Our first ever pop-up was held this past December at Seattle's Land Management. I had the pleasure of kicking off the event by teaching a terrarium class to a handful of talented NW photographers. We focused on building and maintaining a healthy succulent|cacti garden, in our unlikely Seattle climate.

I've always been quite content with rolling up my sleeves and getting lost in gardening or terrarium building. It was an entirely different experience teaching and observing, but just as rewarding. So inspiring to watch everyone's creativity extend past the camera lens and into the terrariums they were building.

I prepped for the event by making each attendee their own hand made concrete and glass open terrarium. I also spent some time gathering some of my favorite succulent|cacti specimens from local nurseries.

[ TERRARIUM BUILDING TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH SUCCULENTS|CACTI ]

Make sure to work with an open vessel. This will help prevent the build up of condensation and allow your cacti to dry.
Before adding soil to your vessel, make sure to start with a layer of rock that will act as drainage.
Gardening charcoal is key to keeping your little eco-system clean and healthy. The charcoal will act as a filter, either layer it over your drainage or mix into the soil.
Cacti will remain much healthier when using succulent|cacti soil vs. potting soil. Your plants will get the nourishment they need from the soil and the added agents (sand|stone|pearlite) aid in pulling excess water away from your plants root structure.

WORDS | Sanam Miremadi [ ChloeTouran]

PHOTOGRAPHER | Kara Mercer