Back when I was in high school, 5 years ago give or take a century, terrariums were all the rage.
And they are all the rage again.
Cool. Groovy. The bee's knees, I tell you!
All you need to make your own DIY terrarium is:
- a container
- gravel or small stones
- charcoal
- potting soil
- some small plants
- fun doodads to liven up the place
I bought my Anchor Hocking cracker jar at Walmart for $5 and change. It comes in different sizes and this one is the large 1 gallon size (for those huge saltines, I suppose).
I scuffed up the metal lid with sand paper and spray painted it to give it a more vintage look (I used Rustoleum's Lagoon color).
I have bought these jars numerous times over the years and always paint the lids and then all of a sudden they look like they came straight out of the 50's.
I added roughly ½ inch of stones on the bottom, followed by 1 inch of charcoal and topped by 2 ½ inches of potting soil.
Then I gingerly planted the plants, set my Adirondack chair and purple martin birdhouse up, misted the foliage with a little water and screwed on the lid.
I don't expect to have to water it again for a few weeks, if not a few months. A few years might be pushing it.
Wouldn't these make a great Mother's Day gift?
Add a box of wine and a card and you're all set.
Other posts you may enjoy:
DIY Terrarium Woodland Version
DIY Coffee Pot Terrarium
Rustic Log Bird Feeder
Lisa Hall
Adorable! This would be a fun project for me and my Granddaughters...they love helping in my garden and this would be an added bonus! Thanks for sharing!
Cristin Frank
I've been looking for some interesting Spring centerpieces for my home - thanks for the inspiration!
Julia Nyanyo
I love it with the little chair, very cute!
I helped the kids make a dinosaur garden years ago that was similar & came out pretty good, then everything grew so much we couldn't even see the dinosaurs - better than everything dying off though I suppose!
Anonymous
My dad gave me a terrarium kit left from the 70s about 5 yrs ago. The plastic bulb was too big for my little house, (more than arm's width around) so I took it to work. I work with adults w disabilities and we made it a group project. I went back & saw it 'recently; they'd made it a finished wooden base (wheelchairs are heck on plastic when running into it) and it is showcased in the lobby! Now I want to make more!
Dawn
Super cute. New to terrariums here. What is the purpose of the charcoal? Do you the kind that come in fish filters?
Thanks