Play with

Ever since I was a little kid I have been enchanted by the notion of bottle gardens. I loved the mysterious glass world that seemed to magnify its green inhabitants and was fascinated by the fact that it needed so little intervention to help it thrive.

During the 1970s and 80s there was a great vogue for bottle gardens but they disappeared for decades. Now they’ve come back with a bang.

In the run-up to the holiday season, many of us will give or receive plants and some of these will be suitable for bottle gardens. So as an endof-year project how about creating your own?

They contain all the magic and mystique of a ship in a bottle – plus they tend to excite and inspire all ages, so maybe this is a project for the family. First step is to find a suitable bottle. This should be large enough for some slow growing plants to be happy in with an opening that isn’t too big or too small. If it’s too big you’ll have difficulty finding a cork to seal it, and therefore it will need more regular watering than is ideal. If it’s too small you’ll have difficulty getting your plants in.

Many garden centres and florists now sell the perfect bottle. Being an industrious type in the 1980s I used demi-johns, cheap glass bottles for home brewing.

Their narrow opening was just the right size to squeeze my little specimen plants through. Wash your chosen vessel to make sure the container is clean. Dirt on the outside will