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Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

by | May 30, 2012 | Creative Inspiration & Projects, DIY, Gardens & Outdoor Rooms

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Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

Tabletop & Mini-Container Gardens

You probably know my DIY limitations by now, I don’t like to spend a lot of time fussing with complicated projects inside or outside. I like to have fun in the process (and mostly, I’m just itching to enjoy the finished product!). That means any DIY projects I attempt can’t take too long or I lose interest and end up distracted by other things. Just being honest with you, am I the only one who is like this? Eeesh. I’m like a two-year old.

So, the perfect type of gardening project for me is basically a five minute small container garden.  The other cool thing about these gardens (and the freshened up pallet garden I shared yesterday) is you can have them even in a very small space, and they are perfect for renters too since you don’t have to own or dig up any ground!).

Today I’m sharing five of my own 5-minute mini-gardens!

I’m so in love with these little gardens, I can’t even tell you. They make me smile every time I see them. Most importantly, I smiled the whole time I was making them too. No melt-downs, break-downs or any unsavory words were uttered. No half-finished projects left for months because I ran out of time to complete them. Five projects that were all fun and no stress. 

Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

5 Minute Garden Idea #1:

You cannot go wrong with this adorable little garden in a pot filled with Corsican Mint (which smells divine!!), and embellished with a wire topiary ornament. CAUUUUUTENESS, right? Right. It probably took 2 minutes. Tops. Took me longer to photograph and blog about it.

And if you don’t have a little wire topiary thing, try something you DO have. A little porcelain bird or critter of some sort would be just perfect perched in the mint. The pot is from Lowe’s.

Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

5 Minute Garden Idea #2:

So you don’t have any ornament for your pot? Fine. Don’t use one. Just as cute without it. This is just a puff of moss (I think this one, above, is called Emerald Isle Spikemoss) in a pot. No ornamentation required. One minute. My pot came from Lowe’s.

Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

5 Minute Garden Idea #3

This is a little terrarium I got from West Elm when I was at a gardening event at the Seattle store. But you could use any sort of glass jar if you didn’t have one like this.

Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

This weekend I filled my container with dirt and rocks, another soft little “Stepable” type creeping plant (which I believe is called “Scleranthus biflorus, but just look for any cute creeping Stepable plants at your garden store)an adorable little metal chair I found at a local garden store and voila, my terrarium garden was born. Sweet, huh? I might keep this one inside.

Three minutes, people. That is all this takes!

Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

5 Minute Garden Idea #4

This is a garden in a crate. I found my crate last year at my local garden center, but you might find something at a thrift store or flea market or in your garage. You could use a tool box, an old wood drink crate, just about anything to hold your garden! You can put whatever plants you want or other cute things in it.

I had a few random little plants like another of the Corsican Mint and Sweet Woodruff, some rocks and starfish and a blue mason jar with a summery striped candle. It doesn’t really matter what it is, if it is cute going in, it will make a nice little arrangement. Don’t overthink it, it should only take a few minutes.

Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

 5 Minute Garden Idea #5

Last year I put together this little fairy garden in a wood box. This year I freshened it up with some succulents and some flowered grass that will bloom year after year (if I can keep it alive!) called “Victor Reiter Sea Thrift.” It took five minutes last year to create this little garden and to freshen it up this  year took like two minutes. Again, you just don’t want to over think it.

Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

BONUS: 5 Minute Garden #6

Teacup Garden!

Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

Don’t worry or stress too much about keeping these little gardens alive. I do not have a green thumb so it is all experimental for me but that is part of the fun.

Most of these plants are pretty hardy if you keep them from completely drying out. Keep them out of direct sun, maybe under a porch roof or under your table umbrella. If it is super hot, just bring them inside and put them near a window. Keep them a little moist and they’ll probably be happy. If a plant eventually dies, you maybe lost $3.99. That is like a cup of coffee that you drink in five minutes!

Five {5 Minute} Tiny Gardens You Can Make in a Crate, Pot or Terrarium

These might be “5 minute gardens,” but they should last ALL summer or beyond. Many of these little plants will come back next year too! If I can do this, anyone can. So, get out and enjoy some gardening! You’ll enjoy it, I promise.

So, what do you think?

Are you intrigued by these 5 minute gardens? They are so whimsical, fun and easy to make! I hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed making them!

linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick’s Outdoor Spaces Party

30 Comments

  1. Linda Stoll

    I really love these petite babies! I don’t think I’ve ever been so inspired to garden! Let’s see if I can do something like this with the herbs I’ve been planning on pulling together.

    So absolutely cute …

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Thanks Linda! :-)

      Reply
  2. missy june

    These are wonderful! I love the carefree nature and any one of these would be fun to put together with my children! Thank you for sharing … I need to head to the garden store!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Oh yes! They would be fun with kids!! :-)

      Reply
  3. Sarah

    Love these! I remember reading about your little fairy garden at some point, and finally made one with my daughter last week. Just posted it to my blog yesterday. Thanks for all the inspiration!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Oh cool! I’d love to see it!

      Reply
  4. Morgan

    I love these! How cute and simple, perfect for a renter like me!

    Reply
  5. Marcie

    quick question…when using a glass jar or similar container, do you have any type of drainage or do you just spray water on the plant and dirt to keep it moist?

    Reply
    • Melissa

      No drainage in the glass! Yes, just use a little mister or sprayer to keep the plant moist but not too soggy!

      Reply
  6. Rene

    I love these! Makes me want to pull out my gardening gloves!

    Reply
  7. KATHYSUE

    Melissa, I did a fairy garden a few years ago and it is still growing, no longer a mini fairy garden, but still very pretty. It is addictive, I wanted them all over my yard. You have shown us how we can do it on a small scale that is so doable. Great job, love them all,
    Happy Wednesday,
    KATHYSUE

    Reply
  8. Addie

    Love miniature and fairy gardens. Where did you get your miniature furniture and additions?

    Reply
    • Melissa

      A garden center near me has all sorts of cute little things for fairy gardens. You could probably use even little doll furniture or accessories!

      Reply
  9. Kathy Watson Waterbury

    Very cute and a way to clean up all of those wooden pots hanging around the shed with a new idea. Also, a cute gift idea! YAY I love these.

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Thanks Kathy! They are so fun!

      Reply
  10. Jennifer

    black thumb here, with little time on my hands…but i’ve wanted something “alive” in the house for a long time! I picked up some little vintage tool drawers last weekend and thought they would make cute little planters…I want some of that corsican mint! so excited…thank you!!

    Reply
  11. Angela

    You have no idea how much I love these tiny little gardens! Thank you for the inspiration. I cannot wait to try and create one!

    Reply
  12. Marianne

    Hi,
    I agree with you about liking projects that take little time!! This sounds like such fun…send us any other tiny projects with big payoffs you do!!

    Reply
  13. Mrs. C

    Love these! How cute! I have very similar pots, but I found them at Dollar Tree!!! $1 a piece! I love good deals just as much as I love a simple, pretty project. Thanks for this post, I actually forgot that I picked those pots up, w/ the intention to grow some herbs in them.

    Reply
  14. Diane

    You have the touch Melissa! Green thumb or not…you’ve got the eye. Love. Love. Love. Each one!

    I’m laughing now at your easy-peasy ideas, after I posted a huge photo tutorial for creating a *simple* window box. Sheesh!

    Reply
  15. mary

    Do you line the wooden crates,etc. with plastic?

    Reply
  16. Garden, Home and Party

    Melissa,
    These are great. They would be especially nice for a table top. You did a great job, thank you.
    Karen

    Reply
  17. Sue

    “Puff of moss” – I love that description, plus love, love the pot from Lowe’s and all the little gardens-they rock!

    Reply
  18. JaneEllen Jones

    Looks like your 5 min. gardens were of interest to alot of people judging by all the comments. I’m not much for anything in the yard as I have asthma and mega allergies.
    I’ll pull a few weeds on way to trash or the mail box but that’s about it. I want a pretty yard but not be the one to make it that way. What can I say?
    Your little gardens really caught my interest. I have a couple containers I can use so just might be going to Lowe’s or Home Depot for some little plants.
    Yeah, thanks for great idea. I’d love to have something green besides the poor straggly plant I’ve been keeping alive for years. WHY? I have no idea. Do I need to put holes in bottom of the wood containers or just some gravel? help. Oh I do have alot of hens/chicks we brought with us from KY that’s stayed alive even in cold winters in CO. Maybe because I ignore it.

    Reply
  19. The Prudent Homemaker

    Beautiful! My daughter just came back from visiting grandma with a cute little garden of succulents and different-sized rocks.

    I love the coriscan mint; I’ve never seen it here.
    These would all need to be indoor plants for us; even succulents will dry out here if they aren’t watered 1-2 times a week. The others would live if watered every day outside, but I’m not real fond of watering outside when it’s 116º out for months on end :) Consequently, the things that do best at my house are those that get watered in the garden with a drip line.

    I love these. They are beautiful! Do keep them all outside?

    Reply
  20. lynn anderson

    if i make a fairy garden in a crate, what do i line it with so the dirt won’t fall out? these are such wonderful little gardens.

    Reply
    • Melissa

      My box is solid and the dirt doesn’t fall out. I’d try plastic or if you want good drainage I’d use landscape fabric!

      Reply
  21. Lauren

    Love the mini gardens. What a cute idea!

    Reply
  22. Maria Holmes

    Um, WOW. I live in the Portland area too! I am so inspired by the picture of your first garden from a previous post…and most especially by your miniature 5 min gardens. OMG. I can’t wait to try this!!!!!! Thank you!

    Reply
  23. Carole Bas

    Oh How Gorgeous!!
    I love these super little gardens…..Couldn’t agree more that five minutes is just right to create a little wonderland….without losing interest……you’re definately on my wavelength!
    Can’t wait to make a little fairy garden for my adorable little Grandaughter..perfect Easter gift..
    Thank you!….

    Reply

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