DIY Terrarium

One of the things that I promised myself I would do while I was on leave was make a terrarium.  And guess what?  I did!  I originally set out to follow a tutorial that I found a few months back but alas when I went back to look for it, it was gone.  Because I tend towards laziness, I thought about giving in and buying one but they are so expensive - think almost 200 bucks for a teeny tiny little plant!  Anyway, I decided to just wing it and it turned out well.  Really well.  Here’s what I did:

1) Purchase a Glass Bowl - I found this one at Mr Price Home in Argyle Road for R 59.95.  It’s a nice size and depth.

2) Purchase Some Plants - I had already been looking at pictures online and on Pinterest and decided I wanted three little plants.  I probably should have researched the varieties available but I didn’t.  I went to the Tropical Nursery in Sherwood Road and picked three succulents that I liked the look of.  Here’s what I ended up with:

Aloe Aristata:  A small stemless aloe with succulent spotted leaves.  It has red or pinkish tubular flowers in November.  A very cold, hardy aloe.  Full sun. little water (from the label).

Echevaria – Rock Rose:  Pink/Grey tips and creased leaves highlights this silver/grey rose.  The sap is caustic, don’t let children handle it.  Full sun, drought resistant, hardy and slow growing. (From the label).

  

Unnamed (but cute) little plant:  This one is the tallest of the bunch but sadly didn’t have a label on it’s packing.  It has a slight reddish tint on its tips which I rather liked. 

3) Put Plants in Glass Bowl - I initially thought I would need to buy some extra potting soil but I spoke to the lady at the nursery who assured me that the soil I had already would be more than enough.   I carefully removed each plant from their soil...

...and then used a mix of all three soils to create a base.   One I had a little bit of soil in the bottom to work with, I planted each one according to the rough idea in my head. 

4) Add Some White Stones - While I liked the look of the terrarium with just the plants and the soil, I decided to add some white aquarium stones.  To me it just upped the prettiness factor by creating more of a contrast.

And that is how I made a terrarium that now lives on our coffee table.  Luckily our flat gets a whole lot of sun so I didn’t have to give too much thought to where to put it.  Altogether it came to:

1 x Glass Bowl - R 59.95

3 x Plants - R 100.80 

1 x White Stones  - R 49.95

TOTAL - R 210.70

It came in a little higher than buying one but for that price I got three plants instead of one and enough white stones to make another two or three terrariums.  I think I am going to start giving them as gifts!  Plus, because we live in a flat, I don't get many opportunities to play in the dirt so putting this together myself was very satisfying!!  Yay for finally owning a terrarium!