How to make a terrarium with Chase

Great for gifting 

Terrariums make fantastic gifts for horticultural lovers and, when gifted in tandem with a bottle of their favourite tipple, makes a truly special present. To learn how to make your own terrarium at home, follow the below step-by-step guide from our expert, Emma Sibley, founder of London Terrariums.

How to make your own at home

What you’ll need:  

• 1x empty Chase vodka or gin bottle 

• Small pebbles or stones  

• Activated charcoal  

• Compost 

• Long tweezers  

• Funnel 

• Cork Patter 

• Selection of small, humidity-loving plants such as Fittonia, Ivy, Asparagus Sprengeri and Bun Moss  

• And finally, a long, thin stick or skewer  

The 5 easy steps to build your own terrarium

Step 1

- First thing’s first - you’ll want to select your plants. You’ll want to ensure they’re slow-growing and low-maintenance due to the enclosed space they’ll be living in.   

Step 2

- Take your empty bottle, and use your funnel fill it with small stones or pebbles about 2-3cm deep and then sprinkle over the activated charcoal. This’ll help to prevent bacteria from growing.   

Step 3 -

Now layer in the soil - be sure there’s enough in there for the plants’ roots to embed deep enough.  

Step 4

- Starting with the largest of the plants, use your stick or skewer to create a small hole in the soil. Tweeze the plant into the bottle and nestle it into the hole, flattening the soil around the edges to stabilise. Repeat this step until all plants have been potted.   

Step 5

- Give it a spritz of water into the neck of the bottle and pop the cork in. Then all that’s left is to find the perfect space for your terrarium to live!

Terrarium TLC - Emma’s top tips

• Pot the perfect plants: With over half (53%) of Brits admitting they worry about how to keep their houseplants alive, terrariums are a great alternative to open-air plants. I’d recommend plants such as Fittonia and Ferns which are quite thirsty plants so are perfectly suited to the humidity in a closed Terrarium.    

• Get the light right: Choosing the prime location for your terrarium is key - generally, you want to avoid direct sunlight, but also ensure it’s not placed in a dark space - an open location with indirect sunlight tends to be best.  

• Avoid extremes: Although your terrarium has its own enclosed microclimate, they can be affected by extremes of temperature so don’t leave them on a heated floor or on top of a radiator, but also avoid leaving them out in the coldest winter.  

• Prune, trim, and groom!: Your terrarium plants will grow… they’ll grow slower than if they were outside of a terrarium but you may need to get in there with some extra long scissors and tweezers and give them a little trim from time to time. 

• Condensation is key: A happy plant will give off a light condensation on the inside of the glass. If you notice too much moisture you can always take the cork off to let it dry out a little, or if you’re worried it's looking a little dry you can always give a little spray of water.