Create your own Terrarium

Terrariums are very low maintenance and require very little watering - perfect for somebody like me who has NO green thumb at all (other than my husband :-) and killed every single plant in the past (due to lack of attention). This was super simple to make and it would also make a great gift!

My husband found a Terrarium Kit from Syndicate Home & Garden in the clearance area of Lee Valley's for $10.00 - some stuff was missing and it only came with a 8" glass vessel & lid, 1 little bag of soil mix and 1 bag of green moss. You can of course also find inexpensive and decorative glass containers at your local thrift store and soil mix and green moss is usually available in the same area of the garden center where they sell the plants. We also had to buy the missing pea gravel and pebbles to finish the project.

Step 1: place a layer of pea gravel (or small aquarium gravel) at the bottom of your container for drainage

Step 2: add a thin layer of green moss on top of the pea gravel. A lot of websites actually recommend that you first place a layer of activated charcoal on top of the pea gravel, followed by the green moss. The activated charcoal will filter the air and water and helps to avoid any odor.

Step 3: Place the soil mix on top of the moss

Step 4: Add plants, moss and pebbles to complete the look. Ask the experts at the Garden Center which plants do well in an enclosed terrarium (in case that you use a container with a lid) and if all plants are compatible with each other for their care requirements.

Step 5: Using a mist spray bottle, mist the plants and the soil to the point that they are damp but not soaking wet.

As mentioned before the beauty of a terrarium is that you do not have to water the plants very often, because of the enclosed environment the water will recycle throughout the terrarium. Once you do not see any condensation on the glass it's time to get your spray bottle ready. Make sure you do not place the terrarium in direct sun light. This might burn your plants.