To see this mass flowering of plant life you might think David Latimer was a green-fingered genius.
Truth be told, however, your garden bottle - now almost in its 53rd year - has not taken much of your time.
In fact, the last time I watered was Prime Minister Ted Heath and Richard Nixon was in the White House.
Truth be told, however, your garden bottle - now almost in its 53rd year - has not taken much of your time.
In fact, the last time I watered was Prime Minister Ted Heath and Richard Nixon was in the White House.
Over the past 40 years has been completely sealed from the outside world. But inside the variety of spiderworts (or Tradescantia, to give the plant species its scientific name in Latin) has prospered within, filling your home with healthy foliage globular bottle.
Yesterday Mr. Latimer, 80, said: "It's 6 feet from a window so it gets a little sunlight. Grows toward the light, so he turned occasionally so it grows evenly.
"Otherwise, it is the definition of low maintenance. Never pruned it, just seems to have reached the limits of the bottle."
The garden of the bottle has created its own miniature ecosystem. Despite being isolated from the outside world, as it still is absorbing the light that can photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight into energy they need to grow.
Photosynthesis creates oxygen and also puts more moisture in the air. Moisture collects inside the bottle and the 'rain' again on the ground.
Falling Leaves rot at the bottom of the bottle, creating the carbon dioxide is also necessary for photosynthesis and nutrients absorbed from their roots.
It was Easter Sunday, 1960, when Mr. Latimer thought it would be fun to start a garden bottle "out of curiosity".
He said: "At the time the chemical industry had become the transportation of plastic bottles things, so there was a lot of glass on the market.
"Bottle Gardens were a bit of a fad and I wanted to see what would happen if bunged the thing."
In a ten gallon carboy cleaned or globular bottle once containing sulfuric acid, poured some compost then carefully lowered into a seedling using a piece of wire.
He put in about a quart of water. It was not until 1972 that there was another 'drink'.
After that, oil cap so embedded in the force ... and has not been watered since.
The bottle is on display under the stairs in the hallway of his home in Cranleigh, Surrey, the same place he has held for 27 years after he and his wife Gretchen moved from Lancashire, when he retired as an electrical engineer.
It was revealed to the world when she was photographed for the BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time and asked the panel if it is "of scientific or horticulture.
Garden designer and TV presenter Chris Beardshaw said: "It's a great example of the way in which a plant is able to recycle ... is the perfect cycle of life."
He added that this process is one reason why NASA was interested in taking the plants in space.
'The plants serve as good cleaners, eliminating contaminants in the air, so that a space station can be effectively self-sufficient, "he said." This is a great example of pioneer plants are and how they will persist due to the opportunity.
'The only entrance to this entire process has been the solar energy, which is what is needed to keep it going. Everything else, everything else that has been recycled. That is fantastic. "
Organic gardener Bob Flowerdew was less enthusiastic.
"It's wonderful, but not for me, thanks. Not see the point. I can not smell it, I can not eat," he said. Mr. Latimer agrees bottle garden "incredibly dull, and that does nothing ', but remains fascinated to see how long it will last.
He hopes to convey the "experiment" with their adult children after he is gone.
If they do not want, that will leave the Royal Horticultural Society.
HOW TO GROW GARDEN BOTTLE
Bottle Gardens work because its sealed space creates a completely self-sufficient ecosystem in which plants can survive through photosynthesis to recycle nutrients.
The only external input needed to keep the plant running is light, as this gives you the energy you need to create your own food and grow.
Light shining on the leaves of the plant is absorbed by proteins containing chlorophyll (a green pigment).
Part of that light energy is stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that stores energy. The rest is used to remove electrons from water being absorbed from the soil by the plant roots.
These electrons are then converted to "free" - and used in the chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide to carbohydrates, releasing oxygen.
This process of photosynthesis is the opposite of cellular respiration which occurs in other organisms, including humans, in which the carbohydrate energy containing react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water and chemical energy release.
But the eco-system also uses cellular respiration to decompose the decaying material shed by the plant. In this part of the process, the bacteria inside the bottle garden soil absorbs oxygen plant waste and release carbon dioxide in the plant growth can be reused.
And of course, at night, when there is no sunlight for photosynthesis, the plant is also used cellular respiration to stay alive, breaking stored nutrients.
Because the garden is a closed bottle, which means your water cycle is also a self-contained process.
Bottled water is taken up by plant roots, is released into the air during transpiration condenses down potting mix, where the cycle begins again.
A WORLD SELF: HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BOTTLE GARDEN
The idea of a bottle garden is creating a world in microcosm. It will have its own special habitat and should require little maintenance, writes Nigel Colborn.
First choose a glass container. They need a wide neck for easy access and attractive appearance. A fish tank is ideal for children or a large jam jar could do.
You also need some good quality compost for pots, pebbles or coarse sand and, of course, plants.
Use a large spoon to insert a layer of sand in the jar and cover with compost deep enough to accommodate the roots of plants.
Finally, the introduction of plants. You need very few and they must be small fish - unless a huge receptacle. Small maidenhair ferns as the indoor or Adiantum, small varieties of Tradescantia and small plants of Chlorophytum be established very easily. Trailers miniature as "Mind-your-own-business' (Soleirolia) also thrive.
Move each plant gently into position, adjusting them with a stick or kitchen tongs until you anywhere. Add a final layer of grain after sowing compost held down and make your micro-garden look prettier.
Water very carefully (the bottle does not take much) and place the mini garden ended in a well-lit, but not in a warm south facing window.