Oh, hello there. Happy spring! I know it's been a while since I posted on my blog. Please accept my sincerest apologies. Work has been busy, and the last thing I want to do is sit at my computer more and type. But I've missed my unknown blog friends, and I have some some fun things to share. For starters, I want to share the newest addition to our home: my terrarium.

Yes, I fell for the new terrarium trend. It really is a trend; they're all over the place - on Pinterest, at the farmer's markets, in magazines, on blogs...everywhere. I couldn't resist the cute, little succulents. Plus, I figured it would be a nice touch to our apartment by bringing the outdoors in. Not to mention we don't have room for a garden outside, so this way I can try out my green thumb in smaller ways. (By the way, I really don't have a green thumb. It's more of the black thumb of death when it comes to plants. But I hear succulents are resilient, so I thought I could at least try. I'm forever hopefully. )

I thought I would do all the research and read before starting it, that would be the wise thing to do. Instead, I decided to just do it. So, I started at the nearby florist, Midnight Blossom, to see what I could create. The place was super cute, but somewhat pricey. Instead, I opted to try out the garden center up the road instead, Swanson's Nursery.

The lady there was nice to give me some quick tips, and steered me to the "Terrarium Basics" sheet they have available. It's actually not too hard; here's what I ended up doing...

Supplies

Assembly

The image says it all, but here's the steps:

Container - I had a hard time choosing: circle, square, rounded on top, open, white, glass - ahh! I landed with an open, square glass container: Reasons: Glass is brighter and allows you to see the layers which is a nice touch. Open on top because it's easier for beginners. And square just because. Note - In retrospect, I'd probably say start with something smaller than mine.
Pebbles - Layer on the pebbles first. This provides drainage.
Charcoal - Layer again. This is to make it less stinky (not that it is a smelly plant). Also it keeps the soil fresh.
Soil - Yet another layer. This is for the plants to grow roots (I think). One tip here is to be sure to buy the right kind of soil. I was steered towards the catcus/succulent soil mix.
Admire the layers.
Get a variety of plants - different textures, colors, heights.
Plant - I made little divots in the soil, placed the succulent, and then pushed the soil around it gently. I probably would have put in less soil in #4 since adding the plants does take more room than I thought. But I managed.
Sand - The sand wasn't totally necessary, but I thought it'd look nice. I was close to the top of my container by this time.
Decorations - I didn't plan on this, but I decided to add on some shells. They shells are from our Hawaii trip in 2006 (oh memories!).