A bottle garden is a small, closed ecosystem that not only looks pretty, but can survive for years with little effort. How to create a bottle garden and what to look for in the small garden in the glass, you can find out here how to make a bottle garden.
The trend to decorate your home or workplace with a bottle garden is nothing new. Already in the middle of the 19th century, the small biotopes were gladly laid out. At that time, the English doctor Dr. Nathaniel Ward the “Ward box”, a kind of small greenhouse. We explain here what this bottle garden is all about, how you can create one yourself and what you need to consider.
What is a bottle garden?
A bottle garden is a glass miniature garden. Ideally, it forms a self-contained ecosystem that draws all the nutrients in a natural cycle. The water, which absorbs the plants and evaporate, collects inside the glass and drips again on leaves and soil. Even falling leaves are decomposed and form the necessary nutrients. The result is a cycle that – after one has created the bottle garden – at best can repeat years. Often this garden construct is also called Hermetosphere. The term derives from the Latin and means “closed shell”.
The location is best for the bottle garden a bright place that is not in the direct sun. Once the small greenhouse is exposed to too much heat, the plants can burn inside. In addition, some experts advise to open a very tightly closed bottle garden every now and then to prevent mold growth.
Creating a garden
For a bottle garden a variety of vessels can be used. However, to create a biotope of its own, the glass should have a lid and be hermetically sealed. Ideal are models that have a larger capacity and a bulbous shape. In order to avoid mold from the very beginning, you should first thoroughly clean the glass and boil it out.
The construction in the glass garden is also very important. Different layers form the perfect foundation for the ecosystem. The drainage forms granules or pebbles, which prevent the fouling of the roots and at the same time favor the necessary oxygen supply. Depending on the size of the glass, this layer is stacked approximately two to five centimeters high in the glass.
The second layer is made up of about a tablespoon of coarse charcoal. Even with this quantity, you should orientate yourself to the size of the bottom of the bottle. The coal counteracts the bacterial attack and thus also prevents the formation of mold on roots and plants. Important: The coal should not be too fine, otherwise it can clog the drainage. 0.5 centimeters are perfect.
In the next step, you fill a three to four centimeter high layer of dry seed soil in the glass. This contains less nutrients than conventional soil and stimulates the plant cuttings to new rooting. Tip: If the opening of the vessel is a narrow neck of a bottle, you can fill stones, earth and Co. through a funnel into the glass. Even a cardboard or a simple roll of paper is suitable for this.
Now the small offshoots of the desired plants can be placed in the bottle garden. To encourage the growth of new roots, cut the already existing roots by almost half and carefully clean them from still adhering soil. Form a small hollow in the soil for each individual plant, gently insert the cuttings, cover the roots sufficiently with soil and press them well.
Afterwards the ground can be covered with moss pieces and the small landscape can be decorated with stones and figures. There are no limits to your own imagination. Now the small garden is poured with hand-warm and at best distilled water until the soil is well moistened, but not too wet. This prevents the water from collecting on the ground and causing waterlogging and rot.
Which plants are suitable?
To keep the garden behind glass as long as possible, you should note that not all plants are suitable for a bottle garden. In general, plant species are recommended that tolerate moisture and nutrient depletion well. But also tropical-exotic plants are particularly well suited for a bottle garden, because the warm and humid living conditions in the glass are just the thing for them. So grab ferns, moss, mini orchids, bobbed heads or carnivorous plants. Even succulents and cacti are always happy to be kept in a bottle garden.
