Creating a Terrarium

I'm preparing myself for the day frost kills off my flowers and garden, which will be sooner than I think, and a sad day...So to fill the space my outdoor plants took up in my heart this year, I'm attempting to hoard a few house plants to hold me over until next Spring.

I've always wanted to start a terrarium, so gave it a shot. It was super simple and turned out so pretty. I now understand why they're such a popular way to grow and display plants.

Here's what you'll need:

• Glass Terrarium (big or small, fancy or simple)
• Small Rocks
• Activated Charcoal
• Potting Soil (or sand, depending on the plants you use)
• Plants

Start by cleaning the inside of your terrarium. 

Next you need to establish your drainage layer, filling the bottom with small rocks. I laid down a little over an inch of rock.

I then put in a thin layer of activated charcoal. This helps ensure excess water doesn't stay in the soil and cause root rot.

Once I had the drainage layer in place, I started adding potting soil. I put a think layer in, a little over 3 inches, expecting it to settle as I began to water the plants. I also wanted enough dirt to place the plants into!

The final step was adding the plants! I selected four small plants of different varieties from Treasures on Main in Westby, Wisconsin. Three will be a little taller, one is more of a ground cover. 

There are so many things you can do with terrariums. A quick search on Pinterest will reveal image after image of cool ideas! Get creative! I plan to add some colored rocks and small figurines to mine once I see how the plants grow in.