EN: Thriving since 1960, my garden in a bottle: Seedling sealed in its own ecosystem and watered just once in 53 years
For the last 40 years it has been completely sealed from the outside world. But the indoor variety of spiderworts (or Tradescantia, to give the plant species its scientific Latin name) within has thrived, filling its globular bottle home with healthy foliage.
Yesterday Mr Latimer, 80, said: ‘It’s 6ft from a window so gets a bit of sunlight. It grows towards the light so it gets turned round every so often so it grows evenly.
‘Otherwise, it’s the definition of low-maintenance. I’ve never pruned it, it just seems to have grown to the limits of the bottle.’
The bottle garden has created its own miniature ecosystem. Despite being cut off from the outside world, because it is still absorbing light it can photosynthesise, the process by which plants convert sunlight into the energy they need to grow.
Photosynthesis creates oxygen and also puts more moisture in the air. The moisture builds up inside the bottle and ‘rains’ back down on the plant.
The leaves it drops rot at the bottom of the bottle, creating the carbon dioxide also needed for photosynthesis and nutrients which it absorbs through its roots.
It was Easter Sunday 1960 when Mr Latimer thought it would be fun to start a bottle garden ‘out of idle curiosity’.
Into a cleaned out ten gallon carboy, or globular bottle, which once contained sulphuric acid, he poured some compost then carefully lowered in a seedling using a piece of wire.
He put in about a quarter of a pint of water. It was not until 1972 that he gave it another ‘drink’.
After that, he greased the bung so it wedged in tightly... and has not watered it since.
The bottle stands on display under the stairs in the hallway of his home in Cranleigh, Surrey, the same spot it has occupied for 27 years after he and his wife Gretchen moved from Lancashire when he retired as an electrical engineer.
RO: Infloritoare din 1960, gradina mea intr-o damigeana: Rasadul sigilat si udat doar o singura data in 53 de ani, si-a creat propriul sau ecosistem
Rasadul a fost complet inchis fata de lumea exterioara in ultimii 40 de ani. Insa planta telegraf din interior (in latina Tradescantia, asa cum este cunoscuta dupa numele stiintific) a continua sa prospere, umpland casa ei din damigeana rotunda cu frunze sanatoase.
Domnul Latimer de 80 de ani, spunea: "Sunt 6 picioare(aproximativ 1.83 metri) de la fereastra prin care planta poate sa isi procure putin soare. Creste inspre lumina asa ca este intoarsa din cand in cand astfel incat sa creasca in mod egal.
In afara de asta, este definitia efortului minim cu intretinerea. N-am mai tuns planta, se pare ca a crescut doar in limitele sticlei."
