How to make a teardrop terrarium in 3 steps

Container and materials

Teardrop glass, 9 inches in diameter

1 cup of decorative gravel

1/2 cup of cactus mix

5 feet of twine

Plants to use

One 2-inch blue chalkstick (Senecio serpens)

Two 2-inch jeweled crowns (Pachyveria 'Scheideckeri')

One 2-inch Desert Gem stonecrop (Sedum 'Desert Gem')

One 2-inch gray echeveria (Echeveria secunda is a nice choice)

1 lichen-covered twig, 3 inches long

1. Scoop three-quarters of the decorative gravel into the teardrop glass. Tip the teardrop so that the rocks slope from the low to high and from front to back. The angle will make for a pretty view from the back.

2. Spoon the cactus mix, following the same gentle slope. Unpot the plants. Begin planting from large to small and back to front, starting with the blue chalkstick, then the jeweled crowns, the stonecrop, and the echeveria. The chalkstick makes an interesting backdrop for the other rosette plants.

3. Place in the twig for a nice accent. Use a small funnel to cover the cactus mix with the decorative gravel. Attach a length of twine to the teardrop and hang it in a window. Water with a spoon or a dropper, making sure to spread the water out evenly and that none sits at the bottom of the glass.

Excerpted from The Plant Recipe Book by Baylor Chapman (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2014. Photographs by Paige Green.