There's a whole little ecological system going on in a terrarium. If it's open like this one, plants that thrive in dry environments and direct sunlight will work best. If it's closed up, heat will create condensation to keep the plants moist and the cycle will repeat. Botanist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward discovered this by accident in 1842 when he tried an experiment with an insect in a little glass box, but grew a fern instead. His unintentional invention caught on in Victorian England, and his terrariums became known as Wardian Cases. Word has it that he tried to build a huge one you could walk into, but critics scoffed, "dude, that's a greenhouse."

01.05.20