Liz makes a terrarium

I'm sure you've heard of terrariums before. They seem to be all the rage these days and for a good reason: they're low-maintenance, adorable and relatively inexpensive. Succulents (including cacti) are the perfect plants for people like me, who tend to kill every plant I touch. A terrarium seemed like the perfect little addition to my home. Let's get started!

To make my terrarium, I used:

a fish bowl

rocks

potting soil

plants

Now, you are welcome to spend lots of money to make your terrarium fancy. I did not do that. I bought my fish bowl at Wal Mart for $5. My boyfriend and I went on a hike to collect three different colors of small rocks (black, pink/red and white). I had leftover potting soil from planting other things in the past. The three small plants were from a local garden center and were $1.99 each. So, this project ended up costing me $11 or so. The little decorations around the plants include interesting-looking rocks (free) and a little plastic Buddha (a gift from my friend, Maria).

Start with a clean and empty fish bowl.

Now fill the bottom with rocks. I started with black rocks,

then added pink/red rocks,

then added white rocks. I like this layered look a whole lot. It's important to have rocks at the bottom so when you water your plants, they can provide drainage.

Potting soil came next. I filled it to about the half-way point of my fish bowl.

Putting in the plants was next. It's not rocket surgery, but it will take a little time. Put your first plant in by making a little well in the soil, placing the plant inside and pressing soil around it. Do this with all of your plants. As you can tell, my plants are small and I probably could have added more. I didn't because 1) it would have added to the final expense and 2) these plants will grow; maybe not much, but I wanted to give them a little room for their potential growth-spurts.

Next, I placed some little gravel-like, white rocks, interesting-looking, larger rocks and a little orange Buddha around the plants. I love the way the little Buddha looks like he's just chilling with the plants.

Here's a fun little gif I made of the side-view of the terrarium-making process.

Here's the finished terrarium on my apartment's balcony. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I might think about getting another little succulent or cacti to fill in space if nothing grows anytime soon.

Have a happy weekend!
Love, Liz