KG494 Print Combined

Creating a
miniature garden
Discover a love of terrariums and you will soon find yourself surrounded
by glass-bound marvels.
Words & Photos Sue Witteman
Above While anything goes, in this
aquarium terrarium an obvious lime
theme has been used for added
impact.
Sometimes you are given a gift that inspires you
to do something creative. Recently, my kindly
aunt gave me a handsome large glass bottle and
I could not wait to turn it into a cool terrarium.
These miniature glass-bound gardens are not only
a delight to not only have in your home but also
to create.
To begin, I thought about the theme and colour
scheme I would like and began to collect together
bits and pieces to construct my terrarium.
I decided to go with a white and green colour
palette and sorted through my indoor plant
collection to source the plants that fit that criteria.
Apart from appearance, you want to choose plants
that have small root balls, or if not, then ones
that are amenable to having their root balls cut
down. It is surprising how much room a root ball
can take up when they are jostling for position in
a constricted space. Because bottles have necks,
it can be tricky to place the plants in the bottle
and fiddle around with them to achieve a pleasing
arrangement. An easier way is to use a piece of
paper or cardboard and draw around the bottle to
replicate the size of the bottom of the bottle. You
can then play with possible options on the circle
without going crazy trying to do it in the bottle
and causing damage to the plants in the process.
You need to decide whether you want the
planting to be viewed from just one side or if
you want it to be viewed from all sides. If you
want a front view, then your taller plants can
go at the back. If you want an all-rounder, then
your taller plants will be positioned in the
middle of the bottle.
Once you have figured out your configuration,
it is time to add the growing media to the bottle.
Begin by putting down a layer of gravel. I put
in about 8cm, but this measurement is flexible
depending on how tall the bottle is and how
much gravel you have on hand. I used smallsized
brownish gravel because I like the colour,
but in the past I have used the grey chip off the
drive. When pouring your gravel in, place a soft
cloth or paper towel on the bottom to stop the
gravel hitting the glass with any force – especially
important if you are using big stones.
Next, if you have any charcoal, add it on top of
the gravel to keep your little ecosystem from going
40 kiwigardener gardener.kiwi