Terrariums with Heart

Posted by HPotter Blog on Aug 19, 2011 in Cloche, Garden Gifts, Terrarium, Tovah Martin, Wardian case | 1 comment

You said it with flowers (and they wilted the next week).

You said it with chocolates (and all she did was gain weight).

Now it’s time to find a more lasting way to express the fires of your passion for that special someone. How about expressing all that he/she means to you in a terrarium?

Romantic mementoes for a terrarium

That’s right, collect all your happiest memories –

• the ticket stubs to the concert where you met

• a few pine cones from the hike you took together

• the ribbons from the gift she gave you

• a golf ball from the time you tried to teach her to swing

• a page of sheet music with your favorite song

and all the other bits and pieces that make up your romance.

You might even have a snapshot or two from a picnic or prom. Or the jewelry box that the engagement ring came in.

Maybe you could tuck in a pair of binoculars from the whale-watching cruise (the one when she didn’t get seasick) or the paperback she read when you went camping (and it rained nonstop).

And how about all the belated greeting cards you’ve laid by the kitchen table the morning after her birthday. Take those components and arrange them under glass.

A terrarium portrait of romance

Make a mini scene dedicated to the two of you. Access your inner artist, combine shapes, textures, and colors. Let them work off one another.

Lay them in a bed of sheet moss. Let them tell the story. You could even present them as a progression starting with a memento from your first date and moving up to the wine glass from your wedding.

Now that’s the sort of gift that is going to make his/her eyes mist over. Guaranteed.

But that’s not the end for your terrarium tableau.

Baby makes three in a terrarium

Assuming your little crystal love castle worked its magic better than you ever hoped or dreamed, now you’ve got Junior.

And those baby years slip away in a blink, so collect the little toddler shoes your mother knitted and the pacifier that brought you a few hours of blessed sleep.

Put in the blue ribbon from the 4-H exhibit and the gold star from the first correctly spelled homework assignment.

Carpet it with sheet moss to make it look like a baseball diamond, spread gravel to mark the bases and bingo – you’ve captured a snippet from Junior’s first years.

Sentimental journey with a group of terrariums

And don’t stop at one terrarium. The beauty of glass is it displays particularly well in groupings. So you could do the story of your life in several chapters all displayed in a cluster of different shapes.

Let it summarize your family, including the pets. Even framed (or unframed) portraits add another layer of meaning under glass. These can be like shadow boxes with more dimension – sort of surround-sound versions of a scrapbook.

The point is, terrariums are not just about housing plants. They can hold a snapshot from your life. They can be mementoes from a lifetime.

Plus, your dusting duties are vastly diminished.