Terarriums are beautiful small plant environments where everything from succulents to emerald ferns can thrive. I learned how to build terrariums at a workshop this weekend at The Space artist co-working space in Alexandria, Sydney, run by installation artist Melissa Carey and florist Nicole Hong from Flower Lane & Co.

Each of the about 20 participants was treated to tea and tasty cakes and muffins during the workshop, which made building that much more fun.

Everyone wore aprons to stay clean, and we had plenty of space on our workbenches to build the medium glass bowl terrarium and small hanging terrarium.

Building a terrarium is simple but so much fun because there are endless ways to customize them. Take a glass bowl, and fill it about an inch high with smooth, clean stones or pebbles for drainage. Then, top those with at least another inch of soil, so the plant has something to form roots in, which it will do naturally once it’s planted. Use a stick to put a little indentation in the soil before sticking it in the dirt and patting its base to surround it with soil.

Then, decorate your terrarium to your heart’s content. Use colored sand, seashells or jewels to liven it up. Moss is a great addition, because it adds moisture to the environment while also making it look amazing.

The space we created the terrariums in was full of light, had cool music in the background, and was peaceful and relaxing.

Carey puts on a variety of amazing-sounding crafty workshops, all of which you can find here. Her next terrarium workshop is Saturday, March 13, at The Space. To attend, head here.