Terrarium: Exploring Indoor Gardening Options During Cold Temperatures

The Winter Garden

Spring showers bring May flowers. Or so it is said.  In the winter, when seasonal depressive disorders increase and common outdoor activities are halted, the beauty of plants and flowers offer an uplift to any winter blues. Dating back to the Victorian era, terrariums offered Europeans an opportunity to preserve native and exotic plants in the Americas. 

Progressively, terrariums grew to mainstream popularity in the 60s and 70s offering excellent centerpieces to the home.   Today, with depression and seasonal affective disorders more common than ever, the need for gardening and flowering in the winter is highly recommended but often hard to achieve.  When considering a gardening idea to cure the winter blues, look no further than a home terrarium.

Terrariums, with indoor flowers and plants, offer an easy addition to any home decor.   For even the amateur gardener without a green thumb, the terrarium offers an easy alternative to outdoor gardening.  Created on the concept of recycled moisture, terrariums generally require little frequency in watering and, in fact, many terrariums require watering once a month and then can be left alone for display purposes only. 

To create a terrarium, the main requirement and challenge lies in obtaining a water tight container.   The concept terrariums is to avoid the escape of moisture, thereby allowing the plant to thrive within a secluded habitat.   Items such as jars, bottles and even old aquariums make great terrarium containers and, for the more decorative saavy gardener, using a stained glass jar can provide even more brilliance to a home backdrop.   Once the closed container is identified, the key to a successful terrarium is to water as little as possible and to avoid over fertlizing.