Indoor Mini Succulent Gardens Make the Cutest Addition to Any Dorm or Small Apartment

You don’t need a yard—or a lot of space—to have a plant collection.

Just because you live in a smaller space sans backyard doesn’t mean you have to miss out on tending to your own collection of plants—you just have to get a little creative with it. If you want to display a little garden, all you have to do is gather up some of your favorite succulents.

Creating a succulent garden that can fit on a windowsill, bookshelf, or side table is an adorable option for anyone in a studio or apartment. They’re especially perfect for dorm dwellers due to their small size and easy care (and you don’t have to deal with carting a horde of plants that need watering back and forth every break).

Aesthetically, succulent gardens are seen as a more elegant alternative to just keeping a single succulent by itself. But you’re not just creating an assortment of plants; rather, you’re designing a miniature garden in a box.

Here are all all the essential steps for putting together a succulent garden for your space, plus some on-trend ideas.

Related: The 10 Easiest Types of Succulents to Grow as Houseplants

Choose Your Container

To fit your succulent garden into small spaces, you’ll also want to opt for a small garden container. Shaped containers are perfect for this, whether you want to display yours in a glass bowl or tiny square planting box. 

For an even more visual intrigue, you can also opt for tiered miniature containers or even a small wicker basket—just make sure you line the basket before adding soil.

Design Your Garden

Before you think about succulents or soil, you want to consider the design elements of your garden. This ensures you get the right size and number of succulents (and the right kind of soil for them). 

Many mini succulent gardens opt for a realistic garden theme, displaying tiny “stepping” stones to form a pathway around the container. A bowl filled with water or pebbles for landscaping rocks can also add visual intrigue to the container.

You can also create a trendy fairy garden, often featuring trellises on the edges of the container or even a decorative ceramic cottage in the center. Creating themed succulent gardens is a cute way to add some personality to your plants—and it can also give you another container to put them in, depending on what kinds of trinkets you choose to add to your “yard.”

Related: How to Make an Adorable Well for Your Fairy Garden

Some succulent gardens also use sand in a square shape on the surface of a container to create a mini zen garden. This adds a functional element to your little landscape. 

Select Your Succulents

Once you have your container design picked out, it’s time to pick the succulents to fill it with. 

Some mini succulent gardens prefer to focus more on the design itself and less on the plants, so they only use a few succulents in the layout. Others prefer to cram as many into one bowl as they possible. There’s no right answer here—just whatever you feel looks best.

Air succulents are another option for your mini succulent bowl. They don’t require soil, which makes them easy to set up anywhere in your design. 

Some popular (and very cool-looking) succulents you might want to add to your tiny garden include living stones, echeveria, or jade cacti. Want to make your garden microscopic? You can even find succulents that will stay smaller than the size of your thumb.

Fill Your Container

Once you know which succulents you’re getting, you need to find a soil that’s right for them. You can’t really go wrong with succulent soil mixes—fortunately, most varieties do just fine in the same soil. As you add the soil, leave room for elements that need to be partially submerged, like water bowls or garden decorations. 

Related: The 7 Best Potting Soils of 2024

After you have your base layer of soil, you can plant your succulents according to their variety. Then you’re free to add a top layer of sand, gravel, or rocks to decorate the container. This sets the lay of the land before you add air cacti or trinkets.

Now all you need to do is set it in a sunny spot and mist it with water occasionally. You may also want to water your succulent garden once or twice a month depending on its needs. 

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