A Terrarium (for those of us with black thumbs)

I am a plant murderer.

It really doesn't matter how hard I try, I have always struggled to keep plants alive.

  

In my first apartment I bought myself a bamboo.  It lasted about a month.  I got over zealous and watered it too much, then I forget to water it at all.  

In my high school biology class I did an experiment on how much fertilizers actually effect the growth of plants, and I left the plants in an enclosed sunny location over Labor Day weekend, and when I returned Tuesday morning I found my plants scorched.  It was only after the fact, that I realized, 'hey it gets to be about 100 degrees in this room, when the doors are shut and the sun is shining in.'  Oops.

Well, I am determined to end this plant killing streak.

My husband bought me a cactus last October for our anniversary.  I have (just barely) been able to keep it alive.  I wouldn't really say it is thriving, but it is still very much alive.  Honestly, I am not sure how, because it has fallen into my kitchen sink at least a dozen times and has almost no soil left in the tiny plastic pot it came in.  

After keeping this little cactus alive for over 9 months (this is a new record for me), I decided it was finally time to give this little gem a proper new home.

Hello, terrarium.

You know all those awesome terrariums you see on Pinterest?  Of course, I thought a terrarium would be the most logical way to give my little cactus a more permanent abode.

So, I dragged brought my husband to Lowes, and asked him to help me pick out a plant to go along with my cactus (because you can't have a terrarium with just one plant, right?).  He directed me to the succulents because they both require very little water.  Then we grabbed some river pebbles, sand, and soil and we were on our way.

I pulled out my glass apothecary looking jar, my daughter's miniature gardening tools (because I have no gardening tools of my own.  I told you, I kill plants.), and all those bags of dirt, rocks, and sand and started layering.

First rocks, then sand, finally soil.  I gently placed all the plants in the jar, and threw some more river pebbles on top, and voila I am done.

Upon, further research I have found that I probably should have chosen a different jar for succulents.  They need a more dry environment and that lid is going to keep all the moisture in, so alas, it must go.

And for those of you, who can relate to having no gardening skills what-so-ever, here are few helpful resources I came across while researching.....Happy Gardening :)

Real Simple Magazine 

The Rainforest Garden

Refinery29