1. The bottle garden

The bottle garden is its own little world made of plants and earth, enclosed in a glass. Particularly important: light! Without it, there would be no life. The plants can use it to produce the food they need to survive. Keep your bottle garden near a window so it can last for years.

For the bottle garden you need:

- 1 litre mason jar (or larger) with a large opening and a lid
- pebbles
- big spoon
- activated charcoal (available in e.g. pet shops)
- coffee filter
- scissors
- potting soil
- spray bottle filled with water
- kitchen towels
- moss and other, not too large forest plants that fit in the jar
- stones and other decoration
- fork or other tools with a long handle

And this is how it's done:

1: Before you go outside to collect plants, you should get all the other materials and gather them at a workplace.

2: Now collect the plants. Look for moss and other small plants that will fit in the jar. Wild plants that grow well in a terrarium are mostly found in shady, wooded places with moist soil. Look for mosses, small ferns, and low-growing ground cover such as violets (but beware of poisonous ivy!). Only dig something up where you are allowed to.

Dig up the plant with the roots and try to leave as much soil on it as possible. Put the plants in a small plastic bag or can and keep the roots moist and protected from sunlight until you get home.

2a: If you prefer to buy plants, you can ask a local hardware store or nursery about plants that won't be too big for your terrarium.

3: Cover the bottom of the jar with two to three centimeters of gravel. This creates a layer in which excess water can seep away.

4: Use the spoon to scoop a layer of activated charcoal a little more than 1 centimeter thick onto the gravel.

5: Cut a circle from a coffee filter to the size of the glass lid and place it on the activated carbon. It prevents the potting soil from mixing with the gravel and activated carbon and thus ensures that the drainage remains clean.

6: Fill the jar up to a third with potting soil and moisten it with the spray bottle until it is damp but not soaked.

7: If necessary, you can shorten the roots and branches with scissors so that they fit into the glass. Use a fork or other tool to carefully dig into the soil in the jar and press the moss and plants into place. Then you can add other decorations.

8: Lightly spray the plants and make sure that you wet the soil around the roots (without flooding them!). Gently wipe the inside of the glass dry with a kitchen towel. Screw the lid onto the jar and place the bottle garden in a bright place, but not in direct sunlight.

What can you see in the bottle garden?

Pay close attention to the glass over the next few days. If the inside steams up, take the lid off for about an hour to allow the water to evaporate (a little water on the inside is normal, however). If the soil starts to look too dry, sprinkle it with a little water. If plants start to turn yellow or don't look healthy, you can cut them out and replace them if necessary.

What happens to the plants in the jar?

Just like on our planet earth, the plants, the earth and the water all work together in harmony, which allows the system to flourish. The plants pull the water up through their roots and release it through the pores (tiny holes) in their leaves.

The water then collects on the inside of the glass and falls back to the ground, where the plants can soak it up with their roots. Plants also get their food through a process called photosynthesis, releasing oxygen in the process. The oxygen is used by bacteria in the earth, which decompose old plant debris such as leaves and emit carbon dioxide in the process. The plants then use this carbon dioxide again and the cycle repeats itself.

[Link to the relevant article on the Geolino website.]