Thursday, December 24, 2020

Terrariums

 or A Few Cat Proof Gifts

Lucy trying to climb a plant.

I have tried over the years to have house plants without success because of my cats. First, many common house plants are toxic to cats who seem to have this irresistible urge to chew on them. Not good. And I have found even if the plants won't hurt the cats, the cats will hurt the plants. Many a day I have found parts of our houseplants strewn about the house.

I tried planting cat grass just for them hoping they would get their plant fix from that and leave the other plants alone. Nope, they still bothered the other plants along with leaving dirt and grass here and there because they would pull the grass up by the roots. 

Then I started to put the plants into an extra bedroom keeping the door shut at all times. Well, almost always. Occasionally, the door would become unlatched and the cats would have their fun with the plants again.  The main issue with keeping the plants behind a closed door was the "out of sight, out of mind" problem. The plants became neglected and didn't always survive.

Now, enter the terrarium. My kids got me a large cookie jar with some plants a couple of years ago for Christmas, hopefully finding a way for me to have some live greenery indoors. And it has worked! The terrarium is out where I can see it and watch the plants grow. The plants have outgrown the container a couple of times, but I just cut them back and watched them grow again. That has been the only maintenance required. 

So this year in one of the name drawings when I got someone's name who has a cat and likes plants, I decided to make him a terrarium. Then I added a couple of more for my kids and a few just for the fun of it. Below are a few pictures although trying to get pictures through glass with moisture droplets on it wasn't the easiest, but you'll get the idea.


Here is part of my terrarium garden. They move around the living room to different places depending on whether Ward is using the room for exercise. The containers range from the cookie jars I mentioned to jars found in my parents attic to plastic pretzel containers.


This is the inside of one of the gifts. I dug up and planted volunteer begonias out of my yard. They have been growing nicely and had to be trimmed a bit. I added an additional plant that I purchased. The glass mushroom and bee were made by a friend of mine.


This is a terrarium that Theo made in middle school as part of a Boy Scout project. He has had it ever since.  All of the original plants have died except some moss/algae. I put some new plants in and cleaned it up a bit but was careful to leave the imprints of the ferns on the side of the jar that were part of the original planting and grew for many years. The coleus came from one of our outdoor planters and I used new growth that was starting at the base. I purchased the other plant.


This jar came from my parent's attic. We spray painted the lid because it was rusted, but otherwise it has worked well. This was another volunteer begonia that has out grown the container. I plan to replant it soon.


This is a volunteer fern that I dug up out of the yard. It is planted in a plastic jar that pretzels came in. It has been very happy in here and is quickly outgrowing the container. I'm still thinking about what to do next with it. 


This one is for Wally and is filled with more begonias from the yard. It's in another pretzel container that Wally actually gave to us. It was full of peanut butter pretzels from Costco.


And the one that started it all. It houses a combination of things I got out of my yard along with some purchased plants. It's hard to see from this angle, but there are some small, blue, glass birds among the plants that I got from my grandmother.


10 comments:

  1. That's a great solution! We have had similar problems with plants, although my hubby, the plant lover, has managed to find a few high places where the cat can't reach. It's impressive that the one from Theo's boy scout days is still alive and well.

    You did it! You posted every day! I hope your Christmas is nice, if a bit out of the norm. We are getting snow right now and that makes me feel more festive.

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    1. We have never found anywhere that the cats couldn't get to. When you have more than one, there is always at least one who can figure out how to get what they want. I tried to grow seedlings one year and had thick plastic netting around wooden shelves to keep them out. The cats just worked at it with their paws and mouth until they could get to the plants. I didn't have very many seedlings that survived that year.

      We are having cold rain today with gale force winds. Pretty yucky. The temperatures are supposed to drop overnight with a chance of snow flurries for tomorrow which will be nice.

      Merry Christmas, Kris, to you and your family.

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  2. I think those terrariums are wonderful, Live and Learn. You get your houseplants, but the cats can't get into them. Do your cats ever get curious about the terrariums?

    Merry Christmas to you and your family, Live and Learn!

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    1. The cats seem to leave the terrariums alone as long as they aren't taking up space in their sunbeam.

      Merry Christmas, Lili! I hope you and your family have good weather for your celebration today.

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  3. What a great idea! I had a terrarium a long time ago, but, I think I ended up cooking the plants one hot, summer day! But, I might try making another one, one of these days! Dancer loves to eat my houseplants and I have them on top of bookcases, these days (he can't/doesn't climb up there!)

    Happy Christmas to you and your family, June. May it be a blessed Christmas.

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    1. I am thoroughly enjoying the terrariums. I still have a few plants in the spare bedroom, but as I mentioned, their care is tenuous.

      Merry Christmas, Bless, to you and your daughter.

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  4. Excellent idea, especially filling them with volunteer plants!

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    1. The begonias I had planted in my front bed seeded themselves so I had a bunch of little plants. I tried to transplant several of them before the frost got them. As it turns out, they love terrariums.

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  5. I love this idea! As you know, I may have a few cats.

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What do you think?