The biggest question is how long do you want whatever planting you do to last? Two main approaches: 1)Temporary/Ephemeral: If you don't mind redoing it every month or so, the possibilities are vast. (In that regard you would be treating this not unlike a cut flower arrangement ... and there is nothing wrong with that if that is what one wants.) 2) Lasting/Longterm:If you want something more "permanent", your options are much more limited -- and the more "permanence" you desire, the more limited your options. A Longterm planting is far more problematic/challenging than one that is Ephemeral. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *NOTE: Do keep in mind that the following comments are not meant to "pop your bubble" but rather are intended to educate and help you avoid aggravation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST AND FOREMOST, if you are thinking Longterm, do not go hog wild with putting lots of plants in that jar. Always use less than you think you will need. It may look 'anemic' for a little while, but once the plants settle in and get growing, you will be amazed at how fast a terr can go from 'thin' to 'waaaaay over crowded'. If Longterm, don't even toy with the idea of succulents or cacti -- it would only lead to dead plants & heartbreak. A set-up like the one you URLed would be unlikely to last long and would, I suspect, be rather high maintenance. As GTD mentioned, pruning would be required -- including root pruning. (Btw, the tree in that picture is probably Ficus benjamina.) Lack of air circulation would be an issue. Unless you are looking at this from the Ephemeral viewpoint, forget bonsai or any type of tree/shrub for that matter. They do not make good terrarium plants. Lack of air circulation and poor lighting is always problematic for them. Scratch the pitcher idea if planning on Longterm -- Sarrs do not stay small long in decent condtions and quickly grow out as well as in the vertical. Getting a large one out of that jar would be a pain and trying to remove dead pitchers would be an absolute nightmare in that jar. In addition, as it grew outward, it would quickly crowd out any dews. Forget the Drosera (sundews) as well unless you restrict yourself to the mini or dwarf growers if you are thinking Longterm. The larger growers (both in height and width) will plaster their sticky leaves against the glass. Not only does this make a mess, but the leaves involved tend to rot out/get slimy quickly at those contact areas. Also, removing dead leaves will be a royal B in that jar no matter what type of Dros you do. (Unless of course you don't mind the dead/browned out leaves -- some folks don't. In which case that is one headache you would not have to worry about.) Most plants that would do well in there will very quickly fill the container so do be prepared for regular pruning/weeding maintenance if going Longterm. That said, you would do best to seek out mini's -- plants that stay very small. Not the easiest things to find truthfully. Many of the terrarium plants sold look great initially but then quickly get far bigger than what one may want. One of the best mini's that actually stays a mini (maxing out at about 3-4 inches tall), IMO, is Epipremnum 'Pincushion'. Unfortunately it is not very commonly offered. You can find a link to a picture of that (as well as a few other plants) at the bottom of this post. Go down to the last two shots in the bottom right. (This is a page of plants I sell divisions of from time to time, in case you are wondering.) A mini african violet (a true mini, not merely a young plant) could do well in there for a fairly long time. (Many mini's tend to sucker so that over time they will form a mass that needs to be chopped back.) For the height of that vase, I would suggest finding an attractive piece of driftwood to stand in the back. You likely would need to seal the wood first though to avoid it molding. Beware of ferns. Though these mild mannered looking plants do look nice in a terr, ferns will quickly outgrow just about any terr. One of the few groups of plants with a number of members that seems to love humid, stagnant conditions. Also the slimy leaf problem mentioned with Drosera is true with ferns as well. Cryptanthus would be one I would recommend. There are some very small growing varieties out there as well as some that would get too large for your container. Also, there are types of bromeliads that will stay very small. HOWEVER, most do require decent aircirculation and most (though there are exceptions) could not be planted in the substrate -- you would have to have them mounted, perhaps on a piece of driftwood or rock. Most species of Selaginella would quickly run amok in such a container, but Selaginella kraussiana var. brownii is one type that tends to be well behaved. Here is a link that might be useful: Epipremnum and others

I agree with Rhome's post above. I wouldn't want to use a drawer for vertical storage, and I also wouldn't want ceramics and glass on their sides. My vertical storage was more serendipitous. In laying out my cabinets, there was a 9" space left over next to the fridge, no matter how we re-arranged. That became base-cabinet vertical storage for my cookie sheets and roasting pans. There is one divider in it, and I can keep long items in it like half-sheet pans. Things like square bakers, my Emile Henry ceramic lasagna pan, muffin tins, pie plates and the like are stored horizontally in other cabinets and drawers. Because the vertical storage is in the base cabinet, it is easy to see and easy to reach. I really like it. I would have had to re-arrange my entire layout if I couldn't have found a use for those 9", and it all worked out great. Many people mention using above-the-fridge space for vertical storage. For me, I wanted to take advantage of that 24" deep and tall space (I have 9' ceiling and cabinets go up to the ceiling). I didn't think vertical storage there would work for me--I don't have many cookie sheets and roasting pans. Instead, the cabinets above the fridge house my huge 14" saute pan with handle that won't fit anywhere else, my electric griddle, paper towels, and large serving platters. As to the height, I am fairly short, and need a stepstool for above-the-fridge, so I don't want things there that I am pulling out all the time. HTH.

Oh, the design and raw materials that go into packaging!!!!! Some of these packaging materials/containers are amazing! What a waste, though, for all of that engineering and precious resources to go into something that is to be used for once for some dubious purpose and cast into the mountain of waste. We must do better than that! I read somewhere that most of what we purchase ends up in the waste stream within six months. True, or not true, it is certainly believable. All of this head scratching to find ways to use these excess packaging materials is a good example of a solution that is looking for a problem. Normally, you have a problem/need and you look for something to fill that need. But, what I see more and more often is that there is no need, but plenty of solutions to that non need. So, we create needs by saving and storing our excess stuff in repurposed containers, thus leading us to save and store excess stuff that is probably not worth it. How many small items does one have to store and how many old containers? Some of this packaging is wonderous to behold, indeed! I love, love, love the packaging that Apple uses. That is the best cardboard, ever! I have a passion for cardboard as a building material and usually have a small stash of unusual and interesting cardboard to play with. When grandson was little I made all manner of things for him from cardboard. I love cardboard as a building medium. We are awash in way too much seriously good stuff. The best we can do is to reduce our consumption, and even more importantly, we need to adjust our expectations of what we think we deserve to have and to have it for as cheap as possible. Consumption of cheap consumer items is not good for the health of our only home, Earth. The store that you bought the item from is not where the responsibility rests. The major responsibility rests with the manufacturer and us, the consumer. I agree that those who produce the product should bear responsibilty for it. But, quit buying all manner of stuff that leaves you with empty containers and quit buying all of that stuff that gets stored in these containers.. There is good life without the major portion of all that. Our expectations are way beyond reasonable. We really do think that we are all that special! We cant buy our way out of this extraordinary and unprecented mess by trying to find stuff to store in our endless supply of used containers. We are only fooling ourselves, not Mother Nature or the polar bears.

@Joyce if you're not overloading the drawer with cooking utensils stacked triple high, most of the things you'd store in a drawer that size will be contained. If you were to do height measurements of all your kitchen tools, I think you'd be very surprised to see how many would come in at 2.5" to 3" high. This is the perfect drawer for all those things: silverware, cooking utensils, cookie cutters, knives, lemon juicer, rolling pin. Even most bread pans and pie plates won't much exceed 3" when stacked triple height and would be contained in that drawer. Furthermore, you'll probably be having dividers to contain many of the smaller utensils which will help with any shifting. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how little trouble this will give you long term. I've seen much larger discrepancies in drawer box to drawer front heights than this, so while it's not ideal, it is unfortunately quite common at all levels of cabinetry manufacturing. With any large, expensive project it is natural to have some initial disappointment about unpleasant surprises, and I'm so sorry this has happened.