Vivacious Vivariums

I learned something new today. A vivarium (according to Wikipedia) is any enclosed system made to observe plants or animals. Literally it means a place of life. This encompasses all the -iums including but not limited to terrariums, aquariums etc. I love the idea of making a little place of life, something that brings energy into the room in a fun and controlled way. It's easy to fall in love with terrariums. They are easy to maintain and can bring fun into any room or corner.

How cute is this?

via Terry Planty

There are also some great classic ones out there too. Like this one I saw featured over at Centsational Girl

Technically a terrarium should be an enclosed system but I like the open ones better. These are a great weekend project since you just need a few things.

1: A jar. I got mine at the thrift store.

2: Rocks (from the yard)

3: Dirt (again from the yard)

4: Plants and moss (I found mine around the yard)

If you have a yard it is a pretty cheap project too. Or you can scour side streets and alleys for things. 

Here's the process:

Step 1: Layer rocks and dirt. 

Step 2: Plant. Somehow I didn't get pictures of this but I think you get the idea. I like to create a cluster of larger plants in one section, like creating a little landscape with rocks and everything. Then I made sure I had a good layer of moss in all the blank space. You don't have to do this but I like the lush green look. 

Here she is installed on the coffee table

You can see I added my little flamingo I found somewhere and included some sand left over from my vacation jar to create a little beach for it.

Once you have everything in the way you want it give it a 1/2 cup of water to wet it down and then I just spray mine with water whenever I water the rest of the house plants (twice a week). Mine has been going for about a month now so the water schedule works for me (I waited to post about it just to be sure it lived).