Plants in a Jar

I buy cute little houseplants with the best of intentions. I tuck them into a highly visible spot with good light and…two weeks later, I come across their dried up little bodies. I am always busy with gardening, house cleaning, playing with the kids and a dozen other tasks when I’m not working on an article or a new canvas and indoor plants…Well, they don’t walk up and rub against my leg when they’re hungry. So, I finally gave up on traditional houseplants and went with the plant in a jar, or terrarium, method.

Photo: SXC

A terrarium needs to be watered once and, if you do it right, you’re done. You’ll need to select plants that don’t grow fast and stay small so you don’t have to worry about replanting as the plants outgrow the terrarium. I went with two varieties of miniature ferns.

Don’t want to buy an expensive terrarium? You don’t need to. The gallon size pickle jar I got free from a local sub shop actually works better than the fancy glass greenhouse shaped terrarium I bought from a store.

You’ll need a few inches of sand, a few inches of top soil and your plants. Plant the terrarium, add a bit of water to settle the plant’s roots and shut the lid. Check on it in a few days to be sure the jar isn’t covered in a film of condensation. If it is, open the lid for a day or two to let a little of the excess water evaporate and then shut the lid again.

I literally didn’t touch my jar for two years except to clean dust off the outside. I didn’t need to touch it this year, either, but I decided to clean a bit of excess fern foliage out. Once every few years? Yeah, even I can handle that!