Maine Allen's Blog: GARDEN | Cactus terrarium

Cactus terrariums only because popular this year. Oh no, hold on. Wait a minute. I had my very first cactus terrarium when I was about 8! That’s right, ladies & gentlemen. That’s about 18 years ago. Oh dear. Cactus terrariums (and other plant terrariums for that matter) have been around for a good while. In fact they were already popular in the Victorian times! Apart from showing you how to make your own cactus terrarium (and where to get the prettiest most affordable cacti, shhhh!) I also want to give a shout-out to the book called The House Gardener by Isabelle Palmer.

The House Gardener (£19, E-bay) does not only show you how to build your very own plant terrariums - it also give you a million and one tips on house plants, various gift ideas and how to protect plants from being eaten by your cat (and vice versa). I managed to snatch it from Urban Outfitters for a tenner and have no regrets whatsoever. Even if you’re not planning to have a plant terrarium ridden house - this book will make a beautiful coffee table addition!

Now to the cactus terrarium itself - how to make one?
✓ get a terrarium - the best places to get them from are Asda (they had an affordable one for just £10!), Oliver Bonas (you can get my beautiful mini glass house here), Urban Outfitters (beautiful but rather pricey!), TK Maxx (they always have some in stock) and if you want a truly vintage piece then look on E-bay
✓ get some cacti - I found that the healthiest and more affordable ones are at flower stalls, believe it or not! the IKEA ones are just not particularly healthy or cute, the B&Q ones are just a little too big and the ones in Wilkos - don’t even get me started on Wilkos and how they (don’t) take care of their plants
✓ get cactus soil mix or just sand (it needs to be bitty and quite granular to allow for decent drainage) and pebbles for decoration (optional)
✓ now go wild and create your little cactus world!

As you can see, Cookie wasn’t particularly impressed with the whole cactus shebang - no wonder, these are the only plants in the house he hasn’t tasted yet, the little bugger!

Have you made a cactus terrarium yet?

Share your blog posts below if you have, I’d love to see them!