Feeling trapped inside your home by winter's wrath of ice and snow?  Terrariums are a great way to relieve you of your winter blues.  They allow you to care for house plants or succulents in either an enclosed or open glass container.

Here's how you can bring warmth into your home in less than a few minutes.


1)  Find a apothecary jar or cracker jar. 
    A)   It's important to find clear glass rather than colored glass to allow more light to enter the plant
          environment. 
    B)   It's better to find a top or lid that is clear rather than silver or wooden to allow light to
          penetrate.  While I've made terrariums in both types, the all clear containers work best.
    C)   Clear glass or cork lids are fine and work just as well to keep the moisture inside.

2)  Use a layer of fine gravel on the bottom layer of the glass.  The will allow the plant's root to have
     spaces to grow. 
     A)  Fine sand isn't as good a medium for the roots as is builder's sand or gravel which is larger and
          has more open spaces between grains of rock surface.

3)  Use a 1/2 inch layer of charcoal.  As plants breathe in closed spaces, they add moisture to the air. 
     If a plant has too much moisture, the plant may rot from fungus growth and decay.  The charcoal
     alleviates the smell of the excessive moisture.

4)  Add several inches of house plant soil if planting houseplants, or cactus soil if planting succulents.

5)  Choose a few small varieties of plants for your container.  I'll cover this in much more detail in
     future blogs.

6)  Add water sparingly.  This means if you have houseplants in your container, add 1 teaspoon of
    water to get the terrarium started.  If you have succulents,  add 1/2 teaspoon of water.
    DO NOT ADD MORE WATER THAN THIS!  OVERWATERING HOUSEPLANTS IS THE NUMBER ONE KILLER
    OF HOUSEPLANTS.

7.  Place plants in an appropriate environment.  Some plants require low light; while other require more
     indirect sunlight.  My cacti prefer a windowsilll to catch their rays.  My houseplants don't like drafty
     window sills but do like to grow on a table placed in front of the window sill.

8.  Watch your plants DAILY for the first month to properly guage moisture.  If you see the plants start
     to wilt and there is too much moisture in the container, open up the top for a few days to reduce
     humidity.  If the plants look too dry, add no more than one teaspoon of water at a time.  You
     probably will add one teaspoon when establishing plants and then never add more again for a few 
     months.

9.  Caring for your new terrarium.  You now have a new plant to tend to and care for!  Keep it happy
     by giving it the right amount of light and correct moisture and you'll have one happy terrarium.
     If you give it too much water, YOU WILL KILL IT.  One teaspoon is enough, really.

10.  Look outside your windows.  When all you see is snow and ice, look at the warmth and humidity
      of your happy, healthy plants inside their new habitat, and know that your plants are well loved!
      End of the seasonal blues.

Welcome to Botanicals Under Glass Blog.  This blog will discuss the latest trends in botanical designs and plants for all types of closed and open terrariums.