I'm not proud to say it, but I totally have a black thumb. Apparently I didn't inherit a single gardening gene from my parents, because it's all I can do to keep a houseplant alive. For real, plants see me and just die on the spot.

That's why I'm so pleased with myself for growing this adorable terrarium! Yes, it's true, I planted and grew it myself! I found the glass apple at the Brooklyn Flea over the summer and decided to give it a go. I was a little bit of a nervous nelly about the whole thing, but here's how I did it:

Making a Terrarium

1. Find a glass container with a lid. Lots of folks are planting terrariums in jars or vessels with tightly-sealing lids, and apparently that works, but the lid to my container just rests lightly on the base, which I imagine allows for a tiny bit of air circulation. But I don't know if that even matters.

2. Place a shallow layer of pebbles or small river stones in the bottom of the container.

3. Sprinkle some activated carbon over the pebbles. The carbon aids in converting the carbon dioxide to oxygen and keeping the whole thing going. Or something.

4. Layer a bit of soil over the carbon.

5. Plant your plants! I wanted to grow a nice little moss carpet so I simply placed a sheet of florist's moss over the soil, and watered it. The moss appeared to be dried but the florist assured me it was alive. Sure enough, with a few days it became more green and began to sprout the most delicate little shoots, and eventually a whole little moss field. I love it, it's so soft and delicate-looking.

6. Don't do anything else. I never have to water my terrarium or even open the lid for any reason. It lives completely on its own, and the soil always stays damp. It's that the most amazing thing ever? It blows my mind.


And, well, this is a succulent. I didn't do anything to it, except buy it and put it in the window. Yet it is noteworthy because I've managed to keep it alive for a few months now. So I thought it deserved a little acknowledgment too. You're doing great, succulent! Keep it up.