DIY Terrarium
by
Zest it Up
6 Materials
$10
1 Hour
Easy
Lately I have not been killing my succulents! Hallelujah! In fact they seem to be taking off quite well- so as they grow and flourish and then as I clean the garage and see a big ol’ jar in my garage it was just pure love at first sight- terrarium time! By the way, I found this jar in front of an old house that was posted as “free junk pile” on craigslist, gotta love those unexpected treasures. But now that it has sat at my house for almost a year, it was time to give it some love….
I wasn’t a fan of the rusty lid that would probably give me splinters- so sanding away I went….
Next a quick coat of spar varnish to add some shine and class it up.
And Lastly I wanted to add a much cuter knob, so I went to Restore (local habitat for humanity store) and was able to get a knob for 50 cents-wahooo!
Now for the plants, after all that’s what the terrarium is REALLY about! OK lets start with some terrarium 101- here is the order you want to place your elements in…. 1. Layer of rock (to help with filtration) 2. Layer of activated charcoal (this will prevent mold, you can buy this at Ace or even a local pet or aquarium store since this is what keeps aquariums clean too) 3. Sphagnum Moss (not spanish moss!) 4. Soil 5. Plants (succulents, ferns, check out indoor section of plants in nursery)
Layer of rock- check!
Layer of charcoal-check!
Sphagnum moss (moisten it a little)
I used succulents, billy balls, crushed seashells, a bird nest, and river rocks to zest it up!
Thanks for Zestin’ with me! xo Sam
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Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
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2 of 30 comments
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Love the addition of the bird's nest to your lovely terrarium
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Thanks for the ideas. I used to make terrariums when I first got married in 1975. My hubby and I would walk thru the woods and pick up interesting little finds to create them. I had forgotten about it all these years and 2 divorces later. Gives me great ideas for my succulents on my patio that are needing trimming. Now to watch for some perfect glass containers.😁
Frequently asked questions
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Hi love this have made one myself , however can you tell me what billy balls are ? I’m in the uk never heard of these xx
This is one I made the glass was a charity shop find £1.50 plus a plant £1 the other plant kind of fell off a plant when we were visiting a garden centre a while ago and it happened to fall into my pocket and into a small plastic bag ! The black gravel from a charity shop a big container £1 , coral from holidays and a piece of fools gold I’ve had many years just to add a piece of bling 💫✨ quite pleased with the results, but just need to know what billy balls are please ? X many thanks 😊
Do I use the same 4 steps to plant succulents if not in a terrarium? Love your terrarium but have already invested in cute succulent pots.