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By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
At almost any home furnishings store, terrariums can be purchased for considerable sums of money. While the decorative succulents are a unique and brightening decoration for any room, they are also quite simple to create yourself.
Each third and fourth grader was able to choose their own succulent to personalize their terrarium. Photos by Katrina Margolis
On Thursday, July 13, children in grades three and four were offered the chance to create their own terrariums, led by children’s librarian Lizzy McGovern and local author and former florist Suzie Cande. Each given a glass bowl, the process of creating a terrarium began after a few safety instructions.
At the bottom of the bowl, each child put about an inch of blue stones. “Because this is a bowl and there are no holes, these stones will act as a sort of drain for any extra water,” Cande explained. “You never want to have standing water for any plants, but especially for succulents because they don’t need very much water.” Above the stones, each child then poured about two inches of soil. Cande demonstrated her own preferred, professional technique in planting the succulent within the soil. “Even though succulents are a type of cactus, they still have roots, so they need soil,” she explained.
Local author and florist Suzie Cande led third and fourth graders in the making of their very own terrariums. Photos by Katrina Margolis
Each participant, which included four girls and two boys, was able to choose their own succulent, picking out their favorites from a variety of different options. On top of the soil went sand - a more difficult process, since the succulent was already inside of the container. The most exciting part came at the end when each child was able to decorate his or her terrarium with clear stones, allowing for a little bit more creativity.
The terrariums only need to be watered every other day, so they are a low maintenance way to have some greenery and plant-life in one’s space.
