Find a good space with lots of room to make your terrarium.

Chose a nice piece of glass that can hold 2-3 gallons. You can use a cookie jar, fish bowl or flower vase. Next clean it well with a glass cleaner.

Start by pouring 1- 1 1/2" of marble nuggets or other decorative stones in the bottom of a clear glass vessel. The stones at the bottom help provide adequate drainage.

Add 2 cups of pea gravel or small pond pebbles. The smaller rocks help prevent the soil from falling right to the bottom of the jar/bowl. For a well defined separation add a thin layer of beach sand.

Add a thin layer of beach sand up against the sides of the glass. There's no need for the sand to be added towards the center of the vessel since you won't see it after adding more soil.

The layers of sand can very in depth to create visual interest when the piece is done. To create terraces and not waste soil add pockets of mulch or decorative stones, to make a little hill.

Continue to add layers of sand and soil until you have 2-3 inches to work with.

Pick out your dwarf tropical house plants, cluster them together and plan out how they'll be planted.

Some of the plants may have to be split or trimmed to fit in. Prep them by removing them from the pots and knocking away the loose soil.

To dig holes in tight spaces use a hand weeder; spoons and chopsticks also work well.

Before decorating, examine your terrarium by spinning it 360' to get everything just right. Once all your plants are in place press the soil around them, check to make sure all the roots are planted.

Time to decorate. Add beach sand into tight spaces with a funnel that has a flexible hose.

If you want...add sand patches at the base of some plants for decoration... garden paths through the middle of your piece or cover all the exposed soil for a dessert look.

Once you have the final layer of sand or soil added. Top it off with some cool rocks or stones. Clusters of little rocks are great for outlining larger rocks or little sand patches.

Adding some decorative moss helps retain moisture and looks great too.

Terrariums don’t require much water. The enclosed glass reduces airflow around the plants and helps keep the whole environment moist. Give your terrarium a good spritzing when the soil feels dry.

All done, ready for its new home on the coffee table, kitchen island or home office! See more cool terrariums @ Lowescreativeideas.com