tried to start over in this tea pot. I’m glad I did because it is growing well. The original plant bloomed purple flowers however this one bloomed light purple to pink flowers! The spout is partially opened, hence I usually add a little but of water every month or so. On some occasions I find watering is not necessary as it looks really humid in there. Container is a partially cracked glass tea pot given to me by my sister-in-law who instead of throwing away asked if i wanted it “for your plant stuff” (Hehehe). She knows everything to me could be a possible planter and I would put it to good use.

If you want to keep English Ivy but is always riddled with spider mites (like me), here is an idea for you- put it in a terrarium. I saved 2 leaves on a stem from my Ivy infested plant and after washing them thoroughly to get rid of any pest, I planted it in the container. And oohh how it has grown. Again have never had to water it. Container from Michaels (I think).

Beautiful no? Its a Fittonia (Nerve plant). They LOVE constantly moist soil and high humidity and so make great terrarium plants.

This is another nerve plant but with pink veins. Planted it with some live moss. As you can see the moss is somewhat disfigured as it started stretching towards the light. Kept it in a north facing window at the time, which I have not moved a few meters back from a south west window. Still thriving.

And that’s all folks! I hope I have inspired you to try your hands at making terrariums. I am thinking of a new terrarium project  to embark before baby shows up and will keep you posted. Until then have a ‘Green-tastic ‘ day!

Barbara

Hi, I’m Barbara and I’m a little obsessed with house plants. I share my house plant adventures in the hopes of inspiring you to continue to enjoy the greens in your home. And if you have no plants (yet!) I hope this blog inspires you to add some green to your home. So go on! Try it! I think you might quite like it. And who knows? You may end up being … obsessed too.

6 Comments

  1. Erin

    Wow, congratulations! Have you had your baby yet? I also lost some plants due to morning sickness (which for me, lasted nearly to 20 weeks…) I’ve also lost plants to curious toddlers! But it’s all good – a couple of my kids (I have five) have become quite the little plant people. 🙂

    Enjoying your blog very much!

    13 . Feb . 2017
    • Barbara

      Hi Erin, thanks for visiting and I’m glad you are enjoying the site. Baby is here and hopefully I can share with you all soon.

      14 . Feb . 2017
  2. Claire

    Hi Barbara! I was updating some stuff and saw your post – I wonder if you have had the baby yet?! If so, Congrats to you and D, or is that 😀 and if not, surely soon!! I had no idea. Hope you are all keeping well. Your photos are very sweet in that forest setting, but I don’t know what that ‘Fairy’ plant is, but it does look really cute. Anyway, nice to hear from you again 🙂 Claire

    10 . Feb . 2017
    • Barbara

      Baby is here and nausea is gone. I can finally get back to “life”. i love being a mum but also have a few struggles. More on that soon on a later post. Hmmm! Now how to blog about babies and still keep it plant related. 🙂

      14 . Feb . 2017
  3. Martin

    Where do you shop for plants in Ottawa? I am having quite the time finding places beyond Scrimms and Bel Fiore, which are lovely, but rarely have the plants on my wish list.

    08 . Feb . 2017
    • Barbara

      Hi Martin, it is difficult to find some unique plants in Ottawa but sometimes I am surprised. I find small boutique plant shops usually have something interesting. Flowers Talk Tivoli in Westboro come to mind. Also Blumen studio ( it’s both a cafe and a plant shop) in Hintonburg. I’ve blogged about these two shops in the past. Artistic landscape design on bank street(southkeys area) also have succulents and other indoor/outdoor plants. For common plants, I go to Rona (Merivale and huntclub)- they sometimes have interesting plants too. Then of course, Home Depot. If you live in Kanata, Hazeldean Florist has a nice small selection of unique plants too. Then there are nurseries like the Richmond nursery. Hope that gives you a few ideas where to visit.

      14 . Feb . 2017

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