How to Make an Air Plant Terrarium

I recently visited a relative’s house, and she had THE cutest little terrariums everywhere. If you’re not familiar with terrariums, they’re little containers of plants. I love them because they look like little forests in a jar. And hers had little mini deer figurines and everything!

With Mother’s Day coming up, I decided to take a stab at making my own terrariums as gifts. Usually we buy flowers for Mother’s Day, but I figured terrariums would last longer, and I liked the DIY aspect too.

Now if I’m being fully honest with you, I should tell you that I have no idea how to care for plants. I don’t have a garden. I despise dirt. And with a fish, two cats and a child to care for, I don’t know if I could successfully keep one additional thing alive. I did some research and found out that air plant terrariums require the least amount of gardening skill and knowledge – so of course that’s the type of terrarium I went with. If you lack green thumbs but still want to DIY a terrarium, here’s how to do it!

All About Air Plants

Other types of terrariums require activated charcoal, dirt and gardening tools, but air plant terrariums don’t require any of that. Air plants grow without soil and get their nutrients and moisture from the air. For that reason, air plant terrariums are easy-peasy to make and require approximately 0% gardening knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are about 500 different kinds of air plants (also known as Tillandsia), and none of them require a lot of attention or care. All you need to do is place them in indirect sunlight and mist them with water (tap is fine, but not distilled) approximately two times per week.

I purchased my air plants at a plant nursery for about $6 each. There were other, smaller options that were cheaper, but I liked the look of the big spiky ones.

What You’ll Need

The sky’s the limit when it comes to your air plant terrarium, but here’s what I used:

• Glass bowl or vase (I got mine at Michael’s for $5.99 each)
• Sand (either collect some outside or buy some at the craft store)
• Fake moss (don’t buy the real stuff because it can trap moisture, which can be detrimental to your air plant)
• Colorful rocks or beads
• Cute little animal figurines
• Air plant(s)

Assembly Instructions

Fill the bowl or vase with two to three inches of sand. Top it with fake moss, rocks, beads, figurines or whatever you’d like. Then, just place the air plant on top! Here’s what mine looks like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn’t the little deer cute? My 3-year-old picked it out. He actually wanted a super-expensive bald eagle figurine, but I talked him out of it.

Of course, there are even easier ways to do an air plant terrarium. The plant nursery I visited had hanging glass vases, like the ones below, which are totally cute and simple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether you go for the “forest look” or simple hanging planters, air plants are an adorable, stress-free way to add some plant life to your home.

Questions? Concerns? Do you have much better taste in terrarium decor than I do? Let us know in the comments below!