{ChicByTab}: Succulent Terrarium How To

Hello. Hope your having a good start to your week. Today I'm scratching off another Pin from my Pinterest board (only 3,015 more to go). I love the look and aura these lovely mini gardens give off. I don't typically have much luck with traditional plants. Somewhere along the way, they always die. Always! I've done some research into these magical gardens, and the most common way to kill them is over watering. Yay! Shouldn't be a problem here.

Now, I'm not sure where you can buy succulents in your neck of the woods? But apparently in mine, You can only purchase them at greenhouses. I learnt this the long way, after stopping at a handful of box stores I thought would carry them. I guess they're more popular in the winter months. It ended up working in my best interest. I got to go to a very nice greenhouse just outside the city. They had a tropical area/room/building??? not sure what to call it? The lady in there was very knowledgeable and answered all my questions. She even went in the back and pulled out a few more plants for E and I to pick through. She did recommend tropical soil and charcoal. I didn't care much for their charcoal, as it was quite coarse. And since my terrarium was small I went with the fish aquarium activated carbon/charcoal. I heard they work the same. I also stopped at the dollar store and grabbed 2 bags of stones. I scored my terrariums at the thrift store for $2 each. I thought that was a steal as Michaels was $40 for one. On our way home, we stopped at the school playground and ~~stole~~ borrowed some sand too.

Here's everything I used, except my activated carbon/charcoal pack. I just grabbed a pouch from the pet store and cut it open.

Love the mix that E picked. Nice and bright.

My youngest E, is so eager to help in all projects. Such a big help.

First, we placed our stones on the bowls. I did about 2 inches and sprinkled my activated carbon/charcoal on top. This is supposed to help with the smell and keeping the water from turning rank.

Next we layered our top soil, about an inch and a half. I read to use 2 inches, but I was topping mine with sand, so included it in the total top layer. I made a small hole with a spoon, and placed each plant in. Once the plant was placed, I carefully patted down the soil around the base. Because I had a wide mouth bowl, I was able to use just my fingers. After all the plants were in place safely, I spooned the sand around the plants. You can give a gentle shake to even out the sand in the bottom.

Lastly, E strategically placed some larger stones for decoration. She wanted to top it off with sparkles, but I told her not today. We may have to find a few figurines to place inside, to keep the plants company instead.

That's it. It took maybe 25 minutes to prepare. More time was put into collecting supplies. My advice to you, call ahead to the store to confirm they have a selection of succulents there, before you go.

Thanks for stopping in!

Party Time!!

elizabethandcovintage