12 Tiny Gardens You Can Grow on a Tabletop

Adding a pop of color to your room’s garden couldn’t be easier: Just layer a little bright neon gravel with some potting soil in the glass container as you plant, as has been done in this creation from Love This Crazy Life. Insert a few small cacti, and boom! Instant eye candy.

Do you have trouble remembering to water your plants? Place a water-loving plant in a fully-enclosed mini aquarium, and you need not worry again, as Allison from Dream a Little Bigger has learned. The fish department at your local pet store should have plenty of water plants to choose from.

No need to go to the store for supplies to bring a little terrarium love to your windowsill. Ruth from The Sirona Springs Blog made her terrariums with recycled jam jars, soil, and sand already on hand, as well as cuttings from the garden.

A suspended terrarium is a wonderful design twist on the garden-variety hanging basket. The chain can even provide an opportunity for vining plants to show off. Amanda from Wit & Whistle hung her Score + Solder
faceted planter in a sunny window to nurture the plantings and add reflective beauty.

From the recycling bin to the windowsill, a recycled two-liter bottle can be transformed into a miniature rain forest with a layer of gravel, charcoal, soil, and small tropical plants. As seen on Juggling with Kids, this recycling craft makes a great rainy day project for both kids and kids at heart.

These lightweight terrariums are off the wall—or should we say fridge? Everything you need to build your own magnet-backed planters comes in this mail-order kit from Darby Smart, which makes it quick and easy to add a hit of greenery to the kitchen with an air plant.

You can save a cracked pitcher or chipped vase from the landfill by building a terrarium out of it. Just layer gravel, soil, moss, and plantings, and almost any damaged heirloom can be reborn, as this glass pitcher was on All Sorts of Pretty.

Make the mini-est of the mini terrarium designs using ordinary votive candleholders. With a ring base fashioned from wood veneer edging, these simple-yet-elegant terrariums on Project Wedding can serve daintily as centerpieces for any event that walks the line between casual and classy.

Clustered on a tabletop, a collection of thrift store glass gets a new lease on life as an indoor garden. Footed compotes, wineglasses, bowls, and jars all have equal opportunity, as seen on Saved By Love Creations.

If a self-sufficient planter isn’t enough of a challenge for you, consider a project that requires a little more precision upfront: the light bulb terrarium. After you follow the tutorial on The Hipster Home, this miniature container will bring whimsy to any desktop or windowsill.

Organize your mail, catalogs, and files amidst the greenery of several small terrarium-like scenes by creating truly unusual bookends like these from Forêt Design Studio. Mount the lids of three mason jars on a salvaged board, fill the jars with moss and foraged elements, and admire your handiwork on your bookcase.

After you spice up your dinners, bring a little of the same to your shelf through a collection of recycled spice shaker terrariums. Ashley from 7th House on the Left made these for A Bullseye View using empty Archer Farms herb jars—perfect for a quick hostess offering or project with the kids.

For more about indoor gardening, consider:

15 Plants Perfect for Hanging Baskets

Vegetables on Demand: How to Grow Edible Plants Indoors

10 Common Garden Problems—and How to Fix Them