Simple DIY Terrarium Tutorial

There’s nothing in this world that can make a home seem more comfortable to me than real plants. When I first bought my home I was eager to start bringing plants in, having heard that they freshen the air, perk up the spirits, and are just plain pretty.

At first things went well. Until I got a little female cat named Marla. She was a tough but tiny little thing with soot in her ears and a suckling problem as she’d been weaned way, way too early. My sister found her on the side of a highway eating French fries and convinced me that I needed to take this little gal home. I still had a 9-5 at this point and I’d come home totally beside myself. My plants would be strewn everywhere. And sometimes they’d be completely shredded into nothing but green bits laying around.

And my house smelled funny and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was. But geez Louise was it awful! Turns out my little girl was a little too wild for indoor plants and not only was she destroying them, but also watering them herself, hence the smell. Every plant went out of the house where they kept stinking because every feral and stray started to water them, too. They had to be trashed.

But now that Mar is older I’m bringing plants back into the home. Starting out small, a few little vases turned into terrariums seems like the perfect way to get started.

For this project you will need:

• Glass vases
• Stones or pebbles
• Potting soil
• Moss
• Plants

I decided that I wanted to start with two containers that were very different shapes but the same height. They go well together though they don’t perfectly match. The globe-shaped one was purchased at the craft store and the tall one was purchased at Walmart.

To begin, layer the bottom of your containers with moss.

Layer the moss with your stones or pebbles. Now, pebbles is preferred but for some reason, I spazzed out and bought these big old rocks. They’ll work okay, though.

Continue layering how you please with potting soil, rocks and moss. Now, the pebbles will be more apparent in the layering than my rocks were, FYI.

When purchasing plants, be sure that you pay attention to the water and light conditions they will need. Don’t place a plant that needs a lot of water with a cactus in the same container. It just isn’t going to work. All of my plants require low moisture and indirect sunlight.

Remove the plant from the pot and loosen up the roots a bit. Carefully plant in your container, being sure to cover the roots up completely. You may need to add a bit more potting soil to the top to get good coverage.

When working with bigger containers, pair a shorter with a taller plant for nice visual appeal.

And go around each of your containers place a bit of moss and a couple of stones to finish out the look.

Several paired together makes a great visual impact and if all of the plants are the same type, you can have them all on a schedule where you water them together. Since I’m forgetful, ALL of my plants I add over here will be in direct sunlight and low moisture requirements so I don’t accidentally overwater and kill anything.

This is a way to bring nature indoors and a perfect way to celebrate Earth Day, I think!

Allison

A crafter since her earliest years, Allison spends a little time every day making something. She crafts, sews, paints, glues things onto other things, and is a firm believer that a life spent creating is a life worth living. Visit Allison’s blog, Dream {a Little} BIGGER.