If this stretch of hibernation-inducing weather makes you feel like spring will never arrive, Donald Levesque has one word for you: terrarium.

Using tiny tropical plants, lush mosses, carnivorous cultivars and baby cacti, Levesque creates miniature landscapes that inject a flash of green into the grayest winter day. Think bog in a bottle, verdant vista in a vase, or desert in a dish.

“They’re like little ecosystems,” Levesque, 38, said. “You can pretty much do anything with them.”

And he does. What started as a hobby has become a hot item at Greencare, the Hermon plant shop where Levesque works. But he’s not entirely happy about the popularity of his terrariums.

“I don’t want to sell any of my stuff,” Levesque said, smiling. “I hate to sell them, and when I do, I hate to see them go.”

Though terrariums were popular in the 1970s, Levesque draws his inspiration from Victorian-era garden catalogs, which featured elaborate glass and iron fern cases. They held in warmth and moisture like Lilliputian greenhouses, allowing tropical plants to thrive.

In one of his modern interpretations of the theme, layers of stone and soil are stacked in a large glass vase and topped with a bromeliad and an acoris plant. A tiny clay pot, a sprinkle of gravel and a moss-covered rock complete the illusion of a landscape. The tapering top of the vase makes it harder for the water inside to evaporate, which makes for a low-maintenance setup.

“If they’re enclosed, they put off water at night and that keeps humidity in there,” he said.

Parris Avery finds that combination of warmth, humidity and plant life therapeutic, especially during the winter months. He started making aquariums, vivariums and terrariums (the difference is the amount of water in each) to satisfy his own interest, crafting micro-environments with tropical or carnivorous plants, ponds and fish or frogs. Though he spends his day in classes at the University of Maine and working at OHI, he recently started Carnivorous Cultivations, a side business that specializes in interior and exterior landscapes.

“Seasonal disorder is a big problem in Maine,” Avery, 29, said. “That extra light, having animals around, and the cleansing aspect of plants – all of this sort of works into the therapeutic idea.”

Brooks Mathews, 31, likes the idea of combining flora and fauna. In his Bangor apartment, his desert boa has a changing array of plants in its tank. His betta fish shares a 3-foot-tall tank with bamboo stalks. And there’s more than just fish in his 35-gallon aquarium. Above the surface, air plants hang from suction cups on the glass, while bulbs, bamboo and dracanea thrive with their roots under water.

“I’ve always enjoyed houseplants, and when I started with fish I wondered what I could do to combine the two,” Mathews said.

When it comes to terrariums, anything goes. Nearly any plant will work – miniature roses, dwarf cacti, even baby vegetables. The key is to adjust the moisture level accordingly. At Greencare, Levesque has set up a display of terrarium plants, quarter-size battery-operated lights and figurines of frogs and dragonflies so customers can let their own imaginations run wild. He even has plans to incorporate small fountains into his landscapes.

“Try anything,” Levesque said. “Put anything in them. There’s ideas even I haven’t come up with, probably.”

Make your own terrarium

Donald Levesque offers the following tips for people who would like to create their own terrarium at home.

1.Start with a glass container. Anything will do – fishbowls, brandy snifters, aquariums, you name it. You can even take four pieces of glass, duct tape them together at the corners, and use a cookie sheet as a base. Narrow-necked bottles will work, but you’ll need small tools with long handles to manage them. A tall vase works well with a layered “boggy” terrarium, while a shallow, open dish lends itself to cacti and other succulents, which need an arid environment.

2.Select plants. They should be small and slow-growing. If you’re using more than one variety, be sure to select plants that have the same moisture and light requirements. The only thing you need to remember is that cacti won’t thrive in a moist environment and “bog” plants don’t do well in dry areas. Levesque has had success with: bromeliads (also sold as “air plants”), venus fly traps, pitcher plants, acoris grasses, ferns, sedums, hens and chicks, Mexican hat seedlings and bonsai trees.

3.Place a layer of crushed gravel and a layer of soilless potting mix into your container. Place the roots of your plants in soil and press firmly to keep them in place. Cover with a thin layer of crushed gravel (the kind you’d put at the bottom of an aquarium).

4.Start landscaping. You could set up a scene using dollhouse furniture, or buy miniature clay pots or creatures at a crafts store. If you’d like, design paths, add hills and valleys or a pond, or adorn your scene with moss. Free your inner designer – the only limit is your creativity.

Resources: Greencare, Route 2, Hermon, 848-5453.Carnivorous Cultivations, Parris Avery, 263-6212.The Garden Helper at www.thegardenhelper.com/terrarium.html