I received these pictures from a web visitor. His name is Chris and he is a Biology major in College. My thanks go out to him for submitting these terrific pictures and tips about the rum bottle terrarium he made. He works with a lot of different plant species and does a lot of hands on planting and growing. He has created this terrarium as part of his study in the life cycle of plants.

This project is a good example of how the container can really make a difference in the aesthetic beauty of the terrarium. And you don't have to spend any money on a container. Just keep your eyes open for beautiful containers that you run across.

Here are some of the tips he has for us:

It is really simple, and the only real trick to it is- to make sure the water makes contact with the side of the bottle, ensuring the water will wash the walls of the glass, and not just fall straight down.

Working with such a small necked bottle was very difficult, so trying to reach a cloth tied to a coat hanger was not working. I also used your idea of coat hangers to embed the plants (which worked like a charm).

And he has a terrific tip for cleaning the inside glass walls of the terrarium.

I got rather annoyed at the dirt that was covering the walls of the inside of my bottle. So I used a glass of water and a straw, to wash the dirt from the sides of the bottle. Using the old trick of trapping water in a straw after it is dipped in the glass of water then placing a finger on one end etc.

RESOURCES and More

Raising the hobby of terrarium making to an art I have some thoughts, tips and techniques here on what to think about if you want to bring terrarium making to a whole new level. Terrarium as Art

Book: The New Terrarium: Creating Beautiful Displays for Plants and Nature In The New Terrarium , Tovah Martin, one of America's favorite gardeners, introduces you to the whimsical yet practical world of gardens under glass-a no-fuss way to bring snippets of nature indoors. Wherever you are, in whatever little time you have, terrariums are the perfect tool for nature lovers and gardeners everywhere.

Carnivorous Terrarium - Here is a carnivorous terrarium you can purchase from Amazon.com. I absolutely love the simplicity and the variety of this unique terrarium. The acrylic terrarium is 6 inches tall and 6 inches wide. Included in the kit are 3 live carnivorous plants, Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea), Sundew (Drosera), and Cobra Plant (Sarracenia). Plus we include the soil and instructions. Click on the picture or the name to learn more about it on the amazon.com website. Read My tutorial essay on how to make one