Key Takeaways

  • Terrariums have evolved from enclosed glass planters to a wide range of unique designs. Get creative and watch your plants grow from any angle.
  • Use precision layering when creating a terrarium, starting with a foundation of pebbles and adding soil and filter material. Add your personal touch with favorite colors and knickknacks.
  • Repurpose household items like old fish bowls or furniture as terrariums. Use rocks and other materials for added texture and color. Be creative and have fun with your indoor garden.

Terrariums are wonderful containers to house succulents of all kinds. Use them to create the ideal environment to help these plants thrive. The natural beauty of succulents makes them a perfect focal point for home decor DIY projects. Get creative with succulent terrarium ideas to design your own micro-worlds.

Where once terrariums were defined as enclosed, glass planters, now the possibilities are endless! The definition has exceeded expectations and now, terrarium designs range from delicate glass planters and terracotta pots to hanging accessories and open layouts. With all these options, you can watch your plants grow from any angle. These pretty indoor gardens are a lovely little touch in any room of the house, and they make great gifts, too!

1 Use Precision Layering

Create a perfect micro-environment with good layering techniques

Make your DIY mini garden more uniquely your own by designing it to reflect your style and taste. Add your favorite colors and other meaningful knickknacks to give it that personal touch. Once you know the basics of how to make succulent terrariums, you will easily create your own indoor garden using a variety of materials, different plants, and containers.

  • Start with a foundation of pebbles or pebble-like material at the bottom, which will provide drainage for the plants at the top.
  • Add a filter material, such as moss. The filter layer should be very thin, just enough to cover the base layer.
  • The soil goes on top of the base and the filter material. Choose a well-draining soil, or mix the soil with a little sand, so it will drain more freely.
  • Plant succulents in the soil.
  • Place your extra items to create the landscape you want.

2 Upcycle an Old Fish Bowl

Take this watery world and use it to showcase plants on dry land

Old fishbowls make the perfect tabletop terrarium, and they're fun to layer. Place various soil and rock textures before planting your succulents inside. Clear bowls like this also provide a view of your creation from all sides, making them a perfect conversation piece.

You can even make a night of this fun activity! Invite some friends over, gather some succulents, and create your very own little mini gardens as a group succulent terrarium DIY project party.

Aquarium accessories are a rich source of materials for your terrarium ideas. Bring designs to life with little figures and objects that create the scene you want.

3 Rock Toppings: Yin And Yang

Add any color you want with the right rocks

Rocks are the perfect way to add unexpected pops of color or texture to your terrarium space. Aquarium rocks are a popular addition because they're easy to find in a wide array of hues and sizes and they layer wonderfully.

An easy succulent terrarium DIY design is a simple yin and yang made with contrasting black and white rocks. However, aquarium rocks are available in a huge range of hues to allow you to explore different color combinations. Choose colors that coincide with the seasons and holidays for some extra pizzazz!

Old buttons, bottle caps, beads, and other small items work as rock substitutions if you want to get creative and make use of some of those old crafting materials you have lying around!

4 Use Household Items

Get creative to put a strong DIY spin on your indoor garden

DIY terrarium made from old appliance on desk
Image credits: Trần Quang Phú via Unsplash
 

The flat surfaces and corners of typical planters are great, but wouldn't it be fun to use something completely different? Almost anything can become a succulent terrarium if it safely holds soil, rocks, and sand without leaking and has an opening big enough for your hand to get inside. Old teapots, pieces of furniture, and pots all make great terrariums. Get creative!

The container you use does not have to be watertight. If the bottom is not sealed, place the terrarium on a shallow tray that will catch any water that drains through.

5 Table Terrarium Centerpiece

Use your succulent garden to create a unique table centerpiece

Instead of a traditional centerpiece or the usual coffee table decor, create a table terrarium. Bring a little pop of green and natural beauty into any room easily with a table terrarium. It can be moved if more room is needed on the table but the rest of the time, it's a gorgeous extra touch.

Play around with different colors and textures when choosing succulents. Use just one plant, or use several together to create layers on top of the layers. Until you know which plants to choose, you don't really how to make succulent terrariums!

Succulent

Appearance

Burro's tail (Sedum morganianum)

Small, teardrop-shaped bright green foliage.

Haworthia

Spiky, striped leaves shaped like long triangles.

Hens and chicks (Sempervivum tectorum)

Wide, round, bright green leaves with pointed, dark red tips growing in a flower-like pattern.

Jade plant (Crassula ovata)

Round, shiny green leaves that grow on long stems in small clusters.

Graptoveria Amethorum (x Graptoveria 'Amethorum')

Mini cactus that blooms with small, pink flowers.

String of pearls (Senecio rowleyanus)

Bright green, small round leaves growing in a cascading pattern on long vines.

Tiger jaws (Faucaria tigrina)

Leathery, dark green leaves with spiky, serrated edges.

6 Hanging Planters

Build your own hanging gardens

Hanging terrariums in a sunny room
Image credits: KYTan via Shutterstock

Hanging planters are a great way to display your succulents and bring your indoor garden to new heights! You can simply use a hook to hang them from the ceiling for a quick, easy succulent terrarium DIY decor element. However, there are many ways to play around with hanging terrariums, which can be in just about any shape or size you like. Keep in mind that you need to water your succulent garden from time to time. You want to hang terrariums where they are still reachable.

Use macrame to hang your various planters, including those that are more traditionally made to be placed on a flat surface. Macrame is a natural-looking weaving that adds small detailed touches and interest to your spaces.

7 Desertscape

Design your own personal desert

Succulents are popularly grown in arid conditions since they retain their own water source. Using them in decorative planters and creating your own mini desertscape requires very little in the way of maintenance and brings an unexpected pop of color and texture to your home. Add some cacti to the mix for extra greenery. Mini-cacti plants grow in a variety of colors and shapes to help you bring succulent terrarium ideas to life.

Bunny ears (Opuntia microdasys)

Oval, spiky, and flat foliage that grows in a stacked pattern.

Fairy castle (Acanthocereus tetragonus)

Small, rounded cylinders grown on top of each other in a towering display.

Golden barrel (Echinocactus grusonii)

Short, squat, round ball covered with gold-colored spikes.

Pincushion cactus (Mammillaria)

Mini-cactus that blooms with small, pink flowers.

Star catctus (Astrophytum asterias)

Small, flattened dark green balls with vibrant pale yellow blossoms.

Elkhorn plant (Rhombophyllum dolabriforme)

Stiff, thick stems growing in branching shapes.

8 Relax With a Zen Garden

Get into a meditative mood

Zen garden terrarium
Image credits: Marc Babin via Unsplash

Use your DIY skills to create your own little zen garden. Any container is transformed by placing greenery among decorative rocks and carefully raked sand. Add a few pebbles to really give the terrarium that zen garden look. Succulents will grow in sand as long as they have enough drainage. The contrast of the sand against the bright green of succulents creates a stunning look. Make your succulent terrarium DIY project even more interesting by using colored sand to create something truly eye-catching.

Do not use fine sand, as it tends to collect too much moisture. Use coarse sand to maintain drainage.

9 Geometrical Containers

Play with sharp angles and clean lines in your designs

What's the secret of learning how to make succulent terrariums? There are no rules when it comes to this DIY project. Terrariums work in all shapes and sizes, The straight lines and acute angles of geometric containers add an artistic touch to your plantings. The different angles and shapes allow you to play around with different ideas and give you a lot of room inside to experiment with the objects and shapes you want to add.

Try mixing succulents with mini cactus plants so the softer, smooth textures of the succulent will play against the spiky cacti. The contrast works well with the sharp angles and clean lines of geometric containers.

Which Will You Try?

If you're a DIYer, terrariums are the perfect project for you! All you need are some succulents and whatever container you have around the house. Whatever you find, there's probably a way to make it into a terrarium. Almost anything can be a planter, from hanging pots to old tea kettles.

Play around with succulent terrarium ideas to bring a little bit of nature into your home and create little mini-worlds wherever you want.