Try This: How to Make a Terrarium

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Green up your desktop or any bare corner with this simple terrarium. Photo By Thayer Allyson Gowdy

Easy to make and maintain, terrariums are perfect for brown thumbs, but garden enthusiasts will also enjoy creating these miniature landscape designs. Transform empty bottles into happy DIY terrarium homes (see “Bottle Remodel” further along in this article), or scour your kitchen cabinets, recycling bins and local thrift stores for clear glass containers with wide mouths. Once you’ve selected your container, fill it with small, slow-growing plants. Opt for one striking specimen, or select an odd number of plants with similar needs in a variety of shapes and colors. If you want to grow your terrarium in a lidded container, choose plants that prefer humidity.

Tools & Materials 

• Newspapers
• Cut bottle (see instructions in “Bottle Remodel”) or another glass vessel (see suggestions below)
• Pea gravel or pebbles
• Activated charcoal (available where aquariums are sold)
• Sphagnum moss or Spanish moss
• Premixed terrarium soil or high-quality potting soil mixed with builders’ sand and humus (2 parts potting soil to 1 part each sand and humus)
• Small, slow-growing plants such as air plants, miniature ferns, succulents or moss (choose plants in 2- to 4-inch pots with similar light and moisture needs; ask a local nursery for suggestions)
• Spray mister filled with water
• Tapered cork stopper if using moss or other plants that require a humid environment (multiple sizes available at brewing supply stores or at Jelinek Cork Group)

How to Make a Terrarium 

1. Cover your work surface with a layer of newspaper and set your glass container in the center. Add 1/2 inch of pea gravel or pebbles for drainage.

2. Top the gravel or pebbles with a thin layer of charcoal granules to absorb odors, followed by a thin layer of moss, which will act as a barrier and prevent soil from falling into the gravel or pebbles.

3. Top the moss with 1/2 to 1 inch of soil (or more if you’re using a tall glass container and tall plants).

Add Terrarium Plants 

1. Carefully place the plants into the soil, creating a small hole for the roots and lightly tamping the soil around each plant.

2. Spritz the inside of the glass with a mister to remove extra soil.

3. Add cork top if you’re using plants that like humidity. Take it off to let air circulate whenever you see condensation build up on the inside of the glass.