History of Terrariums

The bringing of the art of the terrarium is generally credited with a man called Dr.Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, a London surgeon and gardening enthusiast. This came about with the publishing of his book called "On the Growth of Plants in Closely Glazed Cases" which he published in 1842.

He had the desire to watch an insect chrysalis transform into an insect so he placed it, along with some mold 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 mold 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 and we just call them terrariums.

At the Great Exhibition of 1851, Ward displayed a bottle containing a fern and mosses that had not been watered for 18 years. The Wardian case unleashed a revolution in the mobility of commercially important plants. In Wardian cases, Robert Fortune shipped to British India, 20,000 tea plants smuggled out of Shanghai, China, to begin the tea plantations of Assam.Ward's terrariums also became popular for growing the plants, and it became, in various guises, almost a domestic necessity. The poor had to content themselves with inexpensive rudimentary versions, but there were no limits for the rich. Wardian cases grew into miniature Taj Mahals and Brighton Pavilions, perfect vehicles for the contemporary love of elaborate ornamentation as well as living plants. The Wardian case was fashionable in the United States in the early 1860s, and hardly a self-respecting Victorian household was without one. Even though history dates back terrariums to the 18^th century, it is still a comparatively unknown art form in India. 

First Step...

                

               In the world we live in today, which profoundly lacks in greenery, where we literally have the effects of global warming breathing down our necks, it is a beautiful respite to go to the beach or even take an early morning or evening walk amidst any type of greenery around us. Be it the local park near your homes or the infamous Juhu chowpatty or a walk down the marine drive promenade. In a city that never sleeps, I wonder how many of us really have the time to look up and catch a glimpse of the trees above our heads while we are walking…somehow dodging the road painted with spit seems to overtake more of our attention than these simple pleasures that mother nature always so selflessly obliges. The few of us, who realize how selfish we have been, hold up protests almost every week against deforestation and uprooting the last shred of nature left around our very own houses in the form of mangroves or the few trees left mercifully dotting our sidewalks. Thus we need to take vacations to go to a place far away which is radically different from our current situations. Some place where our hearts and minds would be refreshed. Some place where we can walk on silken grass with our loved ones in peaceful anarchy. It is that feeling exactly, which all of us crave so deeply. Thus we have “hill stations” and “resorts” and “overseas” to go to, to bring us that feeling. But we at CoppeR BrainS dare to think differently. Why can’t we have a piece of Mother Nature right in our homes!!! So we can look at it and have that same peaceful pulse running down our spine every time we want to. Why not have a miniature beach right in our eyesight. Why not have a piece of the forest with a river trickling down from the woods, right into our homes.

  

Essayist Scot Russell Sanders in his Promethean inspired tale ‘The Terrarium’ describes a socially engineered world within earth itself where pieces and materials of nature are used to create the Enclosure. The Enclosure was created after the earth was rendered uninhabitable after it was plagued by pollution.  It is a life sized, albeit intriguing, fictional idea which we at CoppeR BrainS have tried to bring into a contemporary living reality. In a space starved society where we look outside our windows only to be peeking into another man’s window, we try to remember when was the last time there was a huge tree in its place and you could see a sparrow relentlessly feeding its newly spawned young ones, or an adorable chipmunk foraging for nuts.  So we decided to come up with something, so that you have to look no further than your bedside table!!! Yes that is what a terrarium is. It is a self-controlled self-sustained microcosmic ecosystem all in itself. We give you a piece of nature itself, to keep in your homes however space starved you may be. We have something for everyone!!! This is our small effort where we really wish to revolutionize and reinforce people to live au naturale.

                

                For all the love of nature that is left within the rare corners of our hearts, this effort we hope will strengthen that pillar of our humanity. We sometimes believe that we humans have made everything and everything possible too. But on the contrary the truth can never change. Nature is where we come from and that is where we perish. If one can’t simply cherish this age old balance that our planet has struck then I believe its about time we remind them.

     

      Let every single being realize of this small tiny eco system, which he or she can play God to. All it requires is a little admiration and it will definitely reflect a smile. Yes!! Admiration is all it requires, no care or maintenance. All you have to do is take it home and be happy. It’s a world in itself. A balance struck world. It will garner its strength from within itself.

     

There is a difference between saying, that change is hard to achieve and saying that the average person will never do anything. One is a challenge, and the other is a cause for despair. We at CoppeR BrainS have decided to take on the challenge.

Like Peter Marshall says - Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.

             This is our first step...