Terrarium {Beauty}

After seeing a variety of gorgeous terrariums online and in stores, I decided to take a crack at them. This was actually one of last year's projects, but I wanted to see how well they did over a long period of time before I posted anything about them.  I'm no expert and I've had several people tell me that theirs did not turn out well. 

Here's the final product: 

Materials You Will Need:

• glass container 
• rocks and stones as filler
• activated charcoal
• plants (succulents are my favorite and seem to do very well)
• potting soil
• preserved moss
• decorative rocks (optional)

And here we go....

Step One:

Making sure that your glass jar is clean and dry, begin with about a one inch deep layer of preserved moss for drainage. I used craft moss that I just happened to already have. 

Step Two:

Add a layer of activated charcoal to prevent mold and odor.  This can be found in the aquarium section of most stores that carry pet supplies.

Step Three:

This step is not necessary but adds visual interest and additional drainage. Add a layer of rock. You can be creative here.  Large or small stones; colorful or neutral.  I wanted mine to blend in so I chose black aquarium rocks. (Sorry, didn't get a picture of this step.)

Step Four:
Add a layer of potting soil. Be sure to leave room for your plants.  I made the mistake of adding too much soil and then had to remove some once the plants were already in place.

Step Five:

Now for the fun part...plants! A bit of advice. Although apothecary jars are beautiful, I would suggest NOT using any that bottleneck.  VERY difficult to insert plants.  I had to use chopsticks!!  And I did some damage to the plants in the process. So use a container with a wide opening.

Succulents add an extreme amount of visual variety. 

They are so unique.

HARD!!

Final Step:

Add decorative elements. I used rocks that my hubby picked up in Arizona. 

And there you have it! It has been about ten months since I've put these together and they are still gorgeous.  There is no need to water them unless they begin to look extremely dry.  Because of the lid they water themselves. 

Occasionally trimming may be necessary.  I haven't yet had to trim my succulents, but I have had to snip the others. Try to keep the leaves from touching the sides of the container.  This will cause them to rot. 

One of the complaints I often heard about terrariums is the smell.  I have had no problems with that yet.  I mean, they smell like dirt but other than that, nothing.  

This guy was just too tall for the jars.

He also is doing great!