Ok, so waaaaay back last year terrariums were not nearly as hot as now. But I knew I wanted terrariums because I wanted to make a mini woodland- with ‘trees’ and deer and mushrooms. But at the time, there was hardly any information out there on how to make a terrarium. So I went to a dozen or so used books stores and scoured the 70′s DIY books. Bingo! I actually now have a collection of 70′s era terrarium books. So I went about figuring out how to make my terrariums:
(photo courtesy of Michael Bonfigli)
Step One: You need a container. And most of them cost a lot if you want it to resemble a classic terrarium warden case. I was obsessed with finding a low cost one. I finally scored one from Illuminations(which no longer exists) on a super sale. I got my little gold containers for $7 each. I can’t tell you what a high it was to get them in the mail and hold them in my hands. Did I mention obsessed?
Step Two: You need supplies to make a real terrarium. Based on which plants you want to put in your little terrarium, you need different supplies. I wanted to put moss and ferns so I went out and got the following:
- Sand from Ikea (they had little packets)
- Pebbles from Ikea
- Activated Charcoal from the pet store
- Spaghnum Moss from the craft store
- Soil
- Moss
- Plants
Step Three: Assemble. First put your sand in, a good layer for drainage. Next put a layer of pebbles. Then layer some spaghnum moss to prevent the next layer of charcoal from sinking down. Put enough to cover the pebbles and sand. Now layer a good 1/2 inch of charcoal. This is going to help prevent mold(eww!) so be liberal with it even though it’s kinda expensive.
Next put in another layer of spaghnum moss and now add your soil. Based on what plants you have and the depth of your container, put in the appropriate amount of soil. Now it’s plant time! I went nutso over what plants to put in my terrarium but eventually settled on ferns. I got 8 different types of ferns for my 10 terrariums and found out my favorite was rabbit’s foot ferns(so appropriate given I’m a mom to 4 house rabbits). Place the ferns in the soil and cover them up.
I then added moss from my local craft store(yes, it was fake, I didn’t have time to grow real moss). Be careful to place the moss in every crevice so it looks like it actually had grown there.
Now for the accessories!
I decided early on to have vintage porcelain figurines in my terrariums and went onto ebay. I finally won a lot of 15 deer and also bought a few bunnies too :) I then bought red vintage cotton spun mushrooms and placed 3-5 in a terrarium. I then bought mini birds from my craft store and hid them in the ferns for a surprise for guests(I heard so many comments about the mini surprises and how it felt like a mini world from guests)As a special ‘treat’ for our sweetheart table, I bought a dollhouse chandelier to hang from the top of the terrarium. It was not woodlandy but I loved it.
(photo courtesy of Michael Bonfigli)
The final touch? I placed our table cards on the terrariums, drawing further attention to my little creations.
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