Tag Archives: plants

Ten Quirky Terrariums

I was browsing and rummaging my way around the lovely Tynemouth flea market recently when I found one of the Holy Grail items of unnecessary but somehow vital purpose – an old terrarium.

What is a terrarium, I hear you cry! Is it a place for fish or reptiles to live? No. That’s an aquarium or a vivarium. A terrarium is a glass container for growing plants, which can be open or sealed (with a little door for maintenance).

The old terrarium at the flea market was swiftly bought (by me) for the end-of-day-clearing-up-time bargain price of £9. Now clean and with a small pane of glass fixed, it lies empty on the living room shelf, watching me mournfully, and hopefully awaiting my imagination to kick in and fill it with awesome quirkiness (which I’m thinking may involve cacti and dinosaurs, and will no doubt become another blog post). Until then, here are 10 quirky terrarium ideas that other people with a little more time on their hands thought of, to tide us over any lean terrarium-idea times.

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Simple Ikebana display

I’ve been following Sansei Life for a few months now and I often visit to explore her blog and chill out for a few minutes with her beautifully simple and peaceful posts. In her own words: “Sansei Life! A blog exploring and learning about the Asian community in Denver. When I was much younger I tried a new Japanese restaurant in Arvada called Namiko’s for a sushi snack. It was very good. I got into a conversation with Yuri the owner and she ended up offering me a part time job on weekends. I spent most of the first evening running to Yuri asking her what the various dishes were and what was in them and what they tasted like. In exasperation Yuri asked me if I was Japanese! She could not understand how a Japanese did not know simple restaurant fare.That is when I really understood that I was a Sansei out of touch with my culture. I am ready to experience and learn about today’s Asian culture”.

Ikebana (生け花, “living flowers”) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, More than simply putting flowers in a container, ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. Ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and draws emphasis toward shape, line, form. Another aspect present in ikebana is its employment of minimalism. That is, an arrangement may consist of only a minimal number of blooms interspersed among stalks and leaves. The spiritual aspect of ikebana is considered very important to its practitioners. Silence is a must during practices of ikebana. It is a time to appreciate things in nature that people often overlook because of their busy lives (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikebana).

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Ikebana, the art of observing nature.

Here is an ikebana display from my heart.

Simple ivy allowed to grow on its own path.  At one with nature, it is nature.

Reaching out on its own journey.

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