Review: DIY copper Aztec jewel terrarium kit from the Urban Botanist

Terrariums have soared in popularity over the last few years and have become a very popular way of attractively displaying and growing small indoor plants in your home.

There are lots of terrariums available to buy, but many don’t come with the plants and planting accessories, so you have to fill them yourself. If you’re not a dab hand with plants, or aren’t sure how best to plant a terrarium, meet The Urban Botanist. They’ve solved the problem of how to get started with planting a terrarium by providing a range of practical kits.

The Urban Botanist have a range of terrarium designs and styles to choose from and you can buy fully assembled terrariums, a DIY kit or an empty terrarium to fill yourself.

Did you know that some of the first terrariums originated in the Mexican and Mayan cultures? We didn’t, but apparently they did and the Urban Botanist’s range of Aztec inspired terrariums are influenced by their history. The copper Aztec collection features lots of gorgeous geometric shapes and strong lines, which fit in well with contemporary design ideas.

We were sent a copper Aztec jewel terrarium DIY kit to review. It arrived well packaged, with the small succulent planted in a pot, along with  some reindeer moss to plant around it. The terrarium features one open side, so you can easily access it to plant it out. All you need to do is carefully remove the plant from its pot, pop it in the terrarium along with the soil provided in the pot, then add the reindeer moss around it.

It was pretty easy to plant, although ours admittedly doesn’t look quite as neat and pristine as the actual product picture! It’s hard to keep the soil fully away from the reindeer moss. Being a succulent, it needs minimal watering, so is easy to care for. Most terrariums we’ve seen previously, use tiny pieces of gravel around the plant, so it’s a bit different to have reindeer moss.

As a new addition to the range, The Urban Botanist have recently introduced two new buying options for the terrariums – fully assembled with lights and empty with lights. These terrariums are supplied with a string of tiny lights which you can place inside the glass. As you can see, it’s a really nice way of adding an extra dimension to your planter and is especially apt for the darker autumn and winter evenings.

We were impressed with the quality of the copper terrarium and the geometric jewel shape is very attractive. The kits certainly make creating your first indoor succulent terrarium planter a doddle and make a perfect new home or special occasion gift.

If you’re looking to buy a terrarium for a Christmas present, you can pre-order your favourite design now and choose an advance delivery date, then have it delivered nearer Christmas.

For more details, check out the range at www.theurbanbotanist.co.uk.

(Disclosure: We were sent a terrarium kit to review, but all views and opinions are our own). 

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