How to Make a Floating Terrarium 2026

Making a floating terrarium is easy to make and maintain, as they are perfect for hanging next to a desk, a bed or by the kitchen window, where they can be admired and enjoyed.

This DIY terrarium makes a great gift, it can be put together in minutes and looks really beautiful.

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Glass globes are now available in garden nurseries, and air plants like the Thailand one we used in this terrarium.

I think at one time air plants were harder to locate, but now they are becoming quite common.

Steps to make a floating terrarium:

#1: What you will need to make a terrarium

Materials for a terrarium can usually be purchased at a local nursery or hardware store. There are online retailers for most of these items, and specialty retailers.

Tool you need to make a floating terrarium:

• Glass globe to house the terrarium: you can buy a new or reused glass container or container that has a nice volume
• Sand
• Activated carbon
• Potting soil with good drainage (cactus and succulent soil can be a good option).
• Various mosses
• Small sticks or bark
• Minerals, shells or stones
• Small plants well adapted to terrarium life
• Air plant such as tilandsia or another bromeliad that you like
• Succulents, if you like, although it is not recommended to mix succulents and plants due to different watering requirements, we did it anyway
• A good hook or rope to hang it

#2: Add the sand layer to the terrarium

• The bottom layer of the terrarium is a thin layer of sand or pebbles for drainage.
• We chose sand because Long Island (where the terrarium was built) is literally one giant pile of sand, so if you dig a little, it's easily available and free. Small pebbles may look better.
• Find a small cup, dustpan, or funnel to load the sand into the terrarium. It doesn't take much, 1 cup of sand is probably more than enough.

#3: Add a layer of charcoal to the terrarium

• The next layer to put in the terrarium is activated carbon, the same thing. These are the things about your Brita water filter or fish tank filter; If you have it, throw it there. Otherwise, you can buy small quantities online or skip this step entirely.
• I just had a lot of activated charcoal lying around for a future project, so we took a 1/4 cup or so and added it.
• We devised a simple cardboard chute to deliver materials precisely where we wanted them in the terrarium. The hopper, plus a push stick or brush, works much better than the dump method.
• The layer of activated carbon simply keeps things "fresh", or so I've read.

#4: Adding the terrarium soil layer

• Then, add an inch or two of well-draining soil. I mixed some potting soil with succulent soil to get a good mix. You don't need much, as the plants come with a clump of soil that will likely allow them to survive for a while.
• We found the paintbrush to be very useful for moving dirt. If I were making a larger terrarium, or working with one that had a larger hole, I think positioning plants and soil media would be much easier, but unfortunately, we liked the look of this globe and tried our best.

#5: Adding larger features to the terrarium

• Here we are breaking a cardinal rule of terrarium construction and including both a plant and a succulent in the same terrarium.
• It is generally believed that small plants that adapt well to life in a terrarium require different living conditions than succulents. However, I am nonconformistta and I decided to break this rule.
• The live plant we chose was abundant and strategically planted at the back of the terrarium, where it is likely to remain most humid.
• We placed the succulent on a small hill of soil so it would drain first, and placed it closer to the opening, which is probably a drier environment.
• I'm sure it won't take too long for the terrarium experts to correct my potentially fatal mistake, however, we really wanted to combine plants and succulents in one terrarium.
• It may be easier to place the plants before filling the terrarium with soil, and then fill the space between the plant roots.
• You can also just dig small holes and plant normally.
• Both methods worked well for us, but the larger the plant, the more sense it makes to put it before the soil and then add soil around it.
• Don't overcrowd the terrarium with large items! We are adding quite a few additional small elements, so it is important to leave some room to be creative with the little space that is left.

#6: How to add small features to a terrarium

• We use a pair of long-handled tongs to place additional items inside the terrarium. Chopsticks work well too.
• We added a hearty dose of a few different types of dried and ornamental mosses, a mineral my mom really likes, and a small stone egg. (My mom has a PhD in Pre- and Perinatal Psychology, what can I say, she really likes eggs.)
• We also included some dried pieces of tree bark from some trees that were falling last fall. This was followed by the insertion of a small air plant called Tilandsia.
• These plants do not need to be planted in the conventional sense: they do not require soil and simply draw their nutrients and water from the air. They are perfect candidates for terrariums.
• Finally, we added some colorful shells that we had collected on the beach (wash them well as they can introduce salt to the small ecosystem, plants and salt do not mix well) and a small set of thorns that had arrived off a cactus that I used to have, but which died.

#7: Accessories and maintenance of the terrarium

• It may be helpful to purchase some accessories for the terrarium. If you have made a glass globe terrarium that is not self-supporting, you will need some type of hook. I think these iron hooks look pretty good when combined with the terrarium.
• You also have to water the terrarium from time to time. Maybe once or twice a week, depending on location and weather conditions. We set up my mother with a dual watering system: the normal water can that serves most normal house plants, and then a special mister designed to mist living things like the air plant.
• Maintenance of these little guys is pretty easy. Simply hang it in an area that gets moderate sun (but not direct sun if possible) and be sure to water the little ones once a week or so. If it looks very damp in there, or if mold or a swampy smell develops, you are definitely overwatering. If plant parts begin to wilt, they are likely under watering.

Remember that you can also make a floating terrarium in the comfort of your home and easily.

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