Wardian Cases

Yesterday morning, mom and I went garage saleing. We got several treasures, but I was especially excited when she gave me a miniature Wardian Case.

I knew I had wanted one of these for a while, and I knew there was a term for it beyond just "terrarium," but I had to google it to remember the original term for these lovely gothic-esque miniature greenhouse-looking plant holders. And when I looked up information on Wardian Cases, I discovered more about their fascinating history.

Did you know that Wardian Cases were an accidental discovery of Dr Nathaniel Ward in Victorian times? The discovery that ferns and tropical flowers thrived in a small enclosed glass case led to the successful importation of all sorts of exotic and useful plants from Asia to the West. And all of that could not have happened without the Wardian Case!


I'm looking forward to figuring out what to put in my Wardian Case. Right now I'm leaning toward an African Violet with some Spanish Moss.

You can see in the above picture how it is not only the outdoor plants that are thriving at Catty-Corner, but also the indoor plants we took from our old apartment are now elated at all the sunshine in their new home.

Including the ivy:

And even this little plant, which was cut back to almost nothing in the old place.Friday morning before we could join her at 9, mom went to a yard sale and found this mantle clock for me for the Dreaming Room.
I also found this frame for one of my most precious objects, an original artwork by Niroot Puttapipat.
Niroot's art is jaw-dropping. This piece is an ACEO...(Art Card, Editions and Originals), which means it's about the size of a trading card. And yet the detail in this piece is so incredible, I've literally taken a magnifying glass to it to see it all.

Here is a better image of the artwork:
I'd like to get a better frame for the art eventually, but this one will work for now.