I’ve always coveted my friend Melissa’s fabulous terrarium, which is the centerpiece of her stylish, cozy Brooklyn apartment. I’ve secretly wanted one of my own for ages, and recently realizing that some artsy terrariums can sell for thousands of dollars, I decided it was high time to learn how to make my own on the cheap. After much pleading, I’ve finally managed to convince Melissa to spill her terrarium secrets…
How to make a container garden ‘terrarium’ – by Melissa Cotton
I found a large, clear, sphere-shaped glass bowl at a floral supply shop. A glass vessel of this shape is called a “rose bowl” and they come in many different sizes. Mine happens to have a 15″ diameter at the widest point. Part of the success of these types of container gardens is providing for good drainage. This is because the glass container does not have a bottom drainage hole like a regular flower pot.
1. Start with a 1 1/2″ layer of small pebbles on the floor of the container.
2. Cover the pebbles with a thin layer of loose charcoal, which will help keep the water in your garden from stagnating.
3. Cover the charcoal with an inch layer of sphagnum moss
. Look in the aquarium/terrarium section of a pet store for the pebbles, charcoal, and moss.
4. Now add enough potting soil so that the total contents occupy about 1/4 of the container. There will be some settling of the layers. Mine settled about 3/4″ over about 6 months, so add extra soil to account for this.
5. Choose small or miniature plant varieties so they do not overtake the container. I have tried lots of different types of plants over the two years my garden has existed. Some have done well and some have died. You will have to experiment to see what type of plants do well for you. The plants that have found to be the best suited are asparagus fern, mistletoe fig, and succulent aloe varieties. Add rocks, driftwood, etc to create the atmosphere of your choice. I could not resist adding some “fauna” to my garden, which include a very cute, tiny ceramic turtle and a plastic 8-point buck. These happen to be the favorite additions for most guests. (Jill adds – “The miniature animals are crucial! Otherwise its just a garden in a glass bowl…”)
You can find miniature plastic animals at OurayToys.com and ceramic animals at GreatThailand.com
The most important thing about the care of this type of garden is to avoid over-watering. Like I mentioned before, there is no drainage hole, so add enough water so that the soil is just moist. Error on the dry side because too much water will cause your plants to rot. There should not be a pool of standing water in the bottom pebble layer. I also recommend not fertilizing the plants to ensure that they remain small. My garden is placed on a coffee table in the center of a medium sized room with two windows. This seems to be enough light to keep it alive and well.
Happy terrariuming!
Fabulous. Now can we convince Melissa “earth-mama” Cotton to tell us how to make air-plant art?
I love Melissa’s terrarium! I think the personal and particularly creative details (like the deer) are part of what makes it so supercool.
For those who would not be satisfied with ordinary plants, you can order carnivorous ones online. I’m planning to make one of these with pitcher plants.
Normally, I don’t really get into sites because I am a lone wolf that pretty much goes my own way, but I am very creative and love aquariums and terrariums as well as painting, scetching, paper macheing, latchhooking, looming, interior designing and various other mediums of my own choosing.
This is a very nice way of expressing one’s own creativity. Thank you for the tour!
Awesome… I’m going to put dinosaurs in mine!
Do you water by pouring from a can/cup or with a spray bottle? I’d think a bottle would work pretty well for making sure you only get as much moisture as you need in the tank.
I thought terrariums were supposed to be sealed – so that the water would evaporate and condense over and over?
Terrarium:
: a usually transparent enclosure for keeping or raising plants or usually small animals (as turtles) indoors.
Seeing as an enclosure doesn’t have to be airtight (a fence can be an enclosure), it doesn’t appear that being sealed is a necessity.
It’s all about creating your own Forest of Endor…complete with AT-AT?
Ah, finally I have the secrets. I asked Melissa once, after I had admired her terrarium, to tell me how to make one. All I could remember was: get a bowl somewhere in Chinatown, add dirt and some small plants, then ta da! But oh no… it’s not that simple. Now I have it all in point form! Thanks Melissa, there is nothing better than making beautiful things on your own. PS. What was that you said about turning fabric into art?
Awesome! I got the link to this page from the MAKE blog. Would it be possible to use live animals (turtles, worms for the dirt, etc.)?
Your terrarium is so cool! Thanks for the inspiation!
Super cool! Thanks for the inspiration!
This is a great site, thanks for all the help!!!
I’m going to try this with a group of elementary students. Thanks for the details!
Nice Job! I been wanting to set up a terarium and a small microcontroller to log the air and water temp.,& CO2 levels. Can anyone suggest any hardware?
hello i love your art
thanks for the help! i hope it helps my grade out in botany!
Thank you for the great idea! I am going to use my old 3/4 gallon fish bowl and cute miniture hippo handmade in Kenya. If I’m successful I can show it to my biology majors class and hope for more points as someone else suggested!
wonderful information! I can’t wait to get started. I am going to make one for a very special friend and one for myself. Thank you for making it sound so easy and I am sure I will have fun doing it and giving one away. Best to YOU!
Thanks – yours looks great. I did this a while back and have wanted to make another with my kids. The info was really helpful.
Danna
[...] We just can’t get enough of our friend Melissa Cotton’s designs. Melissa has been featured several times on Inhabitat now – most famously as the author of the ever popular How-To-Make-a-Terrarium article that we ran last year, but the girl is more than just a creative green-thumb. [...]
Can some potential containers be considered too large for this type of project? I have two 25 gallon glass jugs that I want to use for this purpose. Any advice or information would be genuinely appreciated.
[...] I wanna terrarium. I once killed a cactus, but these seem easier. InHabitat and HGTV have directions. Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
Looked up how to make a terrarium and I love what you have done with yours. I have some little frogs and Salamanders I collected from my woods and for the Grandkids decided to make something low maintance. I place at the bottom of mine, Charcoal as you had suggested and then some wood chips, moss, and baby ferns, all from my woods. I love looking at all the life inside my little zoo. I will be feeding them some baby crickets this winter and I know my grandchildrens will enjoy watching the little guys grow and move around and eat. Thanks for the tips.
I love this idea. I tried to make one myself but the plants kept dying, so I researched and found a website that shows step-by-step instructions on proper soil, plants, animals, and how to maintain and clean it. Check out this cool site…
http://homegarden.expertvillage.com/videos/terrariums-planting.htm
HOW TO MAKEDIFFERENT TYPES OF TERRARIUMS IN NARROW BOTTLE?
[...] any room will give it a fresher, lighter feel, as well as add a point of interest. All you need is Inhabitat’s fantastic how to guide, and a trip to your local garden centre. For some of the coolest and most interesting terrariums [...]
can i grow rose in terrarium?
What type of Charcoal?Do you mean the ones you use to grill food?
[...] turn plants into air filtration machines – miniature ecosystems put to work. Somewhere between a terrarium and biotechnology. The designer himself describes the filter as “a vegetal brain enclosed in [...]
Where can I get a supply of charcoal for a reasonable price?
Thanks!
Hello,
Great information for a terrarium. After much web searching, I found a great on-line source for a large 16″ Bubble Bowl. Try http://www.libbey.com/store. The cost for the clear 16″ Bubble Bowl is $19.99. Shipping was $9. It weighs 8 lbs. I am putting a plastic baby sea turtle in my terrarium! http://store.jalts.com/seaturtlebaby.html.
Mary Lynn
Use activated charcoal, like you would for a fish filter. Most mega-markets have them in milk-llike cartons in the pet section. If you can\’t find any; try a pet store. It is about $3 for a pints worth. You will get hooked on trerrariums.
This is not a true terrarium since it is not sealed. It is simply a container garden. A true terrarium is self sufficient in all it’s needs except for light. That is why it is sealed so the humidity will condense and water the plants. I am surprised this web site would print this article as an information source for making a terrarium since it is obviously NOT a terrarium.
This needed a more positive ending response. The definition of terrarium is “a …container, partially or wholly enclosed, to grow plants in. What a beautiful centerpiece!
I cannot get any sphangum moss in my country, for some reason, can I use another type of moss?
Thankyou, I will begin mine in a few day! (-:
thank u………..i will start to make a terrarium…………….
your terrarium was so great.i really like it. i hope and i think that your terrarium will inspire me a lot……
Very nice. beautiful. thanks
can you make one of these with water in it? and plants and stuff of course.
This is a very cute idea, and I love the pictures. I recently made a cute terrarium with shark teeth instead of pebbles, and did it all for under 5 bucks that you can check out here!
Very informative, good read, thank you!