Moss Terrarium How-To

Have you seen the little moss terrariums that are back in style? I remember having a big retro plastic terrarium in our house during the early 80's....they're making a comeback!

I've had this antique lidded glass jar on a shelf in our dining room forever and keep thinking to myself that I should use it for something. It dawned on me that it would look really cute as a tiny "gnome land" in Titus' room....so here's a little "how-to" that I put together, just in case you have a clear glass container and would like to try this yourself...

You'll need a jar or glass container that has a lid. I think lightly colored glass is okay, but probably not the dark green, etc. I washed it with soap and water and rinsed it really well to get all the soap out.

We are "lucky" enough to have quite a bit of moss growing in our backyard in a little "valley". If you don't have any in your yard, it grows in lots of public places, such as cracks in the sidewalk, cemeteries, etc. If you're really into this project and can't find moss, I hear you can order sections of it online...try a google search.

Place a layer of pebbles in the bottom of your clean jar. (This picture ended up being too full of rocks, so I ended up removing some later. I think a layer that covers the bottom in one layer of stones is sufficient.) You might also like to add some charcoal as an "odor eater", since this will be an enclosed environment.

Add a layer of loose topsoil, about 1/2" thick or more (depending on the height you prefer). Moisten the soil, unless you're like me and it has rained in Indiana for several days and the ground is already saturated.

Dig up a section of moss (or several pieces) from your moss patch. If you're using moss that is dry, moisten it too. Layer it on top of the soil and press down, making sure the moss is touching the soil.

Here is another great place for those fimo pins...I used my gnome and mushroom pins that I made in previous posts. You can also use tiny figurines or leave your terrarium simply moss.