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Old 25-11-2015, 08:10 PM posted to rec.gardens
brooklyn1 brooklyn1 is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Feb 2009
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Default Terrarium plants?

KenK wrote:

Perhaps this is OT but there seem to be no terrarium newsgroups in English.

Can anyone suggest a plant(s) for a small - cubic foot or less -
terrariums. I have a book but it concentrates on air plants and grafted
cacti. Perhaps a more usual common plant? Ideally something that would
bloom frequently? Maybe something that can be grown from seed?

Suggestions?


My great uncle did miniature terrariums as a hobby, he used jelly
jars, baby food jars, nail polish bottles, even tiny perfume vials...
he didn't have a lot of space as he lived in a small appartment in
Brownsville, Brooklyn... every inch of his few windows were covered
with his mini terrariums. He was featured in the NY Daily Mirror
magazine section. Many of his plants were sprouted from the seeds of
ordinary fruit from the produce markets; citrus, apples, pears, and
the like. He would scour the empty lots and cracks in the sidewalks
for plants, mosses, lichens, whatever he could find. His terrariums
contained whole tiny villages he built with toothpics, wooden spoons,
ice cream pop sticks for lumber, complete with rivers and lakes of
broken mirror, broken colored glass, whatever he dreamed up. He also
grew miniature forests in toothpaste tube caps. He gardened with
magnifying glasses, jewelers loupes, and tweezers. He passed away
some fifty years ago, he was a great influence in getting me
interested in gardening.
I also had a neighbor who specialized in growing orchids, many quite
small, he had a small greenhouse about the size of a one car garage...
orchids make excellent terrarium plants. He's now switched over to
Bonsai.