World In A Bottle: Creative British Man Makes Beautiful Self Contained Sealed Glass Ecosystems

A creative British man is wowing fans with these sealed worlds where plants and animals live in harmony in a closed glass container.

They are the work of 26-year-old Bristolian Joe Rees, who runs the website Ome (ome.design), where he sells his beautiful glass terrariums and teaches people how they can create their own self-sustaining ecosystems.

In this video posted on TikTok, where it has 12 million views so far, Joe can be seen showing the process of planting the plants and adding animal life to create a terrarium in a glass container.

Joe told Zenger News he was unhappy with his last job, so he started expressing his creativity by making terrariums, which later resulted in a successful business, as people enjoyed his work.

About the popularity of his business, he said: “I think people like the idea that they can create a piece of nature in their own home. The video is a succinct way of describing something quite amazing.

“A lot of people (as you can see in the comments) don’t believe it’s possible. But, it’s a really fun way to meld science, art, and nature into one creative hobby.”

Joe added that he is neither a botanist nor a horticulturist by training, but learned everything on his own.

He encourages people to start doing what they love, reassuring anyone who thinks they need some sort of qualification by saying: “Unless what you love is surgery, then you do definitely need a qualification.”

Joe advised those who want to add more creatures to their terrariums: “The most popular creatures to add in these sort of terrariums are springtails, isopods, millipedes, worms, and snails.

“These are creatures that can help improve the quality of the soil and feed your plants by breaking down decaying organic matter. If you want to get really clever, you can even add in a predator like a centipede – they will keep the population in check.”

He said the plants are watered with distilled water via a mister, adding: “The terrariums I make can live indefinitely. They require a series of layers, the right sort of substrate, and water, and then they are off!

“Once the equilibrium is established, they need almost no care. You might want to prune your plants when they are really grown, but I like to just let the plants do their thing.”

Joe advised: “To keep your terrarium happy, you want to place it somewhere where it can receive bright, indirect sunlight. If the soil or moss looks like it’s drying, you can give it a gentle spray with distilled water. The biggest mistake people make is that they overwater their ecosystem.”