CLICK THE PHOTO FOR MORE PHOTOS TO SEE MY ASSEMBLY PROCESS!! Happy 4th of July, Americans! Summer is here & most girls, myself included, are annoyed that their make-up is melting off their face. You can either lay around to avoid movement or you can try to decorate your home with some beautiful summery beach themed terrariums. If you think playing with sand & succulents is going to make you too hot, then you can just sit this one out & enjoy an ice pop. Lazy.
Terrariums are making a comeback & seem to be popping up nearly everywhere! Although my Herbal Terrariums germinated, I wasn’t completely satisfied with them. Herbs are a bit difficult to care for when they’re confined indoors to small spaces, which is why I decided I should try the traditional succulent terrariums instead. Succulents are native to arid regions of the world aka deserts. They thrive without needing to be watered every day as many will only require being watered once every 2 weeks. Since they’re such low maintenance plants, they’re perfect for terrariums. If you’re not sure about how to remove potted succulents, try finding some air plants instead. Planting those should be an absolute breeze since you won’t need to remove them from any dirt! Without further ado, I present to you DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Beach Terrariums!
DIY Beach Themed Terrariums
You will need:
- Horticulture sand (not sand from the beach or from your yard, horticulture sand)
- See-through glass jars, containers, fishbowls, etc.
- Activated Charcoal
- River pebbles, glass pebbles, decorative sea glass, etc.
- Shovel, spoon, or scoop
- Gloves
- Succulents
- Seashells
You can find succulents at your grocery store, gardening center, &/or, but not limited to, some home supply stores such as OSH. You’ll need to make a trip out to a gardening store or stores like OSH to find the activated charcoal & horticulture sand. Arts & craft stores should cover the rest of the things you need.
Step 1
Clean & dry all of the glassware you plan on using as well as the decorative material. Seashells should be thoroughly washed as the salt remaining on the shells can add unwanted salt to the sand.
Step 2
In order to create a drainage system for the roots of your succulents, place a layer of the pebbles in your glassware. If you have a lot of shells, you can also place those in too. Next, scoop in a layer of activated charcoal into your terrarium. This will prevent mold from growing & it’ll enrich the sand. Layer the sand over the charcoal amounting to more than ~1.5 inches or so.
Step 3
Using a small spoon or shovel, dig a hole through the sand layer to place your succulents. Cover up the hole with more sand. Once you’ve finished planting & placing your succulents, scoop in a thin layer of sand.
Step 4
Decorate your terrarium with seashells or sea glass. Get creative & enjoy!
Wow, those look so pretty! I love the idea of a beach themed terrarium 😀 I also like the idea of using low maintenance plants because I’m lazy when it comes to things like that, haha. Maybe I’ll give this a try!
Thanks, Cat! Yeah they’re really easy to make & will give any room a little flair. 😀
Oh this is awesome!! I’ve been seeing the plant on the first picture a lot on Tumblr blogs as well lately, do you know what it’s called?
I’m not sure what the exact species the plant is, but they’re succulents.
I think it’s aeonium; it’s a type of a flowering cactus. 🙂
They look really great! I think I am going to save this project when I move back home since I think I have some of the supplies mentioned. Do you know if they attract flies or bugs or in need of sunlight? I live in an apartment back home that if it needs sunlight, that’s a no-can-do in making these.
Pretty much all plants need sunlight for photosynthesis, girl! You just need it to sit somewhere that has daylight. They don’t attract flies, but you can easily make a homemade fruit fly trap!
These look really pretty! I’ve been wanting an Aloe Vera plant a while… I don’t think I’d be able to make one look nearly as beautiful as yours, though. I tend to start out with good intentions on the creative side, but then all fails and ends badly before I know it. 😡
Thanks Liz! Oh, nonsense. I’m sure you can make some great aloe vera terrarium! I personally think they look better in these pictures than they do in person…hahaha well only mine of course. I need to get some air plants & lighter sand for a better look. Give it a try when you’re bored. I’m curious to see what you’ll come up with. 🙂
I have never heard of Terrariums until now, but that is pretty cool. I might try it out sometime since I finally have my own place to decorate. XD
I hope you take pictures of your terrariums if you ever do make some for your new place! Let me know. I’d love to see what you come up with. 🙂
Now I know what I can do with all my collected shells from baja CA to WA state!