Whether you’re green fingered, green thumbed, or not particularly blessed with plant parenting skills like me, making a terrarium is a lovely mindful activity that allows you to create your own miniature garden that is very low maintenance and brings nature into your home.
What Is A Terrarium?
It’s like an aquarium, but for plants. It’s a bit like a green house, but on a much smaller scale. It’s a miniature tropical world created inside a glass jar. A self contained eco-system that is perfect for people wanting a bit of greenery but don’t have much space.
A Verdant Venue For Making A Terrarium
Escaping the jungle and entering the cosy oasis that is The Outside In, Alice warmly welcomed us to the gorgeously cool space for our terrarium workshop.
Plants of all shapes and sizes hung on the walls and trailed from the ceiling. Quirky pots, beautiful cards, a cracking collection of cacti, and of course, terrariums, were dotted around the shelves. There’s something to catch your eye in every available space. It’s an absolute dream if you’re craving some peace, calm and creativity.
Arranged in the middle of the studio was the space for seven of us to take the workshop on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The Plant-Tastic Specialist
Expertly talking us through each step, Alice was on hand offering encouragement, advice and help whilst we were creating our minuscule eco-systems.
Telling us about the history of these glass housed miniature worlds (the Victorians were big fans), sharing the science behind the mood-boosting-make (getting your hands in the soil is amazing for a dose of serotonin), and explaining the nature of the life in the terrarium, Alice gave us a lush hour or so of going green.
Getting Started
It was all about the layering to begin with which included what looked like dog treats or a certain chocolatey cereal, (they were actually absorbent pellets), soil, and different coloured sands for a bright decorative effect. With the final layer of soil came some landscaping, adding any hills or cliffs into our tiny terrains.
Bun Moss was perfect for creating a grassy effect, so I added some to my ‘hill’, and small stones were good for creating paths or dried up rivers running through the scene.
There was an abundance of potted plants for us to add to our terrariums Gently prizing them out of their containers, and tickling the excess soil from their roots, I added a tall parlour palm for a bit of height, an asparagus fern which I really liked as the leaf is much smaller and less pronounced reminding me a bit of mist, and a filtonia for a small hint of colour.
Soiling In Silence
Mess was encouraged and tidying up was disallowed. It wasn’t a particularly messy make, but inevitably soil and leaves did end up all over the tables as we layered and planted and created.
Apart from the chilled background music, silence descended on the studio as all seven of us were deep in concentration, I wouldn’t be surprised if my tongue had been poking out of the corner of my mouth as I focused on placing things in particular spots.
Terrarium Tools
As well as getting our hands into the soil, an assortment of equipment helped us to fine tune and tweak our creations. I had no idea what sorts of things we’d be using but some long tweezers were very useful for more intricate placing of smaller items, a chopstick was helpful for creating a hole for the roots of our plants, a cork on the end of a stick was great for dabbing down loose soil, and a small paintbrush helped to keep it all neat.
Knowing When To Finish
The hardest part was knowing when to stop. I didn’t want to overcrowd my miniature world, but I didn’t want it to look too sparse. Turning the jar around and inspecting it from all angles, I decided that I was satisfied with my creation.
With a final finesse, brushing away any stray grains of sand or soil, the last thing to do was give it a good spritz of rain water. Alice had thought of everything. Explaining that York has hard water which can result in mineral effects on some plants, she had collected rain water which would be much friendlier for our frond friends.
Leaf-ing Us With Aftercare
Securing the lid with some wasabi tape, we placed out pots into paper filled gift bags which were the perfect size for the jars and helped to keep them steady as we took them home.
Alice gave us an aftercare card and top tips to keep our terrariums looking blooming great. The good news is they are incredibly easy to look after and very low maintenance. There is hope for me to finally feel green-fingered!
Wonderful Workshop Making A Terrarium
I’m not very successful with plants. I made a vase of flowers from paper which are lasting well, however, keeping living, breathing, plants alive is not my forte. I’m hoping I’ll do better with my terrarium!
The workshop had been a lovely relaxing afternoon, taking time out from the usual hectic-ness and focusing on gently making something beautiful.
This was just perfect. An amazing space, lovely pace and brilliant teacher who was rooting for us to have a great time.
Why You Should Try A Terrarium Workshop
If you’re limited on space, a terrarium is a perfect self contained small garden that you can keep indoors.
It’s therapeutic, there is so much evidence demonstrating the goodness of doing hands on green things.
It’s relaxing, taking time out and being in the moment of the make is so good for our mental wellbeing.
It’s low maintenance, so doesn’t require regular attention once it’s in situ in your home.
Alice’s workshops are very welcoming if you’re going on your own. You’ll be in a small group creating and learning in a very friendly setting.
If you’re looking for activities for a Hen Do, why not try making a terrarium? Alice often hosts brides to be, although sometimes the wine needs sieving from rogue soil debris!
If you want a gift that is hand made, unique and personal, how about making a terrarium as a present for someone?
Experiences are great ideas for gifts, so why now get someone you love the gift of a terrarium workshop?
Want To Try Making A Terrarium Yourself?
To do the same workshop that I did, take a look at The Outside In.
Based in York, Alice’s cosy studio is about a 10 minute walk from the train station.
Workshops are available to be book through the instagram page.
- Alice also offers other sessions such as plant repotting, still life drawing, talks, and lino printing. Keep an eye on the instagram page for all the latest events.
If you’re not in York, keep an eye out on eventbrite for workshops near you.
Other sites to check include Craft Courses, and Class Bento as there seem to be several offers on there too
Obby also lists terrarium workshops – most of these seem to be in the south of the UK, although there are some options for at home terrarium experiences.
Cost Of Experience
The price per person for the workshop at The Outside In in February 2024 was £40 which included all of the materials.
The cost will vary depending on which workshop you do and where you do it.
Recommendations
Whilst it’s not an especially messy workshop, it’s advisable to not wear your best clothes.
Just go with it, sometimes things may not feel like they are going as you intend, but it all ends up coming together to create a lovely little world.
- You can always add a little character like a lego figure for example, to make it even more like a minature environment!
- There is plenty of opportunity to get creative, just remember to make sure anything you add is not porous.
Don’t forget to get some pictures, I’d love to see how you get on if you give it a go!
I love terrariums – thanks for sharing!
Thanks Chloe! I’m now a convert – I just hope I’m more successful at keeping it alive than my track record with other plants! :o) Thank you for reading.