Making a Mini Well with Moss and Fittonia— Super Easy Terrarium Project, Perfect for Beginners

Today’s project is very simple. As you can see in the photo, it’s basically a tiny water well.

The “well” in the middle is actually a small geometric ceramic dish or bowl — originally meant for hamsters or other small pets to drink from. If you look closely, you can even see some traces of that. But it works perfectly as a miniature well.

I happened to have this piece on hand, and the size was just right, so I used it.

If you want to recreate this, you can upcycle things around the house: a sturdy plastic bottle bottom, a small dish, or anything with the right shape.

Plants used:

Leucobryum moss (Pincushion moss)

Fittonia (nerve plant)

Both of these are my regular go-tos.

Leucobryum moss likes a consistently moist environment, which makes it perfect for closed terrariums. Fittonia is native to tropical rainforests, and it also loves humid environment.

Planting substrate:

As usual: small volcanic gravel, sphagnum moss, and a bit of akadama soil.

Moss is paved on top.

If you want a step-by-step tutorial, please check below (I pasted my youtube tutorial video here).

Things to pay attention to:

1. The bottom layer of small volcanic gravel should NOT be replaced with lightweight clay balls.

Volcanic gravel is heavier and irregular in shape, so it can hold the "well" in place.

2. If you're using the bottom of a plastic bottle — which is very light, unlike the ceramic dish I used — you can add some volcanic gravel inside the bottle bottom. This increases weight and hides everything nicely. From above, it simply looks like a small water pool.

3. The Fittonia used here is a small-sized one.

If you’re buying, choose the smallest size. If the ones you have at home are bigger, cut a few short stems. After laying the moss, you can tuck the cuttings into the moss with tweezers, or just place them on top.

In this humid environment, Fittonia will root and sprout on its own, and the new leaves will grow much smaller — perfect for miniature landscapes.

This tiny well isn’t just decorative. When you add water, it also increases humidity inside the container and reduces your the frequency you mist watering.

And if you want to raise springtails, this setup is ideal — they love moisture and will gather around the lower, wetter area.

Plus, since the lid is on top, the springtails can’t climb out.