Terrariums: How to Make Your Own Adorable Miniature Garden

If you’re looking for a simple but effective decorative piece for your home, look no further than a terrarium. Essentially a miniature garden, this easy-to-make item will come to life in any room in your home. A terrarium can be made from a jar, a vase, a drinking glass, or a fish bowl — the options are endless. Then you simply create a mini garden inside. It’s a great project for the grandkids, looks pretty sitting on your desk in the study, and requires minimal maintenance.

Choosing Your Plants

Since the plants you choose will all be living in the same small space, it’s best to choose ones that have similar care requirements when it comes to things like watering and sunlight.

You want to find moisture-loving plants that will thrive in the humid conditions created by a terrarium. Low growing plants are ideal so they don’t get out of control and grow outside of your vessel.

Plants that are perfect for terrariums include easy-to-grow succulents and cacti, nerve plants, begonias, aquamarine, “baby’s tears,” or the hard-to-kill jade plant.

Supplies

• Hollow glass vessel
• Decorative pebbles
• Activated charcoal (activated charcoal has been treated to make it more porous)
• Soil
• Plants of your choice
• Water

Creative Terrarium Ideas

A terrarium offers a great opportunity to get creative. Not only can you use your imagination when it comes to designing the layout for the plants, but you can add quirky layers to your terrarium to make it unique. When it comes to styling, why not use colored pebbles, add figurines or shells, or even use a little glitter for that extra sparkle when it hits the sunlight in the morning?

Here are six simple steps to make your terrarium.

How to Make a Terrarium

1. Place pebbles in the bottom of your glass vessel. This step is purely decorative so how many pebbles you use is up to you.
2. Mix pieces of activated charcoal with soil and cover pebbles with mixture at least 2 inches deep.
3. Trim the roots of the plants so they are suitable for the depth of the soil.
4. Plant your selected plants in an arrangement that will look appealing from all sides and angles of the terrarium. Tip: Place taller plants in the center and shorter ones around the edges.
5. Using your hands, press soil firmly around the roots of plants. Tip: For more color and texture, use moss to cover gaps in soil between plants.
6. Water the plants so the roots settle into the soil.

Maintenance

You should keep your terrarium in the shade for approximately a week after planting. After this stage, your terrarium should be kept in indirect sunlight, depending on the requirements of the plants. Too much sun can lead to wilting and burnt spots and too little natural light can lead to fragile plants.

Find a spot in your house where you can display your terrarium proudly, while still exposing it to a good amount of indirect sunlight.

Due to the humidity created inside a terrarium your plants won’t need to be watered consistently. Simply keep an eye on your plants and if they start to look like they are wilting or the soil looks particularly dry then spray them with a small amount of water.

You may need to prune your plants when they start to outgrow the container. Keep them trimmed to the size of the container, so they look neat and well-maintained.

This article originally appeared on our sister site, Homes to Love.

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