Four of my favorite themes are:
- Fairy Garden
- Woodland Hike
- Island Getaway
- Southwest Scene
Read on to visualize each theme, collect supplies, and make your own mini garden!
Fairy Garden
Imagine a magical place with surprises around every bend.
Pebble paths, toadstools on mossy hills, tucked-away cottages, and animals peering through lush foliage set the stage for a fanciful theme.
For a Fairy Garden, use plants like:
- Meadow spikemoss (Selainella Mr.)
- Polka dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya)
- Rockfoils (Saxifrage)
These moisture-loving species thrive self-sufficiently in a closed terrrarium.
If you choose an open vessel, mist the soil thoroughly whenever it feels dry.
Woodland Hike
Picture yourself clad in hiking gear, using your walking stick to climb rocky outcroppings between whispering pines, while a swift river flows below.
These are the images evoked with a woodland hike theme.
For a Woodland Hike, use plants like:
- Baby tears (Helxine soleirolii)
- Bugleweed (Ajuga Reptans)
- Pennsylvania clubmoss (Lycopodium hickeyi)
These do well in a closed container. If you choose an open one, mist thoroughly whenever the soil is dry to the touch.
Island Getaway
Have you vacationed in a tropical paradise where dense exotic plants give way to turquoise oceans and white sand beaches littered with shells?
Bear this scene in mind when you create your island getaway.
For an Island Getaway, use plants like:
- Alpine balsam (Alpine Erin)
- Dwarf creeping fig (Ficus line up)
- Dwarf Western maidenhair fern (Adiantum Aleutian)
Purple waffle is one of five “clean air” species discussed in our article on nontoxic houseplants.
A Note on Moss
For lush, moist arrangements like the fairy garden, woodland hike, and island getaway themes, moss is a perfect ground cover between plants.
Its texture and color variations are perfect for replicating hills and valleys.
The fern is great for creating mini landscapes. The fronds add height, to give the illusion of a canopy of foliage.
Southwest Scene
Astride a palomino on a pebbly, parched riverbed, cacti and succulents dot the landscape as you pass.
Use this vision to fashion a Southwest scene so realistic you can feel the sun on your back as you ride.
For a Southwest scene, use plants like:
This arrangement is perfect for an open terrrarium. Mist occasionally.
For even more mini garden projects to create at home, we suggest checking out the book “Creative Terrariums: 33 Modern Mini-Gardens for Your Home” by Enid G. Svymbersky.
Creative Terrariums: 33 Modern Mini-Gardens for Your Home
This book, available via Amazonincludes tips for getting started and maintaining your terrariums.
It also presents a collection of DIY projects with illustrated step-by-step instructions, thorough materials lists, and helpful tips.
How to Make a Terrarium
Now that you’ve chosen your theme and appropriate plants, decide where you’ll place your mini garden when it’s finished.
If it will be viewed from all sides, keep this in mind as you arrange your plants in a way that is pleasing to look at from every angle.
If your container will be seen only from the front and sides, be sure to have these sides show to best advantage.
Let’s begin! For all projects, you will need:
Supplies:
- Activated filtering charcoal
- Chopstick or pencil
- Close-fitting surgical gloves (optional)
- Terrarium (closed or open)
- Decorative sand (optional)
- Figurines (optional)
- Long tweezers
- Modeling clay (optional)
- Newspaper
- Pebbles or pea gravel
- Plants (see above)
- Appropriate potting soil
- Sphagnum moss
- Tiny trowel or long-handled spoon
- Water mist spray bottle
Activated filtering charcoal is used to kill bacteria and deodorize your arrangement.
Soil Sunrise Horticultural Charcoal
We like Soil Sunrise Horticultural Charcoal, available on Amazon.
Decorative sand is optional for surface decorations, and miniature figurines are an optional decorative addition to help set the scene.
Modeling clay is ideal to have on hand to create a base for containers that are likely to roll.
Newspaper is an excellent asset for any gardening craft project. I like to keep it on hand to spread out before I get started, to protect my work surface.
It’s important to set up your terrarium with the appropriate soil.
African violet potting mix is a good choice if this is what you’ll be growing, or cactus mixes that are light and loose work well for southwestern favorites like succulents and cacti.
And speaking of African violetsyou can learn more about propagating them here.
Sphagnum moss is perfect for layering, and it comes in handy for surface planting as well.
Instructions:
- Choose a theme and select appropriate plants (see below) and accessories.
- Wash container, tools, pebbles/stones, and figurines with mild dish soap and water before assembly. Rinse thoroughly and dry with paper towels.
- Spread newspaper over your work surface.
- Decide whether you will use your vessel horizontally or vertically.
- Cover the bottom of the terrarium with a layer of pebbles followed by an inch of activated charcoal.
- Cover activated charcoal with a layer of sphagnum moss, then add two inches of appropriate potting soil.
- Decide where you want your plants, and use your spoon to make a small hole for your first one.
- Grasp the plant gently with tweezers or fingers. Trim off all but an inch of root length, and place it into the hole, covering the roots, and tamping the soil down with the pencil or chopstick.
Be sure to place them so that they do not touch the sides of the container, and do not reach the lid.
- Continue planting until all specimens are in the soil.
- If desired, fill in areas between plants with pieces of sphagnum moss, tamping gently.
- Add decorative sand, pebbles, stones, and figurines to define your chosen theme.
- Mist foliage and soil lightly and shut the lid securely for closed arrangements.
- Place away from direct sunlight.
It’s important to keep an eye on your new miniature garden. If a closed container becomes completely fogged, you may have overwatered.
