Step right in... duck your head there's a low doorway... and enter the tropics. Chirping bird sounds and trickling waterfalls fill the air with the sense of nature. Dimmed lights draw your eye instantly to the central focus of My Grandmother's Bloomers:  the custom built 6 x 3 x 3 Wardian Case. (Actually it is not a Wardian case by strict definition, and since I designed and built it, and my name is Edward, I call it my Ed-Wardian Case!) 

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The case is just over 6 feet wide, 39 inches top to bottom and 36 inches front to back... give or take. It is wrapped in 4mil painter's plastic drop cloth on all sides except the front. The front consists of 2 panes of plexiglass in a sliding track The panes meet in the middle. 

Four shop lights rest across the top outside of the plastic to prevent heat build-up. They sit interlaced as your fingers would be if you folded your hands. These are on a timer set to come on at 6:45AM and go off at 11:30PM. Additional light is provided by track mounted mini-flood lights also outside of the case. These are focused to fill in shadows and to provide a little extra light to those plants that need it. They also provide wavelengths the fluorescent tubes don't. 

During the cold winter months here in Southeastern Pennsylvania my basement can get down to about 55 at night... sometimes colder if it snows so I provide additional heat by placing a portable halogen flood light inside the case. This light is approved for use in wet locations and gives off enough heat to raise the temperature to about 68 F during the day. Ventilation fans keep it from getting too hot in there. 

A small fan is situated inside the case suspended from the central support and aimed at the light. This serves two purposes: it cools the light and distributes the heat evenly throughout the case. 

At the far right is a window box that I have adapted as a water trough. In this trough I have placed two ultrasonic foggers that I got from Kelley's Korner Orchid Supplies. A floatation switch of my own design ensures that the water level in the trough remains at about 2 1/2 inches, just right for the foggers to produce clouds of cool, humid fog. To disperse the fog a fan mounted outside the case blows air in through an aluminum dryer vent and across the surface of the water in the trough. The trough is covered with Plexiglas except for an opening at one end to allow air in and one at the far end to vent the foggy air. The result is a wind tunnel effect that produces a very thick fog. These are regulated by timers so that every hour goes something like this:

• First 15 minutes:    No fog. Cool air is blown in from the outside, across the surface of the water and out the back. Due to the position of the internal circulating fan the result is figure-eight pattern of swirling air. Plant leaves wet by previous fog cycles will dry off within 10 minutes from the continuously moving air. Depending on how dry the surrounding air is humidity can drop to below 75% during this phase.
• Second 15 minutes:    Fogger 1 comes on and runs alone for 30 minutes. The first 15 minutes it is the only fogger on. Humidity is generally around 75 to 80%.
• Third 15 minutes:    Fogger 2 comes on. It too runs for 30 minutes. The first 15 it overlaps fogger 1 and both are on. This is the heaviest fog time. The fog produced can be so thick that the back of the case can't be seen, and it's only 3 feet deep! Humidity often exceeds 90%. Plant leaves are covered with an ultra fine layer of water.
• Last 15 minutes: Fogger 1 goes off but fogger 2 remains on for another 15 minutes. Fog becomes less dense and begins to settle on the plants. Humidity decreases again as the fog settles out on the plants.

I have my most humidity-loving plants situated closest to the fog becoming gradually less so the farther from the trough you move.

The inside is also covered on all sides with 1/4" square chicken wire. Mounted plants are supported in this way. Across the top Spanish Moss hangs from dead branches I brought in from the woods. The moss grows at an alarming rate. It provides shadows to certain plants and adds to the natural effect of the case.

I have had problems with insects in the past so this summer I caught 3 praying mantises in my garden and placed them in the case. The insect problem disappeared at once! Apparently at least 2 of them were female as I now have 2 egg cases which I am watching with anticipation. Mantises die after laying their eggs so I was not surprised to find two of them dead but the third is still alive and by itself maintains the fungus gnat and slug population that has developed, despite my best efforts. The mantis is happy, I am happy, the plants are happy... and the babies will have a guardian when they hatch!

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