MINI GARDENING

Miniature Indoor Gardening:

Terrariums & Bonsai Trees

By S. MICHAL BENNETT Photography by: JOEL RINER

Eight to ten-year-old Scots Pine (left) and Atlas Cedar (right) Bonsai trees crafted by Bonsai Bob Grey, Grey to Green Nursery.

Yardless apartments and winter seasons can deter a green thumb, and cultivating potted plants indoors can be time consuming and damaging to surfaces. But there are two creative ways that you can grow green things in your home all year long that are primarily self-contained, promote mindfulness, and bring a gracious beauty to any space: terrariums and Bonsai trees.

>> The Terrarium

In 1829, doctor and botanist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward had given up on growing an outdoor garden in the smoke-choked environment of Industrial Revolutionized East London. While conducting an experiment with a moth cocoon and some mold in a sealed glass jar, he discovered that moisture condensed on the glass during the day and returned to the soil in the cool of the evening, creating a self-regulated atmosphere. Within a week, fern and grass began to sprout, and thus the first terrarium, the Wardian case, was invented.

Terrariums are wonderful for growing succulents, tropical plants, ferns, carnivorous plants, and airplants. Plants thrive in a loose soil medium with drainage below and are either fully or mostly enclosed in a glass container that allows heat and light into the atmosphere as well as access for plant care. Because of their cyclical ecosystem, they don’t require much maintenance. In fact, a Wardian case displayed at London’s 1851 Great Exhibition was said to contain a plant that hadn’t been watered in 18 years.

You can purchase a ready-to-plant terrarium or build your own with only a glass container, plants, gravel or small stones for drainage, Coir Brick starting mix, and a fiberglass screen.

>> The Bonsai

need more care than a terrarium, cultivating bonsai trees is a labor of love and can bring an element of calm to a space.

The art of training and growing living dwarf trees originated in China over 1,000 years ago and is now closely associated with Japanese culture (bonsai is Japanese for “trayplanted). “If you want to get into hobby,” says Bonsai Bob of Gray to Green Nursery, “you have to learn to kill some trees first. There’s a bit of a learning curve.” He advises new bonsai artists to start small and not spend a lot of money on your first trees. Treat them with proper care and they’ll become like a pet or family member. And do your research. If you know where you want to keep it, gather the tools to maintain it (a solid trimmer), and educate yourself on what you’re getting into, you’ll be able in successfully incorporate this living art into your life. (graytogreennursery.com) N

This Shimpaku Juniper Bonsai, crafted by Bonsai Bob Grey of Grey to Green Nursery, soaks in the afternoon sun.