Since my last Rainforest Terrarium update, I’ve been busy conducting a huge rearrangement of many of my terrariums and terrarium plants. As part of these changes, some of the orchids that used to reside inside my Rainforest Terrarium have now been moved to other enclosures, including my new Tall Orchidarium.
I am full of ideas of terrariums I’d like to create.
Since I shared my last Rainforest Terrarium update with you, I’ve been busy conducting a huge rearrangement of many of my terrariums and terrarium plants. Some of the orchids that previously resided inside my Rainforest Terrarium have now been introduced to other enclosures, including my new Tall Orchidarium.
As you’ll see in this update, I’ve changed the appearance of my Rainforest Terrarium, by placing huge slabs of cork around the sides of this enclosure.
In February 2017, which (as I write to you in September 2019) was over two and a half years ago, I decided to create an Orchidarium with an automated misting unit, LED lights, and fans, to house some of my miniature orchids and provide them with automatic care. This wasn’t about creating a beautiful enclosure; I built this Orchidarium to house as many orchids from my collection as possible inside this enclosure and to provide these plants with automated care.
In February 2017, which (as I write to you in September 2019) was over two and a half years ago, I decided to create an Orchidarium with an automated misting unit, LED lights, and fans, to house some of my miniature orchids and provide them with automatic care. This wasn’t about creating a beautiful enclosure; I built this Orchidarium to house as many orchids from my collection as possible and to automatically administer the plants’ lighting and watering, and control their growing conditions.
Welcome to the thirteenth part of my Madagascar BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial – growing epiphytic orchids, which are endemic to Madagascar, inside the BiOrbAir terrarium. I first planted this Madagascar BiOrbAir Terrarium in March 2017. So, at the time of writing, in August 2019, this Madagascar BiOrbAir Terrarium is now two and a half years old. In this update, it’s a pleasure to show you a few of the twinkling, crystalline flowers of Aerangis hyaloides, alongside the beauty of the snow-white, pendent blooms of Aerangis citrata, as they fade.
Welcome to the twenty-second part of my BiOrbAir Review – Growing Miniature Orchids in the BiOrbAir! This trial update is not all about success. Since my last update, two orchids have declined – one more so than the other. One plant looks like it’s probably in the process of dying; while another miniature orchid just isn’t looking as healthy as I would like.
Spider mites are a serious pest of orchids, indeed they are a pest of a great many other plants too, but with the warm weather we’re experiencing in the UK, today I wanted to remind you about the importance of controlling spider mites on orchids and other indoor plants.
Spider mites thrive in hot, dry conditions.
Welcome to the thirteenth part of this my White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial. I dedicated this terrarium to white flowered orchids back in April 2017 – which as I write to you today was exactly two years ago. In this update, I am delighted to share with you the glistening twinkle of Aerangis hyaloides flowers and the glamorous, snow white flowers of Amesiella philippinensis.
Sciarid flies are teeny, tiny flies, from the family Sciaridae, they’re also known as fungus gnats, or by their genera’s scientific names of Bradysia or Lycoriella. Although sciarid flies live outdoors, as the flies are so minute in size, you’re unlikely to notice these insignificant little flies outside.
In March 2018, I commissioned Rich, from Rainforestvivs (now The Rich Rainforest), to build this fabulous, custom built Rainforest Terrarium for me. I designed my Rainforest Terrarium to fulfil my requirements: I needed to provide an enclosure that would house as large a number of orchids as possible from my National Collection of Miniature Aerangis and Angraecum Species and my National Collection of Miniature Phalaenopsis Species, within the limited space I had available.
In this my first update, you can discover how the Aerangis, Amesiella, and Angraecum orchids that are housed inside my Rainforest Terrarium have grown and developed over the past eleven months – from April 2018 to March 2019. Discover which plants have died and which orchids have thrived during this time frame, in my first plant update for this custom built terrarium.
I love growing fruit, vegetables, and herbs. We’ve all got our favourite heritage tomatoes, but have you tried any new tomato varieties? Last year, I grew lots of new tomato varieties, as part of my quest to discover the most delicious and productive tomato cultivars available to gardeners!
The objectives of this Tomato Trial were to identify delicious, productive, disease resistant tomato varieties, and to discover whether any of the trialled tomato cultivars perform differently when planted in the ground or grown in a container.
I don’t like slug pellets. Slug pellets have had a disastrous effect on the wild food chain – as well as killing slugs and snails, slug pellets harm hedgehogs, song thrushes, and other creatures. Slug pellets kill these dear animals in the most cruel, drawn out, and painful manner. Nothing could induce me to use slug pellets in my garden, allotment, or anywhere for that matter – however large the slug or snail population had become, and however many of my precious plants had been eaten.
Welcome to the tenth part of my White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial. In this update it is a real pleasure to share with you the flowers of Amesiella minor before they fade, the sparkling blooms of Hymenorchis javanica as they twinkle, and the magnificent flowering of Amesiella philippinensis, as these glamorous flowers finally finish developing and open at last!
However despite all this sparkle, it’s not quite as glitzy or glamorous inside this terrarium as you might think – at least one type of spider mite is currently affecting the plants inside this White Orchid Trial BiOrbAir Terrarium.
Welcome to the eleventh part of my BiOrbAir Review – Growing Miniature Orchids in the BiOrbAir. The BiOrbAir is a specialised, automated terrarium, designed by Barry Reynolds. I first planted this Miniature Orchid Trial BiOrbAir Terrarium in August 2015, so at the time of writing – in March 2017, this BiOrbAir terrarium is 19 months old. Some, though not all, of the miniature orchids that are currently growing inside this terrarium were featured in the original planting of this terrarium in August 2015.
Welcome to the tenth part of my BiOrbAir Review – Growing Miniature Orchids in the BiOrbAir. The BiOrbAir is a specialised, automated terrarium, designed by Barry Reynolds. I first planted this Miniature Orchid Trial BiOrbAir Terrarium in August 2015, so at the time of writing – in February 2017, this BiOrbAir terrarium is 18 months old. Some, though not all, of the miniature orchids that are currently growing inside this terrarium were featured in the original planting of this terrarium in August 2015.
Eric Wall Ltd is a family owned business. Eric Wall established the company with his business partner Hugh Stevenson, in 1977. Eric and Hugh started out together with one hectare of glass in 1977. Fast-forward to 2016, and Eric Wall Ltd currently operate just less than ten and a half hectares of glass in Barnham, which is near Chichester, in West Sussex; they also operate a small site of just over one hectare of glass, which can be found just outside Deal, in Kent.
I hate slug pellets, I would never use them, not even the organic kind, slug pellets are incredibly detrimental to wild life killing lovely hedgehogs (a natural predator of slugs and snails) in a horrid, drawn-out and painful way. If like me, you want to want to protect our wildlife and help preserve the natural balance of nature, there are many ways you can protect your precious plants from slugs and snails.
The end of summer is often a magical time, bathed in golden light and sunshine. There’s certainly a lots of lovely things you could do in the garden, or at your allotment during the month ahead!
Vine weevils are a real pain, especially if you’ve got lots of container grown plants. The adult vine weevils damage plant leaves, leaving a notch-shaped, irregular edge to the leaves, resulting in a rather ragged looking, tatty plant.
