Miniature Terrariums: Tiny Glass Container Gardens Using Easy-to-Grow Plants and Inexpensive Glassware

Guest reviewer Kevin Tipple is back with his review of a book on terrarium gardening.  Check out his blog Kevin's Corner for more book reviews and book news, as well as links to topics of interest.

Reviewed by Kevin Tipple

While any author creating a fictional story is, in a sense, “world building,” authors in the fantasy and science fiction genres refer to the term all the time and claim great credit for doing so. When one is doing it right, one is bringing a fictional world to life in a reader’s mind by way of dialogue, descriptive scenes and setting, and more. In a very physical way, you are doing the same thing when you put a terrarium together as you are most assuredly world building.  You are creating an environment that--if you choose wisely-- will thrive. Choose incorrectly and you may create a dystopia for your plants or worse.

Miniature Terrariums: Tiny Glass Container Gardens Using Easy-to-Grow Plants and Inexpensive Glassware seeks to guide you in creating a beautiful and thriving world. Published by Tuttle Publishing in May 2018, the book is primarily broken into 4 chapters full of information by text and picture.

The book opens with a short introduction that explains what a terrarium is, what kind of containers or glassware is best suited for what types of plants, and how the various chapter categories for the plants are determined. Along with plenty of informative text, there are numerous pictures making it very clear what the text is covering A nice touch is the fact that many of the smaller plant pictures have handy page number citations. Also included in this section are tips as to what tools you may or may not want/need, how to basically create a terrarium, watering, the various types of ornamental gravel, and caring for the plants as the seasons change. Some of this information varies by type of plant and those differences are explored here.

Then, it is on the chapters with “Chapter 1: Wetland Plants” starting things off on page 15. Plants that fit this situation will need to be placed in a sealable container. Most of the plants that are in this section are various types of moss. Surprisingly, at least to me, moss can come in all shapes and sizes and not just as a sort of ground cover. It isn’t just moss in this section as there is also some information devoted to carnivorous plants and African Violets. The chapter winds up with some advice on the various places to gather your moss. Apparently, a rolling stone gathers no moss, so you may have to consider nonmoving rocks or areas under trees in parks and other places should you seek to be a moss gatherer.

Page 31, begins “Chapter 2: Air Plants.” These are plants that normally are usually found living in trees and thus will need to be placed in open hanging containers so that the air in your home or office moves around them. While you could create a terrarium in a vase with such plants, you could also construct hanging terrariums of various types. Ways of doing so are depicted in this section. Hanging Terrariums are not only a great space saver; they serve as a way to get plants away from pets or children that may be tempted by their presence.

“Chapter 3: Arid Zone Plants” begins on page 53 and this is where you find succulents. Such plants come in all types and this allows you to create a desert like environment or a very low water type one. As in the other chapters of a book, various types of containers are used here and there are numerous plant suggestions as well as instructions on how to create the terrarium shown. One of the neat things in this book can be found at the end of this chapter with “Practical Tip 3: Finding The Perfect Container.”

This book repeatedly stresses thinking beyond the classic terrarium style container. Terrarium light bulbs which are lightbulbs specifically designed to house plants, candle holders, beakers for a science project, and more are suggested here. This page details numerous options and possibilities beyond the usual terrarium shape. 

Of course, sometimes you can combine the three types of plants into one container and mix them up. That idea drives “Chapter 4: Mixed Terrariums.” Starting on page 79, four distinctive possibilities that combine multiple plants from multiple environments are depicted. Each suggested combination has tips to be successful. Because you are putting different environments together you are going to need some skill in maintaining the world so that everything survives and thrives.

Next is followed by a couple of pages devoted to cataloging succulents by type. The same is done for air plants as well as moss and other wetland plants. Those pages are followed by a page devoted to details about the publication of the book, information about the publisher, Tuttle Publishing, and their mission statement.

Miniature Terrariums: Tiny Glass Container Gardens Using Easy-to-Grow Plants and Inexpensive Glassware is a colorful and informative book that works for both the novice as well as the experienced world builder. It serves as a repository of creative ideas as well as a spring board for your own creativity. Filled with plenty of information and pictures, Miniature Terrariums: Tiny Glass Container Gardens Using Easy-to-Grow Plants and Inexpensive Glassware is going to be a winner for those interested in creating a magical world.

Miniature Terrariums: Tiny Glass Container Gardens Using Easy-to-Grow Plants and Inexpensive Glassware

Fourwords (division of Actus Interiors)

Tuttle Publishing

http://www.tuttlepublishing.com

May 2018

ISBN# 978-4-8053-1477-7

Hardback (also available in eBook format)

104 Pages

$17.99

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2019

A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening: A Step-by Step Guide to Growing Beautiful & Long-Lasting Succulents by Taku Furuya

Guest reviewer Kevin Tipple is back with his review of a book on succulent gardening.  Check out his blog Kevin's Corner for more book reviews and book news, as well as links to topics of interest.

As we roll into spring, thoughts here in North Texas turn to planting as well as worries over baseball sized hail, tornadoes, and all matter of insect and bug many of which sting. Though the rains have been plentiful these last several months, drought is always a fear lurking just over the horizon. Cacti are always an answer to drought. Like cacti, though not thorny at all in many cases, are succulents. A solidly good resource on them is the new book from Tuttle Publishing, A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening: A Step-by Step Guide to Growing Beautiful & Long-Lasting Succulents by Taku Furuya.

The 100 page book is designed for the novice succulent gardener. It features twenty-one popular varieties with tons of information by way of color graphics of various types. Then there are the numerous pictures throughout the book showcasing various succulents and their possibilities.

After a little bit of general information including how to use the book, the book really gets going with opens with a section on “Spring/Fall Types” starting on page eight. In addition to the picture of the plants, there are several pages of information on how to pick a healthy one at the nursery, best soil, how to transplant from the store bought container, how to propagate (how to make more off that first plant), and various tips on growing them including a simple month by month chart. Along with pictures of the various versions of the particular type of succulent, there is clear and concise color coded information on when they flower, level of difficulty to grow, the origin of the plant, and more. Each section is setup the same way with a lot of information and plenty of pictures for the particular variety.

You may or may not know that cacti are a form of succulents. While you may think that Cacti always meant something with spikes or thorns, it does not always. In this case, most of the varieties depicted in these pages do not have spikes or thorns making them safe from children and pets. Obviously, you don’t want either one eating succulents, but you don’t have the thorn issue that you do with many cacti.

Though some do and if you have pets or children this is something to pay attention to so that one avoids injuries. The first selection in the Spring/Summer/Fall Types starting on Page 64 makes that very clear. “Moon Cactus” starts the section off and it should be a familiar one to anyone who spends time shopping towards Christmas as such items are always in the grocery stores. There is a lot of info including the fact that the native region for those is Japan. I now know my high school biology teacher was wrong about them and a certain test grade should be adjusted immediately. While many of the chosen varieties in the previous section did not have thorns or spikes, many in this section do and that may or may not be of concern depending on your personal environment.

Fall/Winter/Spring Types is the final section and starts on page 80. The very few listed here the more difficult ones to grow in the book. Nothing in this section is easy and all of them require significant amounts of care.

A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening: A Step-by Step Guide To Growing Beautiful & Long-Lasting Succulents by Taku Furuya closes with a couple of pages devoted to the growing fundamentals for all succulents, a glossary, and a short section how to combat diseases and pests.

This is a comprehensive book aimed at beginners that will also prove very helpful to experimental Gardner. Whether you want to grow just a couple inside the house or multiples ones outside in the yard, there are suggestions here for you. Something and quite possibly more than one will strike your fancy in the very good book, A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening: A Step-by Step Guide To Growing Beautiful & Long-Lasting Succulents by Taku Furuya.

A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening: A Step-by Step Guide to Growing Beautiful & Long-Lasting Succulents

Taku Furuya

Tuttle Publishing

http://www.tuttlepublishing.com

ISBN#978-0804851190

March 2019

Paperback

96 Pages

$14.99

Material supplied by Twyla Marr, Publicist, Tuttle Publishing with no expectation of a review. 

The Bristol Public Library does own a copy of this book.  Check the new nonfiction shelves to see if it's available!  If not, you can put it on reserve.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2019

She Sheds and She Sheds Style by Erika Kotite

Reviewed by Ambrea

Like the man cave, “she sheds” are a place where a person can get away and enjoy the peace of their own space.  For the most part, these sheds are lovingly decorated but fully functioning spaces that are outside of the house—such as in a shed.  (However, they can be made however and wherever the builder so desires.)  These spaces are small, impactful places where ladies can go to simply getaway or indulge in their creative pursuits.

Needless to say, I was intrigued.  I love gardening in the spring and summer, so the thought of having a place to prepare and store seeds, hang my tools, and yet still have an enjoyable space of my own was a wonderful idea.  Plus, who doesn’t want a hideaway where they can sit and read for a couple hours in peace?  I picked up both She Sheds:  A Room of Your Own and She Sheds Style:  Make Your Space Your Own by Erika Kotite to start some research.

I quickly realized that she sheds can be a lot more intricate than simply plotting a pre-fabricated shed into your backyard.  In Kotite’s books, she details the ways in which she sheds can be built—discussing building resources, offering tips on re-purposing and recycling handy materials, as well as reviewing how to build a she shed from a kit—and delves into the decorating side to cover everything from functional and fabulous to barnyard chic.

Honestly, it’s quite a lot to take in when you know absolutely nothing about building or refurbishing a shed.  And that’s not even getting into the tiny details like electrical wiring, paint palettes, architectural details, and decoration.  It’s a bit daunting to say the least.

Although Kotite has many easy projects, as well as several budget-friendly suggestions, her books can feel a little overwhelming.  I liked many of the ideas I saw; in particular, I was very interested in the designing and building a she shed from a kit (which is detailed in She Sheds) and I loved the herringbone pattern brick floor she mentions in She Sheds Style.  However, I noticed many of the sheds she featured were incredibly complex and, in some cases, seemed humongous.  I realize all of the she sheds featured are just examples and a person can customize a she shed how they like, but I couldn’t help but feel that these projects were just way too much for me.

Plus, I had questions, like:  how do you keep a shed cool and breezy?  (I know from personal experience that they can get miserably hot in the summer, and I wouldn’t want to spend five minutes there let alone let it serve as a “getaway.”)  How do you combat humidity, especially if you’re planning to store materials that could be damaged?  What are your lighting options if you don’t have electricity?  How do you keep the mosquitoes or other creepy crawlies away?  I have more, but those were the most pressing and I don’t think they were quite answered.  I may not have done a deep enough reading, though.

Overall, I think She Sheds and She Sheds Style were interesting books.  They have helpful information, they have beautiful pictures, and they are enjoyable to browse.  I know I was certainly inspired to build my own shed; however, I think I’ll keep it simple and very budget friendly.  Dutch doors and wrought iron décor are cute and all, but maybe not realistic for my garden shed.