Terrarium Craft

Amy Bryant Aiello and Kate Bryant bring a more creative, project-driven approach to terrarium building. Aiello owns Artemisia, a popular Portland boutique specializing in terrariums and indoor gardens, and the book draws heavily on her experience designing terrariums that double as art pieces.

Why Consider This One

Where “Gardens Under Glass” focuses on teaching the fundamentals progressively, “Terrarium Craft” is organized around fifty specific projects grouped by theme: forest, beach, desert, and fantasy. Each project comes with a full materials list, step-by-step instructions, and photographs by Kate Baldwin. If you are the kind of learner who wants to pick a project and dive in rather than read through foundational chapters first, this structure might suit you better.

The book is particularly strong on creative expression. Aiello and Bryant show you how to incorporate unexpected materials like driftwood, shells, stones, lichen, and bark into your designs. Several projects go beyond traditional planted terrariums into whimsical miniature worlds, using figurines and found objects to create scenes. This makes the book especially appealing if you want your terrariums to be conversation pieces, not just plant containers.

The opening chapter covers all the basics you need: container selection, soil and drainage, plant choices, and care instructions. It is concise but thorough enough to get a beginner started. The real value, though, is in the fifty projects themselves, which range from simple moss terrariums to elaborate multi-plant compositions.

What to Expect

A project-driven guide with fifty terrarium designs organized by theme. At 196 pages, it covers the fundamentals in a practical opening chapter and then turns you loose on a wide variety of creative builds. The photography is excellent, the instructions are clear, and the emphasis on incorporating natural materials beyond plants gives your terrariums a distinctive, handcrafted look. Best suited for builders who want creative inspiration alongside their how-to guidance.