Hartford

Terrarium Flex: Date Night At The Shopping Mall Co-Working Space

by Jamil Ragland | Apr 17, 2024 2:11 pm

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Posted to: Visual Art

Date Night Downtown-Make Your Own Succulent Terrarium Globe
WORK_SPACE
Manchester
April 16, 2024

“Succulent” was always a word that I associated with food until yesterday.

That’s when I went with a lovely lady to WORK_SPACE, a coworking space in a shopping mall for a ​“date night” event to build a succulent terrarium globe.

According to the source of all human knowledge Wikipedia, a succulent is a plant with engorged, fleshy parts designed to retain water in arid climate and soil conditions. That’s good news for me, because I’ve managed to brutally kill every plant I’ve attempted to nurture.

Making a terrarium globe isn’t just about potting plants correctly though. In fact, it’s mostly about the whimsical scene that serves as the home to the succulents. Our instructor, Michelle Rini, provided all of our supplies, including a vast assortment of tiny decorations for our globes. I scoured the set of fantasy and animal figurines, and settled on the three that best captured my mood: a small yellow house, a fairy wearing a red shirt, and a black triceratops. 

We thankfully started off easily enough by filling our terrarium with soil and packing it as tightly as possible. I was already starting to feel a little buzzed by the mystery cocktail that had been provided by The Main Course restaurant next door. It was a little sweet, but I gulped it down, and it had the desired effect.

Now came the hard part, which was arranging my figurines in the soft soil. I also had a handful of moss and a few smooth black stones I wanted to include to reinforce the ​“Lost World” feeling I was going for in my terrarium.

We were given a set of tools to accomplish the goal, including a small shovel and tweezers. I’m clumsy on my best day, but with a little liquor in me it became an effort in concentration. I stuffed the moss into the back of the globe easily enough, and lined both sides with the black stones.

Next came the dinosaur, which I placed on the left side of the globe. I tucked the house away among the moss, like an overgrown forest consuming the last remnants of civilization. 

The problem, though, was my fairy. I wanted a feeling of a world reclaimed by the menacing and the magical, hence the dinosaur and fairy. But I was already running out of room and I hadn’t even planted my succulents yet. I maneuvered the fairy all around the globe, trying in vain to fid a home for her. I had to accept that she was too big for my new world. I swapped her out for a much smaller porcupine. 

Finally it was time for the stars of the show: the succulents. I’d chosen three to put in the globe, including a striking plant with pink-edged leaves that stood out to me. Fitting in my succulents required me to redesign the globe. I took out half of the moss and rocks and moved my friendly dinosaur to the left. My main stroke of creative inspiration was to arrange the succulents so that they looked like they were growing out of the globe, like massive plants gone amok. I was quite pleased with the final result.

Of course, my date blew my globe out of the water. Hers looked like a true overgrown garden, and the mushroom at the first was a great highlight against the sea of green in the background.

After we all finished, Michelle had us walk around and view each other’s work. As she pointed out, we all started with the same materials and developed such original and unique designs. I’ve included some of my favorites below.

Michelle told us how to care for our plants. We have to give them a very small amount of water every two weeks, and give it plenty of sunshine. I think I can keep this one alive with such simple instructions, but just to be on the safe side, say a prayer for my succulents.

NEXT
WORK_SPACE hosts The Listening Room, an open mic on April 18.

Jamil returns to the theater for a play about a sanctuary city.

Tags: Art , gardening , Manchester