Hanging Terrarium Tutorial
This time of year, there is always a day where I wake up convinced that I have a green thumb. I don't. Every year I go out and get a bunch of flowers or veggies and plant them all with high aspirations, only to be disappointed when they ultimately die a pathetic death. Today I have a tutorial for you that uses some of the most difficult plants to kill, SUCCULENTS!
Like, seriously, I couldn't even kill these suckers if I tried. Even though most of my veggies won't last the summer, I have yet to let a single Hen or Chick meet it's maker. So with that, let us begin. Here's what you'll need: Terrariums An assortment of Succulents Rocks Moss Earth Twine Activated charcoal ( If using closed container) I started off by filling the bottom of my terrariums with rocks. I really liked the idea of some sort of colourful rocks so I looked around at pet stores at some of the neon pink and green aquarium rocks but nothing really jumped out at me. I wanted something fun but not super flashy. I was looking around Michael's one day when I saw some bigger gold rocks and immediately knew that those were the rocks I wanted to use. However, it would have cost me around $20 for the amount I needed (using coupons). So I did what any thrifty crafter would do, I made them myself.
I went down the street and scooped up a sand pail full of rocks and brought them home and rinsed them with soap and water. Then I laid them on a paper towel to dry.
When they were completely dry on both sides, I took my trusty Krylon gold spray-paint and sprayed away. When that was dry, I flipped over each rock and sprayed the other sides, making sure to cover all of the rocks.
Once the rocks were all dry and perfectly coated, I scooped them into the terrariums. I used a bucket and tupperware to put the terrariums in so they wouldn't roll around on the counter.
After the rock layer, I topped the rocks with a layer of dry moss. A lot of people think that they need to put activated charcoal in between the rocks and the moss but this is only the case when you're using a closed container. Since the terrariums I chose had openings to let air circulate, I left it out. If you do decide to use a closed container and want to use the charcoal, you can pick it up in the aquarium section at Wal-Mart or at any pet store. Or if you have an extra Brita filter laying around, activated charcoal is the little black bits inside.
After the moss, I layered on some earth and then planted the succulents. To finish off the look, I added some extra gold rocks on top as decorations.
I hung the terrariums using twine and hooks. Make sure you reinforce your knots so they don't come undone, that would not be a fun mess to clean up. Mist the plants once every week or two, don't over water. These guys are little cacti so they don't need water too often. Enjoy!