The History of the Terrarium

The bringing of the art of the terrarium is generally credited with a man called Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward. This came about with the publishing of his book called "On the Growth of Plants in Closely Glazed Cases" which he published in 1842. The second edition of this book was published in 1852 and is readily available in the public domain.

In the preface to his first edition he cites an earlier reference where he wrote a letter that was published in the "Companion to the Botanical Magazine" which was published in the May 1836 issue. This is one of the very earliest recorded references to keeping plants inside enclosed cases. He also gives credit to an author named Mr. Ellis who published an article about growing plants in closed cases in an article in "Gardeners Magazine" in September of 1839. While these earlier works are important it was the publication of his book that is generally considered to be the real start of the art and science of terrariums.

The story of how he first discovered the terrarium is rather interesting and Ward tells it in his book.

He had the desire to watch an insect chrysalis transform into an insect so he placed it, along with some mould in a capped wide-mouthed glass bottle. He observed this bottle on a regular basis and noted how, because of the sun, moisture would be drawn to the top of the bottle during the day then circulate back down to the mould and soil in the evening.

But his big surprise came when quite unexpectedly a seedling fern and a sprout of grass bloomed inside the bottle. He was very surprised by this because he had been unsuccessfully trying to grow these very things in his garden. He had surmised that pollution from local factories had been hostile to the plants and was killing them. This made him believe that the plants were doing well in his little bottle because they were sealed off from outside influences and protected from contaminants. He placed this bottle outside the window of his study and the plants inside continued to thrive for four years with no watering or outside intervention at all! From this he devised further experiments and thus his pursuit, and the science of the terrariums, was born. For a very long time these small glass enclosures were named Wardian Cases after him and even though the term is still in use today it is generally not well known.

Terrariums Grew In Popularity

During the Victorian Era and predominantly in England Wardian Cases became very popular and many people kept them in their homes. But over the course of decades the practice fell in decline and in today’s world they have made a bit of a comeback but have never reached the every day popularity that they had achieved in the days of Ward.

The Style of the Wardian Case still remains today

The style of case, which was created by Ward, and was very popular in Victorian England, was a series of sheets of glass framed together with metal. They look very much like stained glass windows with the exception that all the glass is of course clear and without any colors so light can get through. And this Victorian style case has made quite a comeback over the past decade or so. Several companies now manufacture and sell them.

Terrarium making has been around for over a hundred and fifty years and it has remained relatively unchanged in all that time. It is still a great way to keep a collection of exotic plants and flowers in your home with little maintenance or worry.

For more interesting terrarium projects and ideas visit the authors website at:Terrarium Man