Posts by Alexander Whaley

I learned the hard way that cacti under glass fail for two boring reasons: stale air and wet feet. If your cloche looks gorgeous for a week and then turns into a fogged sauna with sagging plants,...

I learned the hard way that a beautiful wooden bowl becomes a swamp if you treat it like a normal planter. My first attempt rotted within a month because I skipped waterproofing and guessed at the...

I learned air plants the hard way: my first hanging globe looked perfect for a week, then browned from the base because I treated it like a potted plant. Air plants don’t use soil, so the usual...

I learned bottle terrariums in a small apartment with nothing but a wooden spoon, chopsticks, and a funnel made from a water bottle. The first one looked impossible: a long-necked cider bottle I...

I learned the hard way that planting carnivorous sundews and pitcher plants in a pretty terrarium mix from the garden centre ends in brown leaves and a sour smell within weeks. If you’ve watched a...

I’ve watched gorgeous ferns and mosses melt in glass bowls that looked perfect on day one. If your “mini desert” terrarium turns woodland plants crispy or slimy within weeks, you’re not...