gardening under glass
My grandmother Florence always had a beautiful terrarium on her coffee table in her living room. And I used to love to open the lid and peek in. It really was like looking into another world for me as a kid. But hers were much more dignified with delicate little ferns and carefully selected violets.
A few weeks ago, when the ground outside was warm enough to start working it up for the veggie garden, we were outside in the muck for three days (all day) in a row. Which was heaven for three little boys as you have probably guessed. Evidenced in the photos from the continuing Sixoneway project. I think every other week is a photo with one of the three with their fingers or toes completely emerged in dirt. We immediately started finding worms. Lots and lots of earthworms. Big granddaddy night crawlers. Ian started an earthworm collection in a plastic cup, but insisted they needed a proper home.
So the quest was on for an appropriate container which resulted in two of my largest clear gallon jars, purchased from Goodwill for .50 cents each. They were quickly filled with compost and our worm farm was started. (you can see one of the little guys in the top right hand corner next to the glass in the first photo)
But of course being the only woman in the house, it was my responsibility and mine alone to spruce their little place. Instead of curtains and rag ruts, we used moss found on the side of the house and a few yard weeds to make the worm farm a bit more homey. Wyatt threw in a few seashells like throw pillows. And when Zane found a snail underneath the firewood stack, he was added to the mix too and named Mr. Smiley S. Snail. "Now the worms have an upstairs neighbor!" And yes, that is worm poop you see on the lid. Which provides hours of entertainment for little boys. I get to hear "Mom, the snail pooped again!" being screamed from the top of their lungs at least 26 gazillion times a day. Just a little more natural fertilizer for the farm.
And apparently we're not the only ones with terrariums on the brain:
Two Straight Lines
See more terrariums and get some great ideas for your own over at the terrarium group at flickr.
And for a much fancier version with way too many steps and ingredients in my humble opinion, Martha has directions on her site.
One last note to all you repurposers, my good friend Stefani is hosting a repurposing contest this month. Check it out and enter! She has some fun prizes up for grabs. I don't know that glass jars as worm farms... umm, terrariums... qualifies, but maybe you have a better idea.
