Succulent Terrarium Pinterest Challenge (in which a tiny plastic object scares the living daylights out of me)

October 30, 2012 by Anne 19 Comments

For one of my bridal showers before the wedding, my awesome mother-in-law got me a terrarium (possibly because I had been not-so-subtly lusting after hers).

To make a long story short: I killed it. Well, more specifically, I made it move to the garage because some fruit flies had taken up residence in it and would not leave, no matter how I threatened them.

A few weeks ago, I rehabbed the terrarium and bought this lovely succulent guy from the Fulton Street Farmer’s Market.

It stayed like this for a few weeks…and then an opportunity presented itself in the form of killing zombies for Home Depot coupons.

Not to mention that BFF bloggers Sherry and Katie (along with Carmel and Sarah) gave me a good kick in the rear with the Pinterest Challenge.

The goal is to “stop pinning and start doing.”

I’ve been dreaming about all of these succulent terrariums on Pinterest and it was time to make mine a reality.

First, I had to transplant this little bit of moss. In my mind, moss and succulents don’t go together, so I made this other little planter.

I can’t seem to kill this moss, no matter what I do–it’s the greatest. I plucked it from the woods while camping in early September, and it spent the next month in a Ziplock (I am a horrible plant parent) until I plopped it in the terrarium a few weeks ago.

Here’s the lineup of my Home Depot succulents which, after my $10 off coupon, cost me $.46.

Once I planted them, my terrarium looked like this. It still needed a bit of ground cover and a good wipedown of the glass.

Voila! I put down bark on half and stones on half and used Windex on the glass (for those who are interested in the deets).

But the terrarium was not quite finished. Look closely for a little creature that made himself right at home:

Even if I end up killing the succulents, I have high hopes that this little plastic turtle (in the center between the plants) will survive.

I keep forgetting he’s there, though, and the other day when I walked past the terrarium, I nearly jumped out of my skin because there was an ANIMAL in it.

Once I get used to our new pet, all will be well and I’ll be able to finally enjoy this sweet little succulent terrarium.

In the meantime, I’ll be over here on pins and needles worried that this guy is going to jump out and bite me or something.

It’s a hard life.