The Gardener's Eden

A Bouquet of Floating Asters Submerged in a Glass Water Bowl

Sparkling August light sent me on a late afternoon trip to the potager, and suddenly my arms are overflowing with voluptuous, late summer blooms. The cutting garden is bursting with dahlias, salpiglossis, dianthus, bachelor buttons, and asters, asters, asters – everywhere! This week’s steady rain showers sent a number of  oversized blossoms crashing to the ground. A great way to use those shortened stems? Why not submerge them in glass bowls to create a dreamy water-bubble effect…

Glass and Water Reflect the Rich Hues of Late Summer

To get this look, I placed clear glass pebbles at the base of a globe vase, filled the bowl 3/4 full with water, then arranged the stems by forcing them deep within the hill of glass at the bottom of the vessel. No glass chips on hand? This look can also be achieved with a base of marbles (clear or colored) or river stones. Experiment with all kinds of cut flowers, foliage and fruit; from the beautifully bold to the delicate and small. Try this style of arrangement with round, square or cylindrical glass vessels. An obvious choice for celebration table settings, these floating flower bubbles can also add a dreamy water-nymph’s touch to an everyday bedside table or desk…

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Article and photographs ⓒ 2010 Michaela at TGE

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Sending Hope. Sending Help. Sending Prayers.

Send what you can to Haiti…

American Red Cross

United Nations World Food Programme

Stand With Haiti – Partners in Health

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All content on this site, (with noted exceptions), is the property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reproduced without express written consent. Please do not use copyrighted images or text excerpts without permission.

Thank you !

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A pedestal-bowl terrarium filled with Adiantum, (Maidenhair fern), Calathea lanceolata and Selanginella kraussiana, (Club moss), warms up a modern metallic vanity in the powder room…

Grey. Grey. Grey. Today the sky is one big, dull, expanse of monochromatic ash. On days like this, with thick, low clouds and no sunshine to be found, low-light rooms inside the house can seem particularly dark. Even the sunniest of homes usually have a few shadowy spaces, and although the hard metal finishes in modern bathrooms, and cool-colored interior walls may sparkle on sunny days, in the dead-of winter, this kind of decor can leave you cold. These gloomy spots always seem to benefit from a splash of lush, verdant color.

Houseplants can add natural warmth to indoor spaces, particularly those with modern, minimalist designs. Sleek materials, like stainless steel and glass, are easily enlivened with a touch of green foliage. True, dark rooms can be a challenge for indoor gardening – cactus, herbs and succulents will wither in dank spaces. But filtered light will support many beautiful foliage plants, such as ferns and moss, and a few blooming tropicals, (including African violets, begonias and orchids).

Terrariums are a great way to display rainforest tropicals and shade loving plants of all kinds. Humidity tends to be higher in bathrooms, making this room the perfect place for moisture-seeking plants. My tiny first-floor powder room was looking particularly gloomy last week, so I put together an open terrarium in a glass-pedestal bowl. This wasn’t an expensive project, in fact the total cost, including both plants and glass bowl, came to $16. This terrarium, (pictured in my bathroom in the photo at top), includes maidenhair fern, (Adiantum), calathea, (C. lanceolata), and club moss, (Selanginella kraussiana), all purchased from The Old Schoolhouse Plantery, just down the road. I love how this tiny bowl completely changes the mood of my metallic little space.

Over the holidays, I made a low-light terrarium gift for my sister, (pictured below). This large, thick-glass bowl is filled with an African violet, (Saintpaulia), club moss, (Selanginella kraussiana), and a beautiful begonia called ‘Kit Kat’. I added a clear glitter ball, (from Michael’s craft store), for a bit of sparkle. My sister lives in an old New England home, with many dark, interior rooms. Low-light plants like begonias thrive in these conditions. However, wood-stoves and dry heating-systems can make for a challenging house-plant environment. This is where terrariums come in particularly handy. Glass-houses, even tiny ones, hold moisture and increase the humidity in the terrarium’s micro-climate. Although open-bowl planters require more attention than closed, cloche-style or Wardian case terrariums, they have a few advantages. Begonias, and certain other plants, can sometimes suffer from mold in an excessively moist, closed terrarium. Since my sister has a new baby to care for, I wanted to give her a relatively easy-to-care for gift. We’ll check in to see how she rates it in a few more weeks.

When designing indoor containers for dimly-lit room, it helps to pay attention to foliage texture and pattern. Try to select a few different textures; combining smooth, lacey, velvety, and/or hairy leaves for contrast. Also have a look at leaf-pattern. To my eye, leaves can be even more spectacular than bloom. Colored veining, bold stripes and splotches, and tonal variation are all things to look for in plants. Begonia, viola, peperomia, calathea and pilea are all easy to come by in greenhouses, and offer a wide range of foliage color and texture. I like to use ferns to lighten-up the look of a terrarium, (particularly the maidenhair ferns), and mosses of all kinds add a velvety touch to a glass container. Glass balls, mirrors, prisms and other sparkly details can also help to catch light and reflect color in a dark space.

For instructions on how to create a terrarium, and for helpful resources and more ideas, you can travel back to my earlier posts, “Bringing Nature’s Beauty Indoors: Terrariums Part One…“, and “…Part Two“. Stay tuned for more indoor gardening projects to make your winter a bit more lush…

A terrarium-bowl filled with Begonia ‘Kit Kat’, Saintpaulia, (African violet), Selaginella kraussiana, (Club moss), and a sparkle-ball accent

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Article and photographs copyright 2010, Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden

All content on this site, (with noted exceptions), is the property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reproduced for any purpose without express written consent. Please contact me for permission before using excerpts or photographs from this site. Inspired by something you see here? It’s a small world, and link-love makes for fond friendships. Stealing makes for bad dreams…

Thank you !

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Cactus bowl centerpiece with desert rocks and decorative straw flowers…

It’s fiesta time in my kitchen. I am planning a holiday party with a menu of Mexican-inspired dishes. To set the mood for margarita sipping and chip dipping, I decided to create a celebratory cactus-bowl centerpiece. Making a dry, table-top garden filled with desert plants is a fun and inexpensive indoor gardening project, (total cost was less than $10). And the best part? This little planter will add a low-maintenance touch of life to a desktop or dresser long after the party is over…

A bowl of cactus is modern and pretty in any room…

To create my cactus bowl, I found a shallow container large enough to accommodate a few inexpensive cacti, (such as fairy castles and barrel cactus found for $1 – $2.50 at Home Depot). You can use any kind of planter; from terracotta to glass to tin – and beyond. The bowl pictured here does not contain a drainage hole. So, I filled the bottom with an inch of pea gravel and lined the sides with sand. In the center of the bowl, I added a layer of cactus potting soil, (a special mix created for good drainage, you can find it anywhere plants are sold), and then I positioned the plants, (I kept the plastic pots on for the designing part)…

Removing cacti from pots can be a painful process if you aren’t careful ! A good solution is to use a thick, smooth towel or a paper-collar to protect both your hands and the plant as you slip it from the plastic nursery-pot. Be sure to warn any young helpers and guests to your home – cactus look soft and tempting to little hands ! OUCH !

Once the plants are positioned, the spaces between cacti were filled with fast-draining potting soil, (a kitchen spoon is helpful with little projects like this). The top and edges of the planter were mulched with decorative sand and pea stone, (also found at Home Depot). To add an authentic desert touch, I added a few colorful stones from my rock collection, (gathered on various trips to the southwest)…

Add a few chile lights, some salsa on the playlist, hot tapas, chilled margaritas – and you have a party ! Isn’t it amazing what a few plants can do to change your mood !

¡ Amigos de la Feliz Año Nuevo !

Happy New Year Friends !

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Article and photographs copyright Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden

All content on this site, (with noted exceptions), is the property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reproduced without express written consent. Please do not use my words or photographs without contacting me first – or you will be violating my copyrights. Inspired by something you see here? Please give credit where credit is due. It’s a small world and link-love makes for fond friendships. Stealing makes for bad dreams…

Thank you !

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A tiny Phalaenopsis orchid , (‘The White Moth’) , displayed in an open terrarium lined with pea stone/charcoal mix, and filled with a bed of bark, sphagnum and sheet moss…

Last week in ‘Terrariums Part One‘, I went over basic instructions demonstrating how terrariums are constructed, and introducing terrarium-newcomers to the beautiful, fascinating world of miniature conservatories. Starting with a simple terrarium, such as the native plant design I featured last week, is a good idea if you have never experimented with terrariums before, or if you are working with young children. However if you have already had some success with basic terrariums and houseplants, and you want to experiment with more unusual tropical plants or something a bit more challenging, you may be ready to move on to some less-typical interpretations of this indoor display method. Whether you go with a classic or a more modern design, keep in mind that a homemade terrarium is both an economical and memorable gift, and there is still plenty of time to come up with something truly special before Christmas…

Open bowl-style terrarium and a blown-glass bulb amid pink polka dot plant, (Hypoestes phyllostachya), purple velvet plant, (Gynura aurantiaca), and golden hair grass (Deschampsia flexuosa ‘Tatra gold’) All plants featured here are from: The Old School House Plantery

Begin by letting your imagination run wild. There are as many kinds of terrariums as there are people creating them. Terrariums may be open or closed, short and wide or tall and narrow. They may be made of solid glass, acrylic or plastic, or they can be combined with other materials, such as wood or steel. Some tiny greenhouses are smaller than lemons; others take up entire rooms. I have seen absolutely stunning, miniature conservatories made from recycled or even antique glass containers, and I have been amazed by more modern, architectural terrariums constructed from sheets of clear acrylic. Some designers like to add tiny collectibles, such as doll furniture or figurines to their designs. Other creative adornments might include itty-bitty flower pots, toy cars, prisms or glass balls. It is endless. The plants contained within terrariums also vary wildly. Naturally, your choices are limited by a wide variety of situational conditions and circumstances; including plant availability, budget, design, mature specimen size in relation to container, as well as ease of maintenance. There are also cultural requirements to consider; a few of which include humidity preferences, drainage and soil structure and chemistry.

Many plants will thrive within a moist, humid terrarium environment. In fact some, including many of my favorite orchids, actually perform better in my dry, winter home when contained within glass. The tiny moth orchid, (Phalaeonopsis), pictured at the top of this post, ($9 at Home Depot), is happily growing in a mixture of bark and sphagnum moss. Drainage is provided by a mix of pea stone and charcoal at the bottom of the container. Phalaeonopsis thrive in warm, moist conditions. Elevated humidity is provided by a tall, wide glass vase, (found at Target for $12), which holds water and reduces evaporation.

On the other hand many plants, including most alpines, cacti, succulents and herbs, tend to wither and rot in low light and dampness. But given the right container and growing conditions, some of these plants may be grown in glass planters as well. Of course, more exacting personalities might argue that wide-mouthed, glass pedestal bowls do not technically qualify as a terrariums. I encourage you to expand on these old-fashioned definitions, and to explore the concept of the modern terrarium. Although succulents are not good candidates for closed conservatories, they do make fantastic additions to open glass bowls – particularly the urn-shaped vessels intended for candy and fruit display….

A modern interpretation of the classic terrarium: non-traditional, dramatic succulents contained within a delicate glass pedestal bowl. All featured plants : The Old School House Plantery…

I created a lovely succulent bowl, similar to the one above, to give as a holiday gift this year. I liked it so much that I ended up making this one for myself. I selected a glass pedestal bowl intended for fruit display, ($9 at Target), and lined the bottom and sides with polished black stone, both for practical drainage and decorative drama. The center well was slowly filled with a good potting mix and plants. Designing a terrarium or glass planter is no different from any other garden design project. Color, texture, shape, structural density and form always come into play when designing with plants. I wanted to make this classic shaped bowl a bit modern. Many succulents have bold, geometric shapes, so they seemed like the perfect choice. I love the contrast of these thick-fleshed, colorful plants against the clear, delicate glass. For my vertical element I chose stately snake plant, (Sanseveria trifasiata ‘Laurentii’), and for the mounded, central feature, I chose one large and another small Mexian rose, (Echeveria ‘Pearl’). The trio of plants is softened by the trailing, delicate beauty of variegated elephant bush, (Portulacaria afra variegata). Perhaps stalwarts of terrarium design will brush this combination off as merely a conventional planting. But I think this modern terrarium-hybrid lies somewhere between, and defies hard-line definitions.

Of course, before you begin assembling your glass container plantings, there are a few things to keep in mind. Knowing something about your plant’s natural environment and cultural preference is the key to horticultural success under any circumstances. You can find this information by looking the plant up online or in an encyclopedia, (see library page for good reference books). If you provide a plant with what it wants and needs, odds are much better that it will reward you with lasting beauty and long life. But remember that half the fun of gardening, inside or out, is experimentation. This is an art as well as a science, so have fun and be creative. If your plantings start to look a bit lack-luster, you can always re-configure your arrangements and/or swap containers. I move plants around all the time!

I will be back with more terrarium resources, tips and ideas, as well as other indoor gardening projects soon. In the meantime, some great ideas for terrariums and indoor-plants may be found in Tova Martin’s fabulous new book The New Terrarium: Creating Beautiful Displays for Plants and Nature, and/or Diana Yakeley’s beautifully photographed title, Indoor Gardening. Together with a gift certificate from a local greenhouse, either of these books would make an unexpected, much appreciated gift for novice and expert gardeners alike.

All plants pictured are from : The Old School House Plantery

Article and photographs copyright 2009, Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden. All content on this site, (with noted exceptions), is the property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reproduced without express written permission. Inspired by something you see here? Please give credit where credit is due. It’s a small world and link-love makes for fond friendships. Stealing makes for bad dreams…

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Every now and again, I encounter a place in a garden where something seems to be missing. Usually, the space is calling for artful punctuation. I have discovered that sometimes the design element  I am looking for in a garden isn’t a plant at all. On occasion the smooth terra cotta surface of an urn, or the roughness of a grey tufa pot, will provide just the right contrast in texture or hue to bring out the subtle beauty of a leaf or a flower. Juxtaposing objects against plant life can bring out the character in both.  The beautiful vessel above is from A Candle in the Night.

While a space filled with collectibles has never been attractive to my eye, I do like to see things other than plants in a garden. Sometimes an empty chair or a tilted vessel can give a garden a poetic presence; hinting at rest, mystery, calm, magic, history, and many other things. Adding a mossy urn or a water bowl can create a calming mood in a garden room. I also like to use objects as focal points in corner niches, or at stopping places on a path or walkway.  Some garden objects can be simple, such as a bowl filled with smooth stone set in contrast to the spiky texture of a conifer. Other times the contrasting orange-tinted color of a rusting metal bench or basket might catch my eye as a way to bring out the saphire blue of a flower, such as salvia, in a nearby pot.

With larger objects, such as a commissioned stone sculpture, an entire landscape might be designed around the strength of a single feature. As a focal point or destination in an expansive lawn, or as a dramatic centerpiece in a minimalist garden filled with verdant ground cover, a piece of sculpture can provide essential depth and interest to a quiet design. Below, set in a simple lawn at forest edge, a fire sculpture created by artist Dan Snow becomes a gathering place during evening parties. While not everyone is lucky enough to have sculptor create a piece of artwork for their garden, the spacial concept is simple enough to borrow.  A thoughtful arrangement of stone or steel, or even an arched skeleton of saplings can bring a strong sculptural element to a garden.  For further inspiration, look to books on Japanese Zen gardening and large scale sculpture, and to the land art projects of three dimensional artists such as Andy Goldsworthy, Robert Smithson, Donald Judd, and Dale Chihuly

And then, sometimes an object suitable for a landscape will appear before a space is available. When in possession of such an interesting or unusual object, it is often wise to hold onto it and wait until the ideal position presents itself. A few years ago, a friend gave me a piece of statuary – a cast guardian angel. I struggled with what to do with this thoughtful gift, since my garden is not the sort of place you might find such a large, classical object. The angel seemed sadly out of place, no matter where she sat. For several years, she waited in the cellar for her new home. Late one afternoon, while on on a walk, it occurred to me that the angel simply needed a bigger room… something like a cathedral. She now makes her home on the edge of my forest path, where she is quite striking and unexpected. With the trees arching 30 to 40 feet above her, the melancholy angel no longer looks awkward or out of place. My hauntingly beautiful forest guardian seems right at home amongst the native ferns and foliage.

I will be featuring more sculpture and artful objects on The Gardener’s Eden over the coming months. In meantime, give a second look to those chipped or rusty, cast-offs in the garage and cellar. Perhaps there is a garden-worthy object hiding amongst the cobwebs in an old barn or shed.  The garden can be a good place to recycle many things when you think creatively. A piece of found-art or sculpture can be a fantastic springboard for a new garden design, or a way to breathe new life into an old space. When designing a garden, stretch your imagination beyond plant life…  and watch your ideas grow.

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Do you know of some great garden objects, sculptors or artists you would like to see featured on The Gardener’s Eden ?  If so, please email your thoughts to:

michaela at  the gardeners eden dot com

Article and Photographs copyright 2009 Michaela at TGE