The New Terrarium: Creating Beautiful Displays for Plants and Nature

I read a book called "Terrarium Craft" before this one, and although it had many creative designs in it, it suffered from numerous flaws – namely an over-reliance on succulents planted in sand instead of "real" terrarium plants. This book, although much better in some ways, has flaws of a different sort.First off, the good parts. This book has a lot of excellent information in it – from an exhaustive description of terrarium vessels to a really solid section on care and maintenance, this book is a wealth of great, practical information. I also really liked the section on the history of terrariums, which was very fascinating, and it must be said that the list of good plant species to choose from is really invaluable. Indeed, most of the information is great...that is, if you can stand to read it.This brings us to the bad...the author is really fond of verbose, overly wordy sentences and also of repeating the same ideas ad nauseam. I nearly tore my (already short) hair out when trying to get through her introduction section where she makes the case (over and over again) for why everyone in the world would benefit from having terrariums. She even goes so far as to imply that terrariums may cure depression and increase your boob size (joking about that one!) and that there is literally no one who wouldn't benefit from having a terrarium. Yes, lady, we get it – terrariums are cool. You don't have to sell it to us – we already bought the book so we clearly already like the idea of terrariums! I nearly quit reading after the introduction, but thankfully I soldiered on. Once you get past that part, well, things are still entirely too wordy, but at least the information becomes relevant and useful. I do wish, though, that she had cut out some of the unnecessary descriptions and included more pictures in the plant selection section – I would've loved to see a nice picture of each plant species mentioned.I guess my only other complaint outside of her wordiness is that for something called "The New Terrarium," her designs are a little lackluster and traditional. In fact, many of them are just potted plants inside cloches or other glass containers. Not terribly inspiring for anyone who already has a little terrarium experience. In this regard, "Terrarium Craft" does a much better job of inspiring the reader (too bad the info in that book is so inaccurate – can't have it all, I guess).Well, overall, I'm torn on whether to recommend this book or not. On the one hand, it does contain a lot of valuable and accurate information on the details of terrarium care and construction, but on the other hand, it's a real chore to slog through the text. After much internal debate, I ended up bumping the score up to a 3/5 just because the information is exhaustive and accurate. I guess my best recommendation overall is to get this book for the solid information and pick up "Terrarium Craft" for eye candy and artistic inspiration. Pity no one has yet made something that's both practical and pretty (that I've found), but I guess I can keep dreaming!

If nothing else, this book is a great starting point for terrarium design ideas. There are loads of inspiring color photos of terrariums of many different sizes, shapes, and styles. The author does a good job of describing the different types of terrarium containers, and offers a quite a few tips and pointers for setting up and planting your terrarium, but I found this book lacking in a few areas.With respect to the plants, the author only provides a few general recommendations on the types of plants to select. I was really hoping for a list of small-ish plants, with a brief description, preferred conditions, and recommended usage to provide a starting point on which species to pursue for terrarium design. The book doesn't really provide this type of 'quick reference' information.Similarly, a brief list of some different enclosure types, along with their pros/cons and a simple example sketch of their appearance would've been immensely helpful. To take this idea a little further, a quick reference list of different filler materials such as potting mixes, river pebble, and other substrates would've been much appreciated.At the end of the day the photos and design concepts offered in this book, really get the creative juices flowing and help the reader envision a terrarium fitting into their home decor. However, the lack of practical information about particular plant species, substrates, and pros/cons of different types of enclosures in a quick reference format does little to help the reader bring their ideas to fruition.

The New Terrarium is an outstanding guide for anyone interested in creating their own terrariums.You will learn about the myriad of possibilities for terrarium containers. You will learn about the different types of rock, sand, moss, soil combinations appropriate for different types of plants. You will be amazed at the hundreds of plants that can do well in a terrarium.Best of all you will learn how easy it is to create your own terrarium that is simplicity itself in its care and maintenance. You will quickly learn that building a terrarium is not just for those lucky few with a "green thumb": anyone, kids included, can be successful building a terrarium that will last for years with little care or maintenance.The text is easy to read and well thought out. The photographs in the book are absolutely gorgeous! Just flipping through the photographs alone will inspire you. My wife and I have owned the book for 2 weeks and we've already created a dozen terrariums for our home.We couldn't be happier with the purchase of this book and highly recommend it.

Ms. Martin's writings are relaxed and informative. It feels as though a good friend is talking to me as I read this book! She gives matter-of-fact advice on a wide-array of ways to create beautiful terrariums. She tells you exactly which houseplants (and some outdoor plants) work well so that your terrarium will be a success.The photos are ooh-la-la! I want to go to her house!I loved the book so much I bought a second one to give to my garden-loving friend. She stayed up all night and read the book cover-to-cover! The next day she made 5 terrariums! That qualifies as a big success!

Another wonderful plant book by Tovah Martin, this book on terrariums is filled with great ideas.

This Book promotes dreams! I loved the Pictures and the information and that it motivated me to go out and buy the supplies and actually start some terrariums. The only thing I dislike is that I love the Orchid on the cover but cannot find a place to buy one like it. If you love plants but don't have time to water them, this is a great way to have them pretty much take care of themselves once you do the initial setup. Although I find myself spending time just watching the plants grow and clipping here and there to create the most pleasing look.

Love this author. All her books are very informative. This book is no exception. It is well written with good illustrations. Arrived very quickly.

a good read

I've always loved terrariums, but they never survived for very long. After reading Tovah Martin's book, I now understand why. The New Terrarium offers practical advice on planting inside every type of glass container, what plants work best, what problems might arise and how to correct them. The photos are all in color and the prose is humorous and informative. It may seem a little pricey, but it's worth the money; it's both a good plant book and a decorating guide.

I was attracted to this book as an orchid grower . In as much as the book does not related to orchids that much it has very good ideas that can include orchids. Interesting reading, pretty pictures, informative, enjoyable , great ideas and wish book.The ideas in this book gave me reason to save cake servers, bell jars, and use then for growing plants and take care of plants while away on short vacations.

Not what I thought. Not useful but still a nice book