Garage Sale Garden: Terrariums

This weekend at the garage sales I found this old glass jar with a glass lid that is attached with a metal latch. I loved the look of the aged jar and loved even more that it only cost 50 cents. So, I whisked it home and created this week’s edition of garage sale garden art by turning this glass jar into a terrarium.
Terrariums are small, enclosed containers used to grow plants and sometimes are used as habitats for certain types of animals. I love terrariums because they can be a mess-free, low maintenance indoor house plant. I have several terrariums throughout my home and have re-purposed glass containers from various sources into miniature greenhouses (a.k.a. terrariums). Terrariums are a great way to introduce the water cycle to children by observing how water evaporates from the soil, condenses on the sides of the container and then precipitates back to the soil.
Here’s how you can set up your own terrarium:
Locate a container that you want to use for your terrarium. An ideal container will have a lid that can easily be removed when necessary. The jar can be any size, but ideally about the size of a two-gallon milk jug. You want to make sure your plant(s) will have room to grow over-taking the container. The container needs to be clear or at least transparent to allow light to penetrate.
Place about 3-4 inches of moist soil in the bottom of your container. If you are using a smaller container, you can put in less, or for a larger container you can put in more. Make sure you have enough soil for the roots to spread and obtain water.

Plant your selected terrarium plant(s) in your container. My hand was too big for the opening of this container so I brought my son in to help. The plant you select should be a slow grower so it won’t outgrow the container quickly. Avoid using succulent plants because they don’t do as well in the moist conditions of a terrarium. For larger terrariums, you can add a couple of plants for variety. Here are some good plant selections for terrariums but it’s also fun to experiment with others.
• Artillery fern
• Aluminum plant
• Polka dot plant
• Pothos (in a larger terrarium)
• Croton
I prefer to plant recently rooted cuttings in my terrariums because they are smaller, will grow for a while in the container before needing to be re-planted, they are cheaper, and because they are easy to fit inside most container openings.
Once you have planted your terrarium, you can place the lid on top. Over the next several days/weeks monitor the terrarium to ensure it has the right level of moisture. If it is too damp inside, you may see mold growth and notice the plant(s) starting to rot. If this is happening, open the lid temporarily to allow the soil to dry a bit. If it is too dry you won’t see any condensation developing on the inside of the container. Add a little moisture to the soil, replace the lid, and watch for improved conditions over the next couple days. Repeat as needed until you see condensation forming.

You can also decorate your terrarium using rocks and other features inside the container. I have a young son who loves dinosaurs, so we have used some of his small dinosaur figurines to make one of our terrariums look like a prehistoric scene. Terrariums are very forgiving so don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun!

Here is a terrarium I created from a broken blender.

Here is the first terrarium I made using a glass container with a glass lid.