Houzz TV: 1 Modern Terrarium in 3 Styles
Here’s how to create a trio of looks for a terrarium to hang up or put on a table. Which do you like best?
Brenna Malmberg
December 27, 2016
Terrariums come in many shapes, sizes and styles. That’s what makes them great plant containers for just about any space. In this episode of Houzz TV, watch as plant designer Baylor Chapman, founder of Lila B. Design and author of The Plant Recipe Book, uses one terrarium to create three different looks. Your final arrangement can be simple or complex — it’s completely up to you.
Watch now: 1 Modern Terrarium in 3 Styles
For these three arrangements, Chapman uses the same faceted glass terrarium. This one allows users to hang it up or sit it on a tabletop. Terrariums are great for people short on space, Chapman says. She enjoys hanging one from above and watching it dangle. It’s perfect for small homes, hardworking offices or busy kitchens.
“The clear base can be a challenge,” Chapman says. To make it pretty, she turns to rocks, sand and moss instead of soil.
For these three arrangements, Chapman uses the same faceted glass terrarium. This one allows users to hang it up or sit it on a tabletop. Terrariums are great for people short on space, Chapman says. She enjoys hanging one from above and watching it dangle. It’s perfect for small homes, hardworking offices or busy kitchens.
“The clear base can be a challenge,” Chapman says. To make it pretty, she turns to rocks, sand and moss instead of soil.
1. Rocky Terrarium
Supplies
Supplies
- Terrarium (you can find this one on Houzz)
- Aquarium rocks
- Air plants
Step 2: Tuck air plants into the rocks slightly to hold them in place. “I like the air plants to hang on and dangle partly out of the vase for a whimsical effect,” she says.
Care: This type of terrarium will stay alive for a long time, Chapman says. Hang or place the terrarium in a spot that gets bright light to light shade, but keep it out of direct sunlight, she advises. To water the air plants, you can spritz them or soak them. Chapman prefers soaking them to avoid little water spots on her plants. If you soak them, make sure to shake off the excess water, leaving no water in the crevices.
2. Desertscape Terrarium
Supplies
Supplies
- Terrarium
- Sand or rocks
- Spray-can lid or other small container, such as a cup or tiny pie tin
- Succulents (Chapman uses a cactus, lithops, Senecio haworthii and Kalanchoe tomentosa, each growing in a container that is 2 inches across or smaller)
- Tongs
- Funnel (Chapman makes one out of paper and string)
- Chopstick
Step 2: Find a spray-can lid or other small container and tuck in your succulents. Chapman’s lid doesn’t have a drainage hole. This means the sand will stay clean, but she will have to closely monitor the watering.
Tip: Use tongs while working with any spiky plants so that you don’t poke your fingers.
Tip: Use tongs while working with any spiky plants so that you don’t poke your fingers.
Continue adding succulents to the container, breaking up the soil as you go. Then set the completed pot of succulents in the sand.
Step 3: Add another layer of sand to your terrarium. Chapman creates a funnel with paper and string, but you could also use a kitchen funnel. She adds sand until it almost reaches the top of the container.
Step 4: Add another layer of sand to cover the top of the container. She uses the same color of sand as she used for the first layer. Add sand until you cover the succulents’ soil to make it look tidy, she says.
Step 4: Add another layer of sand to cover the top of the container. She uses the same color of sand as she used for the first layer. Add sand until you cover the succulents’ soil to make it look tidy, she says.
Step 5: Make a design in the sand by poking a chopstick down into the sand. Have fun with this, Chapman says, by trying different depths and sizes of poking instruments.
Care: Hang or sit this terrarium in a window with bright light. You will need to water the succulents, but do so carefully and infrequently, Chapman says. As time goes by, the succulents will start to grow together. You can pull them out when they start to get too big for the space.
Care: Hang or sit this terrarium in a window with bright light. You will need to water the succulents, but do so carefully and infrequently, Chapman says. As time goes by, the succulents will start to grow together. You can pull them out when they start to get too big for the space.
3. Lush Terrarium
Supplies
Supplies
- Terrarium
- Moss (Chapman uses clumping moss, but sheet moss works too)
- Begonia
- Spider plant
- Creeping wire vine
Step 2: Set the plants inside the moss bed, loosening the roots as you go. Chapman recommends starting with your tallest plant — in this case, the begonia. Continue with the spider plant and wire vine.
Care: Place this terrarium in a shady spot. It likes to be a bit more moist, Chapman says. The wire vine, especially, needs water, so you may need to water it twice a week. Make sure you don’t have any water sitting in the bottom, she says, but it also shouldn’t be dry. As the plants grow, the spider plant and wire vine will start to trail down and out of the terrarium, which is great, but the begonia will get a little too big and eventually will need to be replanted elsewhere.
Watch now: 1 Modern Terrarium in 3 Styles
Take a tour of Chapman’s home and see how she brings nature to the city
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Watch now: 1 Modern Terrarium in 3 Styles
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wonderful!!! but for how long are they going to stay alive???
Funny, I thought Kaitlin's question was asking about the plants, not the glass container itself. but that's just me - I see it as all being about the plants, and the container is an accessory. And of course, your suggestion of using a small paintbrush is perfectly applicable. I would suggest dusting the plants when they are watered, that way the job is simple and quick because the dust doesn't build up.
an0msd, if the plants are correctly taken care of, they should live until they outgrow their containers. The secret is in giving them the light they need, not letting them get too dry, and checking the soil in the bottom of the container to make sure it's not getting too wet. That's always a potential problem with containers that have no drainage.
The tillandsia could last for years before they grow to big. The cactus might outgrow the container in a year or two. The begonia & spider could easily outgrow that space in a few months.