A terrarium (bottle garden) is a closed ecosystem in glass. You put the layers in, add plants and close the lid, and from that moment the glass takes over. Water evaporates from the soil and the leaves, gathers on the glass and runs back down into the substrate. That cycle repeats itself, which is why a closed terrarium needs watering only once or twice a year.

With the builder you decide what that ecosystem looks like. Start with the glass, because size decides everything after it. A 20 cm bottle holds two or three small plants, a 43 cm bottle gives you room for a bonsai with moss and undergrowth around it. Then choose the lid: natural cork closes the bottle and keeps the humidity in, an LED lid does the same but adds light, which matters if the terrarium ends up in a room without much daylight.

The last step is the plants. All the plants we offer are tropical species that like humidity and indirect light, so any combination you put together will work in a closed bottle.

What you get

Every terrarium you build here is packed to order in our workshop in the Netherlands. The glass is recycled. In the box you find drainage granules, activated charcoal, substrate, cushion moss, your plants and the tools you need to place them through the neck of the bottle. There is a printed guide with it, and building takes around half an hour.

If it is a gift, you can have the cork engraved with a name or a short message. See all our terrarium kits if you would rather start from a ready made combination.