DIY Terrarium

I'm definitely no green thumb. My houseplants usually have yellow leaves and brown spots because I'm forever either overwatering or underwatering them. I do try hard though because I appreciate the natural greenery and they're supposed to be good for the indoor air quality. 


Terrariums are starting to become more and more popular on Pinterest and in all the furniture catalogs lately. I thought it would be a fun way to grow a little garden in the house and they require a minimal amount of maintenance.


So to start, you need a container. There are two types of terrariums you can make - one is left open to the air and is better for arid loving plants like succulents and cacti. The other is closed under a lid and best for ferns and moisture loving plants. 

Here's my container. It's from a Hobby Lobby 50% off sale, so it ended up costing 20 bucks. I've shopped around for a while and that price is not too bad for the size (around a foot tall and maybe 8-10 inches in diameter). 


You need something in the bottom for drainage. This can be done with a number of materials, but I went the easy route and bought a small bag of rocks at Hobby Lobby for about $3.00 or so. 


The next step is potting soil. Any old kind would probably do. I bought a small bag of Miracle Grow (and a tablespoon for a shovel/scoop haha).

For plants, I hit up two of our local nurseries. We are really lucky to have two locally owned places in our area - the kind that have people who can actually answer questions if you have them (Fruitbasket Flowerland and Horrock's if you're in the Grand Rapids area). 

I ended up with a variety of stuff and they were all around $3.00 apiece. 
Here's a breakdown of the supplies and the costs:
Glass container: $20.00
Rocks: $3.00
Potting Soil: $4.00
Maidenhair Rosy Fern: $3.00
Maidenhair Mohagany Fern: $3.00
Scottish Moss: $3.00
Angel's Tears: $3.00


(I also bought a couple more plants for other extra pots I have laying around).

After planting your plants (I could fit four comfortably in my container), make sure you water well and pack down the soil a bit to compress out the extra air around the roots. I threw in a couple extra larger rocks I had leftover from our wedding for decoration. I've seen people place tiny plastic animals and stuff in theirs as well.

Here's my finished product. Right now it's living on my dining room table, but my bedroom is getting jealous. I might end up making another one with succulents that I can leave open to the air. Fun stuff!