How To Create Your Own Terrarium

Learn How to Create Your Own Terrarium

Creating a personal terrarium for your home is not only easy, it’s also fun!  Terrariums can be as large or as little for your five-bedroom home or your teeny-tiny apartment.  These glass gardens strive in any climate and if they receive a bit of indirect sunlight and a little water they will live very comfortably for a long time.  These guys are perfect for those who don’t have enough space to garden outdoors and also don’t want a daily commitment watering.  Let’s get to it!

Green Thumb Terrarium Shopping List:

• terrarium glass container with large enough opening to place plants inside
• small pebbles, tumbled colored glass/sea glass, broken pottery etc.
• crushed charcoal
• sand
• potting soil
• several 2 – 4″ indoor plants suitable for terrariums
• moss
  • Mood Moss – thick, green and mounding.
  • Reindeer Moss – fluffy gray clumps. (comes in bright dyed colors)
  • Spanish Moss – gray with long curly strands. (comes dyed green as well)
  • Sheet moss – great green texture that lies flat.
• fairygarden accessories
• a decorative rock

Picking your supplies should be thought out so that you can plan your terrarium to fit the glass.  Creatively picture your unique space filled with each of your supplies to plan accordingly.

1.  Begin your terrarium by placing your small pebbles/colored glass, broken pottery at the bottom evenly.  This will give the glass a nice bottom feature.

2.  Sprinkle your sand and crushed charcoal across the top of the bottom layer.  Charcoal and sand will help absorb stale moisture and will avoid odors from the standing water.

3.  Add your soil on top of the second layer and be sure to place enough to create holes large enough for the roots for each of the plants.  Don’t be afraid to create an uneven surface with the soil, it looks artsy and creative!  At this point, the container should be approximately 1/3 full and the soil layer should be the thickest layer.

4.  It’s time to add your plant life!  Remove your plants from their containers and remove the soil around the roots, then add them to the terrarium but be sure to add them big to small so that you can plan the space out accordingly.

5.  With the remaining space around the plants, place moss, a short groundcover or fairy garden figurines!

6.  Your done!  Place your terrarium in a place that receives natural, indirect light.  These plants love a little misting, so if you have a chance mist away to keep them green and healthy.  Be sure to water the terrarium 1-2 times per week, be careful not to over water.  The terrarium should be barely moist at all times, if it is dry, water it a little bit, its that simple!

7.  You are going to want to prune back dead foliage and overgrown plants once in awhile to prevent rotten plant material and fungus.