How to create a Terrarium at home

I know you all have thought of creating an urban jungalow at home, and it is an excellent thought. It is. No one believes in it more than I do, but if you are starting and are not sure if you have a green or a black thumb, I suggest starting small.

Terrariums are your tabletop green haven that is easy to care for and is easy to maintain. They act as great decor and bring in the outdoors in for you. In the past, I have housed many of them at home, and I have only grown to love them.

Whats a Terrarium, you say?

A terrarium as per oxford dictionary is a glass container for growing plants in or for keeping small animals such as turtles or snakes. Let me elaborate on this since most of us don’t plan on keeping snakes in it ; a terrarium is a small collection of miniature plants or succulents that grow in an enclosed container mostly made of glass. Terrariums can have openings too to allow you to access the plants inside. The best part about a DIY terrarium is that you can create it, giving it your personality.

I am sure once you know all the steps and have DIYed it, you will love your indoor mini- garden. To get started you will need the following things. To make this task easy, I have made a list and added things you may need online here

Glass vessel or a Glass Terrarium: You do not need to buy everything for this DIY, you can even start with a full mouth glass bottle or a single wine glass. Choose something that you like the shape of and has an opening that makes it easy to work with.

Pebbles or small stones: The stones help in creating a pro-drainage base for your Terrarium. Since succulents don’t like a lot of water, this helps in draining the excess water. Also, the moisture levels in a Terrarium are pretty high generally and evaporation is not as fast as it is in a pot on your balcony.

Activated Charcoal: A layer of activated charcoal helps in keeping the bacteria and foul smell away. Keeps the Terrarium fresh.

Soil or Potting mix: Soil is of course for the nourishment of the plants and is an important layer. Please use particular soil like the succulent soil mix if you are using succulents or cacti.

Small plants or Succulents: This is an essential component to create your indoor garden, you can use miniature plants and ferns or go for comfortable to maintain options like air plants, succulents, and cacti.

Sand: I mostly use colored sand as it acts as a great way to give a clean and exciting look to your Terrarium and adds loads of interest

Gravel or colored stones: Adding stones can add more attention to the Terrarium and is also an excellent base to place moss and other structures.

Miniature animals and toys: These are great to show personality in your Terrarium and add pops of color. You can find them online or at a aquarium and garden shop.

Moss: Moss helps retain moisture and is an additional source of greenery inside your Terrarium. For more color, you can add colored moss as well.

I have used my hands to make this Terrarium, but for smaller vessels, you might want to use tweezers or other special tools available in the market. So let us get started with the tutorial :

1. We always start with the pebbles, add a layer of small stones that make a bed that is great for drainage of excess water. It is typically between 1/2-inch to 1 1/2-inch depending on the size of the Terrarium
2. Top the layer of the pebbles with a thin layer of activated charcoal, and this helps keep the plants feeling fresh and the Terrarium smelling good
3. Now add a 1-inch layer of soil to the Terrarium, this is an important layer and needs to be chosen wisely per the plants selected by you for the DIY Terrarium
4. Gently add your plants or succulents to this layer of soil, lightly adding the soil to cover the roots with your hands or fingers
5. Cover the soil around the plants with sand completely and then further add colored gravel to cover the sand
6. Once the topmost layer is ready, we can now decorate it with miniature animals or figurines
7. For the final touch, add some live moss for moisture retention and more greenery and color
8. Voila! Your homemade Terrarium is ready to go and be flaunted when your friends visit you at home 🙂