The Making of a Terrarium

I have the terrarium bug again, and now I'm stepping up the game with interesting containers and more elaborate landscapes. Here, I will show you how I created this plant enclosure with steps and a pond.

I've always had a love of houseplants and terrariums, ever since I was 10 or 11 and my mom gave me one of those scientific growing kits. It came with a petri dish, a clear cone cover, and a bean seed. Within days the seed sprouted, traveled up through the hole in the top of the cone, and wound its green tentacles around my pole desk. It was fascinating to watch it grow, roots and all.

In my adult years, I took a liking to more elaborate terrariums. Here is a 40-gallon aquarium I turned into a jungle setting, fake snakes and all.

Now I am into smaller, more interesting containers, like this birdcage glass and metal enclosure I purchased as a Christmas gift to myself. Here's how I turned it into the finished terrarium.

1. First I sealed the bottom corners and part of the inside crevices with clear silicone since the enclosure it not 100% watertight. After letting it cure for a few days, I added a layer of dark gravel and activated charcoal. Then I covered that with black mesh.

2. Next I baked some sifted potting soil at 200 degrees for 45 minutes to remove any possible bugs or contaminants. I covered the pan with aluminum foil.

3. The pond idea I got after removing the top tray of a store-bought salad. The large round area would serve as the pond. Brilliant, right?

4. I placed the "pond" on top of the mesh inside the terrarium, then formed dirt around it so the back was higher. I kept the pond area covered with cardboard to keep the soil out.

5. Next I placed small slabs of thin slate stone to form the steps and secure the soil in the back.

6. Then I thought about where I wanted the plants. The moss I purchased at a local nursery that was kind enough to scrape a chunk from below one of their outdoor plant bins.

7. Now came the fun part: placing the plants and inserting the moss. The plants include a nerve plant (fittonia), a button fern that recovered after I almost killed it, and a peperomia puteolata. You don't need too many because plants will grow and fill out spaces.

8. I added dark rocks and water to the bottom of the pond, but it still wasn't enough. Then I saw these two guys at Dollar Tree: a Zen turtle and frog. I laid down a bridge with a couple of sticks, and now the pair can chill out within their peaceful surroundings. I may change it later, but for now, it's pretty cool to look at.

So there you go. It takes a little bit of preplanning (plants and hardscape materials), but now I have something alive that I can enjoy for months and hopefully years to come.

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