Desktop Terrarium {a Lowes Creator Idea}
Hey all you black thumb peeps! I have a gardening tutorial for you. This desktop succulent terrarium is hard to kill. It requires very little water and loves to be neglected. Best of all, you can put it together in less than 20 minutes!
Ready, set, go…..
Materials:
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- Glass bowl
- Bell cloche terrarium
- Various small succulents
- Sand
- Potting Soil
- Crushed glass vase filler (found at Michael’s)
- Small shovel
- Jar
- Shells
Instructions:
Fill the bottom of the glass bowl with sand and soil mixture. Fill the small jar with a sand and soil mixture. Plant your favorite succulent in the jar.
Fill the glass bowl with more soil, sand and succulents.
Pour crushed glass on top of the soil for color.
Add shells on top of the glass.
I chose to change the finial on my cloche terrarium. It’s just a standard lamp finial. You can purchase a variety of finials in the lighting department at Lowe’s.
The simple finial doesn’t distract from those beautiful succulents!
Water your succulent planter then let it fully dry out before watering again. If the glass fogs, remove the cloche a while since succulents like dry conditions.
You can find loads of other creative storage ideas at Lowe’s Creative Ideas:
Disclosure: As a #LowesCreator, I was provided with a Lowe’s gift card to purchase supplies for this post. I was not told what to write. All ideas and words are my own.
succulents require good air circulation and sharp drainage (as in hole
in the bottom) neither of which they get in a terrarium. They also
do not need all the moisture on their leaves. So while this looks lovely,
it is not a long term planter and really, it is doomed to failure. There
are websites explaining this (http://cactiguide.com/article/?article=article19.php)
but trends are trends I suppose.
Annie, thank you sooo much for your comment. I appreciate the information and it would explain why they did die eventually ;-(.
I LOVE It!!!! Just a little worried about as the plants start to grow… can you just snip them off to keep their small size?
Thanks!
Sue
Sue, it’s just like any other potted plants. If they grow to big, some you can snip. Others might need to be transplanted. 😉
I am so happy! I have this terrarium from Lowes, and the blue mason jars. I actually bought the terrarium in 2012. Right now I have it on my coffee table with some silk flowers for summer inside, soon, I will be putting pumpkins and gourds inside. I would love to make it a succulent terrarium in the future, but I have a question, how tall is the glass bowl you have used?
Not tall at all. About 2″.
Thank you, but where can I find a bowl that size? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
ACMoore or Michaels.
Brilliant project, I’ve been wanting to start a succulent garden for some time. Thanks for some ideas!
I started my succulent garden several months ago. It’s so easy to maintain. My kids love it. Anyway, I love your design. It’s so pretty. I wish I can be creative just like you. Thanks for sharing this wonderful tutorial! 🙂
Looks pretty, but aren’t you concern all those succulents will release too much moisture in their enclosed environment and die?
Gail, I remove the bell from time to time to let them dry out.
I was inspired to buy the terrarium and make this TODAY…so disappointed that Lowes.com no longer sells the terrarium online!! What a bummer to get the email from you TODAY, only to find Lowe’s doesn’t sell them anymore. I’ve checked 2 of the local stores so far, but no joy 🙁 Obviously, Lowe’s doesn’t realize your popularity, or they’d have plenty of them in stock!! I hope I’ll find one and be able to make my own terrarium. Thanks for the inspiration, anyway.
Lucy, I’m sorry they were sold out. You could purchase a cloche from Michael’s or ACMoore perhaps? Or maybe a garden supply shop.
I just wanted to send out a big thank you for your tutorial and information on dryer venting!
I had no idea and I’m sure many, many others don’t either.
I’ve created a blog post that will go live on August 8th, 2013 that refers back to your tutorial on how to install.
I just wanted to say thank you and let you know
Shelly
London, ON
Canada
We want to make one!! I hope my local Lowes has this because I just looked on Lowe’s.com with your link and it’s no longer available 🙁 Might just have to get creative if they don’t have it.
This is lovely!! I feel like making a little gnome to pop in there. So sweet!
That’s just about one of the coolest things for “black thumbs” that I’ve seen Brittany. I love these little succulents & have a few of those around. Some have faired better that others. Thanks again for a great post!
What a great project Brittany!