Fairy Terrarium Tutorial

A miniature fairy garden enclosed under an elegant glass cloche is enchanting and oh so easy to care for!

This beautiful turquoise bowl was a gift from a friend.  It moved from place to place in my house, often filled with nothing more interesting than detritus from my pockets, odd keys, and coupons I would never use.  When another  friend gifted me with a beautiful garden cloche, a blissful union was made.   Terrariums don’t need drainage holes!  It was meant to be!

Add some washed pebbles.  The depth will depend on the depth of your bowl or container.  In this bowl I’ve made the pebbles about an inch deep.

Add some activated charcoal, also known as horticultural charcoal.  You can find the charcoal at garden centers, in the aquarium dept. of pet stores, and soon from our website, FH&G.  You should be wearing gloves when working with the charcoal and potting mix but… pictures don’t lie, so it is obvious that I did not!  Don’t do as I do, do as I say!

For this terrarium, I added about a 1/4 cup of charcoal and mixed it with the pebbles.

Add a good quality potting mix.   In this situation, I made a volcano-like mound of potting mix to keep the edges clear for the cloche and still provide room for the roots of the plants.

It will most likely be necessary to slice off some of the root ball for the plant to be planted at the proper level.  It’s ok, just take a sharp serrated knife and  do it.  It is hurting you more than it is the plant!

Continue adding plants appropriate for a terraium and firm the soil around the plants.  (more details about terrarium plants in a future post)  I like to add some nice stones for interest.

A Flower Fairy adds life and interest to the terrarium.

Sprinkle the planting with water.  Easy does it.  The potting mix should be damp, like a rung-out sponge, not wet and soggy!

Place the cloche over the planting.  Place the terrarium in nice bright light, but out of direct sunlight.   You can tell almost everything you need to know by just looking at the Fairy Terrarium.  Moisture will begin condensing on the inside of the terrarium, if no moisture collects after 24 hours, the soil may be too dry.    If mold begins to grow on the surface of the soil, it is too wet.  Remove the cloche and let it breathe for a few days.  If the plants are stretching out and getting leggy, the terrarium needs brighter light.  If the plants look scorched, you may have placed the terrarium in direct, harsh sunlight and burned the plants.