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Hi, everyone!

We’re bringing the outdoors in on Wednesday’s You’re Home with Jill…a concept that’s EVERYWHERE right now in the design world. Garden elements bring a sense of serenity to your indoor spaces, as well as life and vibrant color. I'm sure you've seen terrariums in design magazines and all over the web. But have you ever wondered how to make one?

Essentially, a terrarium is like its own eco system. To build a one successfully, you have to imitate nature and not only provide soil in which plants grow, but rocks, pebbles, and moss to help with drainage and holding everything in place. You also want to make sure the plants you’re using all require similar light and water requirements and be sure they’re slow-growers, otherwise they’ll be out of your terrarium before you know it.

Here are the plants I decided to use…I’ll be honest, I’m not sure of their names. I went to my local nursery and asked for several plants to put inside a terrarium and a kind (and patient!) garden center employee helped me. She even explained that many nurseries are starting to sell terrarium kits, so everything you need to build yours could be in one central location. Look for these areas inside the garden center—where indoor plants can be found.

This almost looks pretty enough to keep as is! And, you can, if you like—as long as the pot-sides are low, as pictured here. Don’t use a high-sided opaque clay pot or glass dish, otherwise light can’t reach your plants.

When you’re ready to build your terrarium, stones go on the bottom. Again, these help with drainage, since glass vessels don’t have drainage holes. Adding rocks helps protect the plant roots.

Next, add some sheet moss which helps keep the soil in place. I’ve read that you can also soak the moss in water for a few minutes, which helps keep in moisture. You just want to be careful that the moss isn't too wet when it goes inside your terrarium.

The dirt goes on top of the moss, and be sure you have plenty of it. You’ll want to dig holes to plant your vegetation, just like in nature. The roots of your plants must be completely covered. And, start with the largest plants.

When all the plants are in, consider adding some decoration to the top of the soil. I loved how a layer of pebbles—and a few larger river stones—looked on top. I’m sure you’ve also seen some terrariums with little gnomes or figurines—add as many as you like.

Talk about a visual piece from top to bottom. And notice how the soil isn’t completely level? Nothing is really level in nature, so don’t spend time leveling out each layer.

I put mine right on the coffee table so it can be enjoyed...and admired! Keep an eye on your terrarium over time—make sure it’s getting enough light and water. And, it might be a good idea to use a mild pesticide now and then to prevent bugs from living and thriving in your indoor garden. If your plants should be pruned occasionally, take time to do it and your garden will look this good for many months to come.

So how else can you bring a taste of the outdoors inside? Why not take a few pictures of your garden and hang them on a wall? Here’s how you make a great photo grouping like this:

Get a large roll of paper and lay out the photos—it’s easiest if you can visualize things on paper before making marks on your wall. Use a measuring tape to make sure the pictures are equally spaced…it doesn’t matter how much space you have as long as the space is even.

Tape the paper on the wall where the mural will be. Grab a frame, pull the hanging wire taught, and measure the distance from the frame-top to the wire. Then, mark the measurement on the page and gently nail a hole through the paper into the wall, so you’ve made a mark.

Almost there…

There! Who needs an interior designer (or hubby!) to help you hang photos…not you!

I’ll see you Wednesday. If you're tuning in on QVC Plus, the show's on at 7pm ET. If you're watching on QVC.com, you can play the episode anytime.

From my home to yours,
—Jill