Boy, did I need the motivation to get going on some projects. Currently, I've racked up nearly 2800 pins. That's a whole lot of inspiration, DIY, recipe and craft photos! Last year during the Pinterest Challenge Winter Edition I was all about the coming of spring and made a Tin Can Man that still hangs in our yard. Well, this year is no different. I'm counting down the days until the rains depart and the sun takes up a semi-permanent residence.
Rather than getting my green thumb on outdoors I decided to bring the greenery indoors with a few DIY terrariums.
I was inspired by projects like this and this and was pleasantly surprised at the ease of the project once I finally got my butt to the store to purchase the plants and glass containers. I scored three beautiful glass containers from the Goodwill in Bellevue, Wa while I was visiting my sister.
The containers can either be open or closed (with lids) - the closed containers will typically need little care as they create little ecosystems of their own. If things are looking wilty and rough, remove the lid and water gently - a turkey baster works great for this.
To make your own, you'll need:
- pea gravel
- sand (or crushed charcoal)
- potting soil
- plants
- some type of container
First give the container and good washing and let dry.
Next, layer the container with pea gravel, sand (or charcoal) and potting soil (in that order). I had each of these things on-hand from different outdoor projects like our pea gravel walkway and our window boxes. You can use a funnel to help fill containers with narrow openings, which I attempted but the opening in the bottom of the funnel was too small and things were going too slowly for this impatient lady. I just used a spoon to pour it in which left a huge mess after I was done....nothing a vacuum cleaner couldn't clean up!
Once the soil is in place you can start placing the plants. It is important to put plants that thrive in similar conditions together. I picked up a few dry environment plants like a cactus and different succulents and starting placing them without any real plan in mind. For those pesky narrow openings, a pair of chopsticks (or in my case, skewers) come in handy to aid in placing plants.
Continue placing plants until you're happy with the results. I made two dry and sunny condition terrariums and had a bunch leftover that I just potted. Then I made a third terrarium with a few shade loving plants picked from our back yard - a fern and moss.
To add a little quirk and personality, I placed a plastic kangaroo in the large terrarium. Speaking of the large terrarium, apparently there was some moisture in the soil because it is evaporating and fogging up the seeded glass.
I love the results and the fact that it was a quick project but I'm a bit worried that my black thumb will strike again and all of my work will be for naught. I have been known to kill a cactus or two....or many.
So what projects have you been putting off?
