Time to get your green thumb on! If you’re searching for an easy way to add a little greenery to your apartment, terrariums are the answer. The small, largely enclosed glass containers make it easy to care for plants because they cut down on the need for watering often (thanks to the humidity created inside the container), and they look good anywhere — even hanging from your ceiling. Read on for a simple way to create your own chic terrarium:
Supplies:
-Terrarium container (I bought this round hanging one for about $15 from the Home Depot)
-Potting soil
-Small pebbles or gravel
-Small plants (Be sure to choose plants that all require the same type of care and environment; for example, these three miniature plants are all tropical varieties)
-Mini decorative objects, like pretty rocks or seashells
First, place a layer of pebbles or gravel at the bottom of your terrarium. Since your terrarium doesn’t have holes for water to drain out of, these pebbles will serve as your drainage. Next, you’ll want to layer on about an inch or so of potting soil (it’ll depend on how large your plants are and how close the opening of your terrarium is to the bottom of the container). Try to be as neat as possible when arranging the soil; the cool thing about terrariums is that they’re see-through, so you can admire the artful layers of pebbles, soil and plants.
Next, it’s time to plant. Start with the largest plant first and bury its roots gently in the rear of the terrarium — that way you can easily place the other smaller plants in front. Repeat with the remaining plants, being sure to gently press down on the soil surrounding each plant to secure the root system.
Go ahead and water the plants (or spray them with water from a mini spray bottle) if that’s what their care calls for. If you’re looking for an even more low-maintenance terrarium, seek out plants like cacti or on-trend succulents which need little water. If you definitely don’t have a green thumb, you can still create a cool-looking terrarium with air plants, which don’t need any soil at all and call for just a light misting of water once a week!
The final touch on your terrarium is adding a miniature decorative element to bring in some color, shine or texture. I chose a couple of neat rocks, but small objects like seashells, decorative mosses and even mini figurines would look good.
And voila! You have a whole new ecosystem to chic up your apartment with minimal care. I hung my terrarium from my ceiling with a hook right in front of my windows, but I also think it’d look good accenting a bookshelf or even greening up a desk or bedside table. Since terrariums are pretty small, they can go practically anywhere!
Looking for more terrarium ideas? Check out this post on apartment-friendly terrariums using lots of different kinds of containers, via the ForRent.com blog.
Where would you put your new terrarium? Share your decorating ideas with us in the comments below!