For sure many of you might think that terrariums are a fuss to do. Some of you might even have thought that “they take too much time”, “making them is a mess” or even that “they are too expensive to do”. Well, the good news is that 1. I’ve done mine in less than 10 minutes, 2. they are not a mess to do and 3. they are very inexpensive. Taking all of this into consideration, and after reading this tutorial, you’ll see that these “little green worlds” (as I fondly call them) will even be a great alternative for gift giving or for the “brown thumb” ones (like me).
Now that I have almost convinced you, take a peek at the list of materials you’ll need for this adventurous journey.
The succulents you see here are all from the Home Depot. They came in a box of 16 different types and all so green and beautiful. You can also find at the Depot the soil (I used an organic mix) and the charcoal. As for the vase and stones, I found them at HomeGoods. For this project I chose an apothecary vase which will give a vintage look to it.
Now, for a quick review on why we used these materials (listed in the exact order they should be place on the vase), the stones will function as drainage for the plants because if not, the roots will start to decompose. As for the charcoal, it helps in absorbing the extra humidity creating a fresh environment inside the terrarium. The potting soil I used was an organic type and it was filled with happy nutrients for my succulents.
Below you’ll find a drawing on how to place your materials and how much to put. I made this graphic using an iPad app called Paper53. Got to love it!
After you finish placing all the materials, you can add an item to decorate your “little green world”. For one my terrariums I use a plastic elephant from Michaels and painted it with white spray paint. For the other, I use an owl from the garden section at Target. For a quick (very quick) video on this tutorial, you can watch it here.
![]() |
Another option for a terrarium. This one was created inside a wooden dish. |
5 Comments
LaToya
June 1, 2013 at 4:30 pmi love the idea of adding a little accent piece! the owl is my favorite 馃檪 I shared the image on my tumblr with a link back to your page.
Gloribell Lebr贸n
June 21, 2013 at 5:33 pmThanks for sharing this image LaToya. Hope this motivates some to do Terrariums. It is really a fun way to capture nature in a little space.
Dariela
July 6, 2013 at 5:07 amOh how beautiful! I just did a terrarium round-up at Spoonful and I'm mad that I didn't find it before!!!! Maybe I'll do one later on my blog, it's pinned for sure!
Gloribell Lebr贸n
July 31, 2013 at 1:14 amThank you Dariela. Sorry for the lateness of my answer. I'm so glad you liked this. Count me in if you do anything terrarium in the future!
Rocio
June 16, 2014 at 6:26 amAbout how much was the package of 16 succulents at Home Depot do you remember? I also have the chance to propagate some succulents from a friend. I'm trying to find the best but cheapest option because this is only my 2nd plant/gardening project.