How to Make a dinosaur garden

I love faeries, but I also love dinosaurs, mermaids, dragons and smelly pixies. So when someone left an aquarium at our glass jar drop off point I thought it was the perfect vessel for a dinosaur world.

Here's a step by step guide on how to make your own. Once you have materials gathered this should take no more than 1 hour. I only purchased the plants, so this cost me around $15. 

You will need 
-       An aquarium- find old ones in op shops, recycling centres, verge side collection or freecycle websites
-       Gravel
-       Feature rocks
-       Charcoal
-       Plants- choose indoor plants that are tolerant to humidity. Also look for a variety of colours, textures and sizes to make the mini dinosaur world more interesting. 
-       Sphagnum moss
-       Organic potting mix
-       Dinosaurs- No need to buy any, you can often find homeless dinosaurs at the bottom of toy boxes, in op shops or garage sales

Step 1
Create a gravel layer at the bottom. This looks great with coloured gravel however it’s also where all the excess water will sit. If the plant roots stayed in soggy soil all day they could possibly rot and then start to get mouldy and smelly. No one wants to play with a smelly dinosaur world. 

Step 2
Add a layer of sphagnum moss that you can get from your local garden store. This absorbs excess water

Step 3
Sprinkle a layer of charcoal, this is to filter the mini eco system. 

Step 4
Add plants and position them where you want to. If you are taking them out of pots give the roots a massage to loosen them up. Once the plants are in place, top up the soil with organic potting mix to the base of the plants stems. 

Step 5
Add gravel, paths, larger rock features and a water feature

Step 6
Bring in the dinosaurs. Be careful that they don’t bite your fingers and make sure the herbivores have somewhere to hide from the carnivores. 

Step 7
Take care of your terrarium by making sure if gets indoor sun, water every few days but not too much because the water can't drain away. You’ll be able to see the water through the glass wall so make sure that the excess water doesn’t come above the gravel

Step 8
Play with the garden. It’s a play space so let it get messy, create stories, move dinosaurs when no one is watching, add new features- go Jurassic on it!  



If you create a dinosaur please email us your pictures. We love to see the dinosaur world gardens from around the world.