How to make a mini garden of cacti and succulents

Besides being beautiful, a mini garden is the ideal option for those who want to add a bit of nature but don't have much space, it is the ideal alternative for those who live in an apartment, or even for those who don't have the free time to ensure the necessary care. conventional plants.

Arranged in glass terrariums and even aquariums, the mini garden becomes an object of decoration full of life and delicacy, adding charm to any environment. It can also be presented in different designs, with an infinite variety of plants and materials, according to the preference of its creator.

For Babi Vieira, owner of Os Mini Mundos, a company specializing in the creation of mini gardens and terrariums, these are ideal for those who live in apartments and have little space with sunshine, as some species adapt very well to environments with half shade. “Also, for low maintenance they are great for those who don't have much time to take care of their little plants.” In addition to beautiful and dynamic decoration objects they draw our attention to the greatness of nature and the entire universe that inhabits a simple moss. ?, reveals.


Walkthrough: How to Make a Mini Garden

If you want to brighten up your home with this 'living' home décor, the pro has created a simple tutorial that teaches you how to create a mini garden for your home. Check out their guidelines:

Necessary materials:

  • 1 container: It can be glass, ceramic or clay. Even some not as conventional as tennis shoes or a pan. Use your creativity? Indicates the professional.
  • Prepared Substrate: "About 3 parts vegetable land, 2 parts sand and 1 part perlite," he teaches.
  • Stones: "pebbles or gravels of your choice", proposes.
  • Succulent seedlings: "Ideally they have an appropriate size for your container," he instructs.
  • Props: It is at your discretion. It can be from colored sand, characters, pebbles, trunks to shells?
  • Gardening Tools: "If you don't have specific tools, you can improvise with using items like spoon of different sizes, long tweezers, brush and etc.", reveals.

Mounting Mode

  1. Wash your container thoroughly with soap, removing any unwanted residue from it. This prevents any fungus or insect larva from proliferating at the site. Allow to dry completely.
  2. Make a small layer with the pebbles or gravel in the bottom, trying to facilitate drainage if there is excess water, as the container usually has no holes.
  3. Use your imagination and mentally draw the scenario you want to reproduce, so you don't risk assembling everything and then changing your mind.
  4. Remove the chosen plants from their respective pots, always taking care to preserve as much as you can from the original clod of soil around their root. This ensures a better adaptation of the plant in your new home. From there you already know how much land you will need to complete in your container. If the clod is large, place it in the container and complete with the prepared substrate to the desired height.
  5. Once the seedlings are in place, lightly press the soil around the trunk so that they fit better into the new soil.
  6. It is always good not to leave the soil exposed, as this causes water to evaporate faster. Lay a small layer of pebbles and / or sand covering it.
  7. That done, finish by decorating the scenery with what you find most interesting. Use rocks, trunks, mini sticks, characters or colored sand. Let the imagination run wild.

Best Plants to Use in a Mini Garden

According to Babi, The best plants to use in open terrariums without holes in the bottom are succulents and cacti. "Because they need less water than other plants, care is even easier," he says.

Read also: 14 creative ideas to enjoy the space under the stairs


Other plants that can be grown in small terrariums are the mini ferns, peperomia, carpet moss, moon valley, old beard, strawberry geranium, mini calamus, phytonia and asplenium bulbiferium. Options abound, just choose which one suits you best.

Tutorials for creating your mini garden

Need more explanation to build your mini garden? Then check out these video tutorials with demos and ideas for this beautiful decorative item:

Mini garden of succulents and cacti

In this video, blogger Gabi Lourenço teaches you step by step how to create a mini garden with cacti and succulents using a clay vase.


How to make a terrarium / mini garden

In this tutorial, blogger Juliana Góes demonstrates all the steps for setting up a terrarium in a glass aquarium.

Step by step mini garden of cacti and succulents

For this mini garden, the blogger couple teaches how to set up a beautiful mini garden with succulents and various cacti.

Read also: 20 Simple Decorating Tricks to Transform Your Home

Mini garden diy and concrete vase

To make the mini garden even prettier, blogger Darlene uses an old pasta dish as her chosen container, and teaches how to make a nice concrete pot for decoration.

Diy: How to make a terrarium

Here, blogger Carla demonstrates the steps to set up a beautiful terrarium, while leaving as a container suggestion a can of reused glass.

How to make a terrarium

In this video, blogger Karol Pinheiro uses an unconventional glass vase to teach how to make a beautiful terrarium. She still explains the possibility of using cactus seeds or seedlings at the time of assembly.

Mini gardens ready to buy online

If you want even more convenience, there are online stores with terrariums and mini gardens ready for purchase. Check out a selection of beautiful mini gardens and choose your favorite:

In the most varied containers, terrariums or mini gardens integrate with the environment and bring freshness and life to any corner of your home. It is worth choosing one that suits your style and start taking good care of this piece of nature.

How to care for your miniature garden

Although practical, a mini garden needs care just like any other. For Babi, it is always necessary to remember that succulent plants are natural from dry and very hot regions, not requiring much watering. In addition, they enjoy plenty of natural light and watering is required only when the soil is dry, so they do not survive in the air conditioning climate. "Watch your plants, they always give very clear signals of what they need," he teaches.

It is also worth mentioning that the plants, however small, will grow in the chosen container, and it is necessary to leave a space at the moment of their assembly for this to occur without complications.

Another important tip is to leave the terrarium or mini garden exposed to the sun only in the morning, remembering that depending on the material, if it is too long exposed to the sun can overheat and hinder the development of plants inside.

25 photos of mini gardens to get inspired!

Still wondering how to set up your mini garden? Check out this selection and be inspired by the most varied examples of mini gardens and terrariums. Note the chosen containers, the plants used and the compositions with different types of decorations:

Whether for those seeking greater contact with nature, or for those who want a beautiful and charming decoration object, a mini garden will bring more life and joy to your home. Bet it!

DIY Mini Cactus Gardens (April 2024)


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