I have wanted a terrarium for a long time now. What has put me off though is the fact that they are often sold empty, leaving the buyer to fill them themselves. This is all well and good assuming that you know how to fill a terrarium and what to put in it. For people like me who live one day to the next in terms of plant survival, the thought of this can be a little daunting…well no actually that’s an understatement, it’s terrifying. What if you buy the wrong soil, or the wrong plant? What if you plant it incorrectly? There are just too many variables that could lead to the demise of the poor plant and there is nothing worse than having an innocent plant perish at your hands. So this is why it has taken me so long to get a terrarium, despite the fact that I’ve always known that one would look fabulous in my livingroom. When I was offered a terrarium to review by The Urban Botanist, I seriously considered turning it down. Not because I didn’t like the products, they looked amazing. But purely because I didn’t want to fill it myself and risk having to take photographs of a dead plant. Can you imagine having to admit that the terrarium is wonderful but you can’t keep anything alive in it? What kind of review would that be?
But when I investigated further I discovered that The Urban Botanist will supply terrariums in three different options: fully assembled, DIY kits and create your own (glass only). Phew! I gave a huge sigh of relief. Finally a way to own a terrarium without having to put myself under the immense pressure of filling it myself. So I decided to go for it and become the proud owner of a terrarium. Choosing which one to get was quite difficult though as the range is really good and they all so wonderful. I immediately narrowed it down by size. As much as I’d love a supersize terrarium, I just don’t have the space in my livingroom. With 23 plants already taking up every available flat surface we have, we just can’t squeeze that many more in. (Having said that I’m now looking at hanging planters so we can make use of the ceiling).
That left the Aztec range and the Copper Aztec range. No question there. A copper terrarium would look great against our green walls. To be honest I liked the look of each and every copper terrarium on the site, but I opted for the Jewel as I quite liked the look of the reindeer moss. Once I placed my order I just had to wait for it to arrive. I missed the first delivery, which concerned me a little as it is a living thing after all. Then, I missed the second delivery too, which I thought was the first delivery as I hadn’t been left a card the first time around. After calling the delivery company we arranged for them to leave the parcel in my porch. When I finally got it I quickly checked to see if the poor little thing was ok and luckily he was.
I was a little scared when I saw what was inside, I have to admit. The plant was in a little pot, wrapped in a plastic bag, placed carefully on the reindeer moss inside the copper terrarium. What I had received was obviously the DIY kit. I hadn’t specified that the fully assembled kit would be much more suited to somebody as inept as me. That was my fault totally and obviously when you order you can choose your option from a drop down menu. In fact, there is even a new option now which wasn’t available when I placed my order. You can now purchase a terrarium with tiny fairy lights inside, which looks very pretty indeed.
I put off planting my terrarium up and decided that the safest option would be to take it in to work and ask a more green fingered friend to help me out. The plant had obviously been handled a little roughly during it’s multiple delivery attempts as the soil was spilling out of the little pot. But it didn’t really matter as we simply poured all the soil into the terrarium, put some reindeer moss in the back of the terrarium, settle the plant in the middle and then put the rest of the reindeer moss around the front. He looked very snug and happy.
The copper terrarium came with a little booklet of care instructions which was perfect for someone like me. It gave very specific instructions with regards to watering – 15ml every couple of weeks in spring/summer and less often in winter. Perfect! So I’m hoping that he will thrive in his new home. Keep your fingers firmly crossed for me.
What about you guys? Have you ever tried planting up a terrarium? Would you like to?
Disclosure: This post has been written in collaboration with The Urban botanist who supplied the terrarium to us for the purpose of this review. However, I want to stress that I only collaborate with brands and companies that I genuinely like and believe that my readers will like too.
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