Having moved out I’ve realised that my thumb is nowhere near as green as it could be. I either overwater or don’t water enough when it comes to flowers, shrubs and other plants. So it’s handy that cacti and succulents are everywhere at the moment. Surely, I can’t kill such hardy plants as these? I guess we shall see. Below are the steps I used to create my terrarium. I’m sure there are plenty of other ways to make them, but this is how I did mine.
Step one
Find something nice to plant your succulents in. I have a few succulents planted outside but decided to do a bit of up-cycling in the name of a gorgeous glass bowl that once housed a candle. I removed all the excess wax and made sure the bowl was sparkling clean.
Step two
Add your potting mix. Make sure you get a mix that is made for cacti and succulents. I got a bag of Osmocote Professional Cacti and Succulents Potting Mix from my local Bunnings. This will help keep your succulents healthy and apparently means I won’t have to water as often!
Step three
Once you’ve added your potting mix, it’s time to add your plants. My mum grows a lot of succulents so I was lucky enough to pick some from her garden. Simply make a little dent in your soil, put your succulent in, then when you’re done, pat all the soil down nice and compact. I’ve only added two types to mine so far. I want to add a few more but I’m going to wait and see if I manage to keep these alive first before I add anything else!
Now, I only know the name of one of the succulents I have planted below. The green, rosette-shaped ones with the purple tinge at the ends are called sempervivum tectorum, commonly known as houseleeks. It is thought that they get this name because traditionally they were grown on rooftops to protect from thunderstorms. (I will endeavour to find out the name of the other one!)
step four
Decorate. I added some grey pebbles over the top of the soil.
Step five
Find your new terrarium a new home! Mine now resides in my living room where I can enjoy it. It gets plenty of light without too much sun.
Cactus Pop 