Grow plants in a bottle and create a lush mini-ecosystem right on your tabletop. Just follow these four simple steps.

A great idea and a new way to grow and display plants are fascinating bottle gardens. These bottled plants make an interesting addition to any houseplant collection and are very easy to create and maintain as we find out from Radhika Anand.

Radhika's long fascination with terrariums transparent glass containers used to grow and showcase plants-began with a chance encounter in Tokyo. This led this one-time lecture on a dedicated quest to create her own terrariums. Despite her initial struggles in getting it right, she has since won numerous awards for her own terrariums.

Despite her initial struggles in getting it right, she has since won numerous award for her gardening skills. "Almost any glass bottle, jar, jug, or fish tank can be used as a terrarium," she enthuses. "You can use a terrarium as a simple display bottle or even as a base for a dining table, like I have." And indeed, Radhika's suburban Delhi home is liberally decorated with exquisite "bottle gardens", which she insists are as easy to maintain as they are easy on the eye. "After years of trial and error, I've learned that terrariums thrive on neglect. They are self-contained ecosystems that can thrive without any interference for months on end", explains Radhika. The best part, of course, is that even as the scorching heat of summer makes short work or both outdoor and indoor plants, the humid environment of a terrarium means that the plants essentially hydrate themselves naturally-you'll know it's happening when the glass mists.

Its important to designate a 'front' and 'back' area for your terrarium, so you can organize your garden better. Grow smaller plants like ferns and mosses in front, and taller ones at the back for a richly foliaged layered look.