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A Dive Into Paludariums
Anshul Tewari on his love for building miniature ecosystems in the form of terrariums and paludariums
VISUALS BY
ANSHUL TEWARI
Vriksha Nursery is a 47 year old nursery in Irla and Juhu, Mumbai and Shaan Lalwani is the owner and director. He has been actively working in the field for 15 years, with an MA in landscape management and a BSc in horticulture.
WHAT’S IN
WHAT’S IN THIS NOOK?
Worlds within glass jars
Forests that breathe underwater
Building your own pocket ecosystem
THIS NOOK?
Is this a terrarium? Wait — there are fish. An aquarium then? No. It’s a Paludarium.
How it all started
“I first tried making one after seeing a terrarium in a café in Berlin back in 2017, and I took me at least a year of experiments (and failures) to get it right.” says Anshul. “Paludariums came in my life much later, when I wanted to push the boundaries a little and make something that represented a true edge of a rainforest — where the water bodies meet the forest. I got it right probably by the end of 2019, but both terrariums and paludariums are a constant work in progress, and a steep learning curve.”
Magical and complex, Paludariums are miniature rainforest or swamp like ecosystems, complete with water, plants and tiny fish.
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Make your own ecosystems
“The setup time for a small terrarium takes a meditative 20-30 mins at most. One of the larger ones I made, which was 4 ft by 5 ft, took me a month to get right. Some of the paludariums take 1 to 7 days depending on how intense I want it to be. If you make it dedicatedly — a large setup will not take more than 2-3 days.”
“A lot of good resources exist on YouTube and Instagram now. I myself try and put out relevant content from time to time but YouTube channels like Green Aqua, @AsuGreen11 were my main inspirations.”
How to care for these while travelling?
“If set up right, these ecosystems are quite self-sustaining. There are terrariums I have which have lived with me, unopened for the last 7 years. I don’t think I will ever need to touch them again.”
Slowly and steadily, turning my small apartment into a home for some of the most beautiful aquatic creatures. It’s a delight getting to see them every morning.
For more little worlds like these, wander through @thelordofgreens on Instagram.
Drawing Closer To Nature
