It might sound strange, but I have never had a strong interest in indoor plants. Sure, I appreciate the beauty and sometimes aroma that they can add to any room. But I never had them around growing up and I would always forget to water other housemate’s plants, should they make the mistake of asking me to do so.
So it may seem odd that I have gone down the path of making terrariums, first as a hobby and now as a side hustle. Growing up, I was never artistically inclined, which didn’t bother me – I just accepted that was the way it was. However, there is something about taking an empty and sometimes neglected old vessel and filling it with life and a new purpose of sustaining the small, beautiful and fragile ecosystem that I have created within it.
I guess this is how artists feel, whether it would be a painter taking a blank canvas and filling it with vibrant colours, a sculptor who creates a beautiful vase from a seemingly messy lump of clay, or a songwriter plucking words that we use daily and arranging them into a beautiful melody that stays with us forever. I have found the artist in me, and it is now in overdrive.
An accidental discovery
So how did I find my passion for building terrariums? Well, if the Covid-19 pandemic taught us anything, it was that when the world essentially stops, you get a chance to make some discoveries about yourself. It wasn’t as though I woke up one day and had a ‘eureka’ moment about this new passion of mine. It was purely by accident and one that could have been overlooked without my persistence.
During the first UK lockdown in 2020, when your only option was to go for a walk around your local park, you would do anything to make that daily walk a little more interesting each time. Myself and my bubble friend at the time (who is now my partner – another classic pandemic story) decided to head to the local Homebase (DIY store and garden centre) for a wander. The aim – which was very much her aim – was to find me a plant to brighten up my room. As you might now imagine, this did not immediately ‘spark joy’ with me and the repeated reminders that I would forget to water it and it would inevitably die fell on deaf ears. We found ourselves walking around the plant section, looking at all the various types of Forna.
To say I felt uninspired was an understatement and it was likely that we would be leaving the store empty-handed. But then, out of the blue and in what could only be described as a sort of sign, there it was. In a scruffy-looking box that had been returned by a previous purchaser and the only one left on the shelf, a box with a picture of a glass vase and plants inside of it. I asked my friend what it was, to which she replied, “Oh, that is just a terrarium. You put plants inside of it”.
Now, this is the point at which I could have just continued to walk past and simply forgotten all about it – in fact, I’m still surprised that I didn’t. But something was drawing me to this terrarium kit, so I went over, picked up the box, and looked at it more closely. My brain was working overtime and (whilst thinking out loud) trying to understand how you could get soil and plants all in through that narrow neck and placed so beautifully. And how does it stay alive? Does it need water all of the time like other typical indoor plants? My friend simply responded, “I think you just leave it once it is made, but I’m not sure”.
Hold on. So I could get a plant, place it in this large glass vessel and then not have to worry about looking after it? To say that there was a look of disappointment on my friend’s face would be an understatement – more so because true to my character I had discovered an easy and no-responsibility way of having something, as opposed to the original plan of looking after an indoor plant.
“Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.”
– Kerri Russell
Something else about my character though is that when I find something that I gain an interest in, I pour my heart and soul into it – and in this case, with my first Homesbase terrarium kit purchased, I began feverishly researching the topic of terrariums. Over the next two days, I uncovered what seemed like a secret world of terrarium-making that I had no clue about. I read countless blogs and articles; I ordered three books on terrariums which were a huge source of inspiration, and I fell into a rabbit hole of YouTube viewings on different terrarium designs. It was official – I was hooked. I hadn’t even built my first terrarium yet, but I already had grand plans of making all sorts of terrariums, from vertical moss-covered ones to putting in miniature figurines.
Fast forward to now, and I’ve made numerous terrariums. Having learnt how to (and how not to) make a beautiful terrarium, I am now taking the next step, from hobby to hustle. Plus, my friend-turned-live-in-girlfriend has insisted that we have no space for all the terrariums I am making (there are currently 20 empty vintage vessels lining our hallway). So here we are, ready to go to market and share the journey with you all. I hope it’s one that you enjoy – and who knows, it may even inspire you to take up terrarium-making yourself, or any other undiscovered passion or hobby.
Finally, this all wouldn’t be possible without the love and support of my girlfriend. Thank you for putting up with my crazy ideas and I hope I don’t cause you too much stress along the way, besides you did start all this, so remember that.
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