Simple Miniature Garden Ideas For A Calming DIY Zen Garden

Build this easy little lush diy mini green garden to add a calming and meditative zen ambiance to your space. A little sand and glass stones keep it simple and beautiful while bright green miniature plants create your own little lush jungle in a pot! Check out these simple miniature garden ideas to add a cool serene style to your gardening life.

how do i make a simple mini garden at home?

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You can create simple and beautiful miniature garden ideas like these using a few basic items that you may already have around you!

To create a simple, zen-inspired miniature garden, you’ll want to get a few specific items ready:

A wide or shallow style planter

You can use a wide, shallow planter of your choice, but the one pictured above is a big favorite of mine due to its clean white container style and elevated stand. It really embodies that clean zen style too. It’s a popular choice amongst Amazon shoppers and myself alike!

Potting soil (I used Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix)

Miniature plants or Succulents

If you choose to order live miniature plants online, these small ones are perfect for our diy miniature garden project!

They come in 2-inch pots and boast a small compact size you’ll want for planting in a tiny lush garden!

Decorative Sand

Decorative sand comes in many colors and will add a nice decorative touch to the top layer of the soil. Pebbles or gravel can also be used to add a calming and zen look!

Flat Round Glass Pebbles or Decorative Glass Beads

These add the look of colorful glass beads or glass stones to the top of the sandy layer. They add a simple, yet beautiful accent to the finished container with the miniature plants.

What are Miniature Plants called?

Miniature plants are considered the dwarf variety of many common plants that you might recognize. For example, a small palm plant or miniature english ivy plant is the baby version of a full-sized plant. These plants are purposely created on a smaller scale with smaller leaves for miniature gardens.

Do Miniature Plants Grow?

Yes! They may take slower amounts of time to reach a larger appearance, but they will eventually outgrow their surroundings. These miniature-sized garden plants are mainly healthy baby plants that have been started in smaller pots to be able to use in fun miniature garden ideas like this one! Most of the plant varieties are easy to maintain.

What can you grow in a mini garden?

You can grow a variety of miniature plants plants which most commonly come in 2-inch pots. Keep in mind that many succulents tend to do well in mini gardens too! Succulents especially don’t mind growing in shallow soil so they aren’t picky!

You’ll find that most of the popular miniature plants sold are versions of easy low-maintenance indoor plants that tolerate part shade conditions.

This makes them a dream to care for once they are planted. Here are a few examples of what I chose for mine!

Miniature Geranium Aralia or Geranium Leaf

For this project, I’ve chosen a miniature version of the Geranium Aralia or Geranium leaf plant. It has variegated coloring in the leaves and an interest shape to the leaves as well. This will help to add contrast and interest to our fun miniature diy garden.

Miniature Bamboo Palm or chamaedorea Palm

A miniature bamboo palm will add a touch of tropical vibes in the center of the pot. It’s stunning bright green and feathery palm leaves will make a beautiful statement in this mini zen garden.

Miniature False Aralia

The long, slender variegated leaves of a dwarf-sized False Aralia will also add the look and feel of the exotic. It has a unique shape and coloring the leaves that will add to our zen-inspired look for this mini garden.

Miniature Maidenhair Vine

To help complete the look of our diy mini garden, something viny or creeping helps to add character and beauty to the assortment in the pot. A miniature pot of Maidenhair vine offers a perfect complement to the miniature garden plants we’ll pair together.

How Do I give my Mini Garden A Zen Feel?

Add pebbles, stones, gravel, or sand! The glass ‘vase filler’ pebbles add a beautiful decorative touch to the finished look.

How Do You Decorate A Mini Garden

A simple way to decorate, besides stones, sand, or gravel, is to add height! I’ve chosen to use dried branches to add height and drama to our small zen garden.

How is this simple mini garden different from a fairy Garden?

A fairy garden will usually have a theme along with many pieces of miniature items. This might be a small mini table with chairs, or a little bridge and house.

The fairy garden miniatures are usually from the hobby store or craft store. The idea being to create a magical place for a fairy to live.

Our simple miniature garden is meant to have a basic zen look to inspire meditation, contemplation, and overall serenity through simplicity.

Create Your Own Simple Mini Garden

Add potting soil to your wide shallow planter. I like to use indoor potting soil or organic soil for my miniature zen garden.

Choose Spots for your miniature plants in the container

I chose to group my miniature plants in the center of the pot for a more dramatic look. You might choose to plant yours with a different, more spacious layout and perhaps add larger stones to the center.

Perhaps you might add long stems and dried branches off to the side and use the other side to add your glass pebbles. Play with the layout by grabbing your potted plants and placing them in the spots you are considering before planting to create your ideal miniature garden look.

Add Decorative Sand and Glass Stones

Once you have everything planted and spaced out the way you like, top off the soil with the decorative sand and add your glass pebbles.

These will add color and interest to the top layer of the soil while helping to retain moisture in our lush, green mini garden.

Indoor Plants Care and Maintenance After planting

misting and humidity

Show your mini garden lots of love by keeping a misting bottle with water nearby. Miniature dwarf plants, like any other plants, will enjoy the humidity from cool misting. They’ll stay green and happy.

plant food

Help them out by giving them vitamins and nutrients! Water your plants with a little plant food mixed in once a month in the winter and up to twice a month in the hotter months of year during spring and summer.

Try not overwater

I know this seems like the most obvious thing not to do, but it happens all the time! Sometimes we love our plants to death, literally! Keep in mind that we’ve added toppings and coverings to the soil. Whether this be decorative sand or gravel, these materials also naturally help the soil retain moisture for longer periods of time. Check the soil’s moisture 1 to 2 inches deep before watering again to prevent root rot and overwatering. If still moist, do not water.

Where Should I Keep My Miniature Garden?

Your miniature garden can be kept anywhere it brings you the most joy!

Perhaps you want to add a special DIY touch to your outdoor gardens or patio area.
Perhaps your mini zen garden with lush green plants will add a meditative vibe to your workout room or yoga space.
Perhaps you have a meditation space where you go to indulge in a peaceful moment to sip a healing Japanese tea, like me! You can put your miniature garden here! Add incense or candles, and calming meditation music to create a living, green, serene environment.