Terrarium Craft

Crossover for gardeners from my book review blog.

The Book Bag Lady

I am getting sooooo ready for spring and time in my garden that I found myself purchasing an e-book that would hopefully provide me with some projects to get my hands in the dirt. Terrarium Craft: Create 50 magical, miniature worlds, by Amy Bryant Aiello and Kate Bryant, is a delightful little book that gave me some fresh ideas to use for my large glass jars, as well as some ideas for other types of containers I had never considered to be plant-worthy.

The first chapter provides information about what materials to use and where to get them. Subsequent chapters offer recipes for themed terrariums, such as forest, beach, desert and fantasy. The best thing about most of the terrariums is that they not only focus on plants, but the other elements as well, most of which are found in nature. The directions are simple and easy to follow…

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Bring the Outdoors In: 20 Garden Projects for Decorating and Styling Your Home

Crossover from my book review site. Gardeners enjoy.

The Book Bag Lady

By Shane Powers

This lovely book is filled with clever ways to decorate your home with things from nature. Some of the projects include artwork using natural materials and others actually display plants and botanicals in unusual ways. Some of the projects include a knotted rope planter, a wall sconce made of branches, a stone garden with actual stones and succulents that resemble stones and my personal favorite-floating pressed botanicals.

This book is available in hardcover and e-book versions. It is a very quick read with lots of full-color pictures, lists of materials and complete instructions.

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Decorate with flowers

I preordered Decorate with Flowers by blogger Holly Becker back in December and was reminded every time I opened my Amazon account that it wouldn’t be here until spring, something else to look forward to.
It arrived the other day and I dove into it almost immediately.
WHAT A GREAT BOOK!

It has everything I love in a design book and none of the things I don’t. It contains detailed “recipes” for flower arrangements and information about where to get supplies. The arrangement are beautifully simple, not formal, and use flowers you can grow in your garden. The photography is artistic, yet clear enough that you can see the details of the arrangements.
Becker is the well known author of the blog Decor8 and has published other books on design.
You can find her blog at decor8blog.com

Aloe Vera terrarium

Recipe:
1small healthy aloe plant
Activated charcoal from the aquarium section of the store
Aquarium gravel
Cactus blend potting soil
Decorative sand from the floral section of the store
Sea shells
Large fish bowl

Line the bottom of the fish bowl with about 1/2 inch of gravel.
Cover with a thin layer of charcoal.
Add another 1/2 inch gravel, then a thin layer of potting mix.
Take aloe out of its pot and place it in the center of the bowl on top of the soil. Holding the aloe out of the way with one hand, carefully add soil to within 1/2 inch of the base of the aloe.
Finish filling to the base of the plant with more gravel and the shells ( if using seashells fresh from the beach, be sure to rinse them with hot water to remove the salt)
Spray the entire interior of the terrarium lightly, just enough to dampen the soil. Wipe off the sides inside and out and place your bowl in a sunny window.
Water only when soil looks dry and pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Good luck 🙂