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How I make a mini terrarium with almost zero cost

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Published: 02 Feb 2018 › Updated: 02 Feb 2018How I make a mini terrarium with almost zero cost

How I make a mini terrarium with almost zero cost

Hi everyone!

You must have been seeing a lot of terrarium wherever you go these days. This is because the 176 years old gardening trend is back again!

In 1842, botanist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward accidentally left one of his insect observation jars unattended. Few days later, a fern spore in the jar grew and germinated into a plant. Inspired by this incident, he then started nurturing plants in a sealed container with positive results. His experiment has proven that plants can be sealed in without ventilation and continue thriving.

DIY Terrarium.jpg
Terrarium and I.jpg

If you love to keep a little tropical paradise indoor yet unsure about how to take care of it - terrarium is your calling!

In order to make sure a terrarium stays healthy with minimal care, we will need to collect plants that naturally thrive without much sunlight and nutrients, such as moss, ferns and any small plants found in the shaded forest floor. These plants do not loss much moisture, so the closed terrarium can stay alive and healthy for months with almost no maintenance.

If we have anything to do, now is always the best time to do it.

Once I decided to make a terrarium, I immediately get out of my house and spend some time walking by the roadside and observing the plants along the road. The secret is, you don’t need special terrarium supplies or kits to create a little living paradise in a glass jar. All you need is a walk in the woods and the nature will give you all the treasures needed!

Walk in the woods.jpg

That's right! My 15 minutes morning walk resulted in the following findings:

  1. Moss
  2. Fern leaves
  3. Stone
  4. Soil
  5. Twigs & barks
  6. Other small plants (optional)

Plant Material for Terrarium.jpg

You will also need a clear glass jar for this terrarium project. Jam jar, glass bottle, honey jar are among the glass container that you can use. I happened to have a glass jar from Ikea laying in my office, so I decided to make use of it!

Glass Jar.jpg

First
Add a layer of soil in the glass jar.

Adding Soil.jpg

Second
Add moss patches on top of the soil layer.

Adding Moss.jpg

Third
Plant the fern and other small plants in the soil. You can arrange the position until you are happy about the result.

Adding plants.jpg

Fourth
Place some stone around the plant.

Adding stone.jpg

Fifth
Add some vertical decoration such as twigs and barks.

Add twig and bark.jpg

Sixth
Spray some water to keep the soil moist. You can close the container now and place your terrarium indoor, where there is no direct sunlight.

Add moisture.jpg
Terrarium.jpg

The reason I started this project was due to an inspiration I gained from the nature.
Previous post: How nature inspired me when I was demotivated

What do you think of this DIY terrarium project? Do drop me a comment below!


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