A garden in a bowl
So you have a green thumb and every time you see a plant you itch to bring it home, but stop yourself simply because you do not have space in your home or flat? Fret not, for a solution is here in the form of terrariums. Essentially, these are glass containers of various shapes and sizes, including aquarium bowls, which can be used to grow plants of small sizes and create a miniature garden. You can add rocks, shells, miniature figurines and pebbles to create a work of art in a see-through glass bottle that you can even hang.
Figuring out the ways and means to create a live terrarium is not rocket science as Anjana Nair from Thiruvananthapuram found out. It has been barely two months since she started creating these glass marvels and there are already many takers for her live creations. A postgraduate in M.Sc. Agriculture and the editor of ‘Agriculture Today’, it was a friend of hers who put her on the ‘terrarium path’.
She explains, “One of my batchmates, now in New Zealand, is into the commercial creation of terrariums. She used to post photos of her creations on our WhatsApp group and I found them interesting. I decided to make some on my own and slowly I started getting enquiries from customers.”
Having a postgraduate degree in agriculture no doubt helped Anjana, but she learnt through trial and error. “I understood the basic principle behind setting up a terrarium and there is no foolproof method. I gathered information about the potting mix, soil, and plants to be used,” she says. Anjana mostly works with succulents, air plants, ferns, grass and a very novel plant – the Rama tulsi!
Anjana’s terrariums may seem slightly expensive to the layman but Anjana explains the reason. She says, “The glass jars are expensive and that is reflected in the final price. Fish bowls from aquarium shops can also be used but care should be taken to see that they are not made of thin glass or are liable to crack when sand, rocks or pebbles are put. I go in for good quality bowls.”
Anjana’s creations are displayed on a Facebook page called Tiny Earths. So the next time you are looking to gift something novel to a loved one, Anjana can help.