Glass Terrarium Make Great Gardening Gifts For Indoor Gardening

Most gardeners love to grow anything, anywhere.  So it’s natural to turn to indoor gardening as summer ends and winter quickly approaches.  A glass terrarium is a beautiful addition to home decor and they’re great gardening gifts for indoor gardening.

Glass or transparent plant containers can be traced back to at least 2500 years ago in Greece.  However, in the United States, it’s believed that New Englanders grew squawberries (partridge berry) in hand-blown glass bowls.

But the actual inventor of the terrarium is thought to be Dr. N.B. Ward of London, England.  While studying a sphinx moth in a closed bottle over time, he noticed that the moist earth he had included in the bottle started spouting ferns and some grass.  He started out studying the moth and instead discovered how plants can grow in glass containers!

In fact, he watched them thrive for four years without adding any water or removing the cover from the bottle.  After continuing to watch plants grow in containers, he eventually published his book “On the Growth Of Plants In Closely Glazed Cases” in 1842 – eventually leading to the development of Wardian Terrarium like the version pictured just below.

Small Wardian Terrarium

Decorative glass terrariums can be designed to sit on a tabletop or shelf, or they can incorporate a stand of their own like the white Coventry Terrarium pictured above.  Even though it’s an English looking design, this one looks a bit like shabby chic to me and would look great in garden room, kitchen, enclosed porch, or even a bedroom (and it’s ON SALE with a 30% discount now!).  Whichever room is the chosen location, terrariums should never be placed in full sun!  The heat would simply fry the plants inside the container.

Victorian Terrarium

The darker Victorian Terrarium has just a bit different design.  It is taller than the Coventry Terrarium and has just a little smaller planting space.  All three glass terrariums have glass panel roofs or windows that open for circulation as well making an easier job of planting the indoor garden.

When selecting plants for the miniature garden, it’s important to choose plants that are compact, slow-growing, and compatible in size as well as watering requirements.   Ideally, terrariums are great for plants that thrive in higher humidity conditions – the same plants that don’t really like the dry air of a heated room during the winter.  (perfect for orchid and fern lovers!)

After the plants become established in their new home, they tend to be very self-sufficient in the climate created within the terrarium.  The plant create moisture through their leaves which condenses on the glass.  This “internal rain” flowing back to the soil can allow the plants to go for weeks without additional water from the outside.  Perfect  for indoor gardening that thrives even when the homeowners are away on vacation!

Check out these glass terrariums, indoor gardens, and other indoor plants.  Gardening gifts sure to add to any home decor and please any gardener.

Read A Personalized Glass Terrarium Compliments Your Home Decor  for more information about indoor gardening with glass terrariums. 

Indoor gardening in a glass terrarium our green thumbs up!