How to Create a No-Fuss Garden

If You Prefer a Single Plant

You don't need to expend a lot of effort to put together an eye-catching terrarium. Get a lush look by using a simple container and just one plant.
 
 What you’ll need: A glass cloche (a bell-shaped cover) and a saucer, or a large-mouthed apothecary or cookie jar; pebbles for drainage; sterilized soilless potting mix; a mister filled with distilled water; small scissors; a flowerpot; and a humidity-loving tropical houseplant, such as a button fern or a flame violet, that is compact or slow growing. If you’re having difficulty finding one, read the plant labels or ask a salesperson for help.
 
 How to set it up: Arrange a one-inch layer of pebbles in the base of the terrarium. Transfer the plant from its original plastic pot to a ceramic or earthenware one, and add potting mix to fill if necessary. Use scissors to trim any yellow or brown leaves. Mist the soil with water and cover.
 
Pick a vessel. Large cloche with saucer (13¼ inches high by 13¾ inches in diameter).

 

Make it pretty. Choose a modest, unadorned pot so that the plant (here, a maidenhair fern) remains the focus of the display.

 

Position the pot. Place the plant in the center of the terrarium. Prune its leaves to ensure that none are touching the sides or the top of the glass.

 

Tip: Once they fade, flowering plants are unlikely to rebloom. So camouflage the containers with moss and swap in a new flowering plant after the first one expires.