Saturday 18 May 2013

DIY succulent terrarium


......simple indoor gardening for people without green fingers.



I have been seeing these all over pinterest for a while now, and think they are super cute!
I love houseplants, but have not exactly got green fingers, so was encouraged by the promise that these were easy to keep.
 (I have been known to kill a plant by just entering a room...OK , a slight exaggeration, but you get my drift....)
So....let's give it a go:


I got  a simple glass container in a charity shop for £2 , nicked a few handfuls of gravel from outside our local supermarket,
then got some houseplant compost (succulents like soil containing "peat"), £4
and a selection  of succulents from homebase, at £1 each.



Here's a list of suitable succulents:
Echeveria
Silver sprinkles
Chandelier plant
Baby's tears
Jade plant
Rhipsalis cactus
Oscularia Deltoides 

 First put a 2" layer of gravel in the bottom of your container for drainage
then add the soil
Arrange your succulents how you want them, making sure the roots are covered by the soil.
Give it a little bit of water and voila....your terrarium is finished.

Put it on a sunny windowsill...maybe group a few of them together for maximum impact. I will definitely do some more of these.....
 Part of their beauty is that they don't take much looking after..(so they say)..don't worry if you forget to water for a while...
.....also : it is supposed to be really easy to propagate succulents ......
Just cut a piece of your succulents (say when they get too big for your container), let the cut off leaves dry for 24 hours until they form a callus over where the cut was made.......
....then you can replant these in new terrariums.
I think that is what you'd call cheap and cheerful!!

I found lots of great advice on succulents at http://www.succulentsandsunshine.com


I think I'm hooked on these....so easy and cheap to make, and hopefully I won't kill them too soon...
...will be on the lookout for more interesting containers to add to my indoor garden...

xxx
June

No comments:

"