Terrariums: The "New" Houseplant

Lately, I am seeing terrariums EVERYWHERE!  They’re all over Pinterest, and a lot of popular stores are selling them now too (for WAY more than it costs to make them yourself.)  A few days ago I decided I wanted to make one.  Despite the fact that I am literally incapable of keeping any kind of plant alive, I thought this would be a fun project and something my kids would be able to help me with. I love that it is a creative alternative to a basic house plant, and it’s something you can put together yourself.  There are so many possibilities for what this can look like, depending on what type of container you use, the combination of plants, etc. There are 2 types of terrariums, open and closed.  We opted to make an open terrarium.  Here are some great links if you are interested in learning more about each type or how to make your own:  Storm the Castle, Container Gardening, and The Fern and Mossery.

Here is our final product:

The first step is to choose a creative glass container.  I decided to “shop” my house first to see what I could come up with, because I wanted to spend as little as possible on this project.  Here are the options I found after rummaging through my cabinets:

I opted for the trifle bowl (luckily I have two of them) for our main terrarium because I thought it would be the easiest to work with.  We also used the large Ball jar to make a smaller terrarium.

After selecting our containers, I took my boys shopping at Pike Nursery to pick out our terrarium plants.  We chose some Ivy, a Lemon Button Fern, and 5 of the cutest little tiny plants I’ve ever seen.  I’m sure they have names, but they were all labeled “Ittie Bitties” and located in a section referring to them specifically as terrarium plants.  Being clueless about all things plant-like, I don’t know what they are officially called, but I like the name “Ittie Bitties” so that is what I shall call them.

The first step is to add a layer of stones to the bottom of your container.  Any kind of small stones will work, even if you collect them from your back yard.  I opted to use some vase filler that I had purchased a while back and didn’t end up using.

This project took maybe 15 minutes and cost me under $20. I got a catalog in the mail the other day from West Elm and noticed that they are selling them now.  Their prices go up to $129 for the largest size, and that’s just for the container!  I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy theirs, because I love West Elm.  I’m just saying you don’t have to spend that kind of money to have a nice terrarium.

Here are some other unique ideas:

I’m thinking I will make a closed Terrarium soon too.  I don’t know how long ours will last given my track record with keeping plants alive, but it was a fun project anyway!