Some of the most successful (and easiest) houseplants come from the tropics, so it makes sense for beginners to opt for a collection of low-maintenance foliage plants. Fill any watertight container -- in this case, a glass candy dish -- with plants that can tough it out even in the shadiest corners of your house. Add stones or minerals such as quartz as light-catching accents.

Vintage Holmegaard dish, ochrestore.com. Wallpaper, Salix (NCW4021-01), by Nina Campbell, osborneandlittle.com (to the trade only). Assorted houseplants, exoticangel.com.

In a large Chinese soup bowl, create a miniature hill of potting soil covered in moss, and top it with a woody Chinese elm trained to look like a small, twisted tree. Creeping fig and a variegated fern spill over the edge. You might also add a companion planting, such as this heart fern grown in a ceramic teacup.

English Pearlware bowl, Chinoiserie design, bardith.com. Hand Painted Chinese Scenic Wallpaper (SY-233), graciestudio.com (to the trade only). Chinese elm, homedepot.com.

Strangely shaped plants inspire an undersea garden that may look aquatic but is actually drought-tolerant enough for busy homeowners who might miss a watering or two (or three). Succulents such as spiked aloes, crassulas, and echeverias mimic branchy corals and mix easily with a collection of seashells. A few ceramic starfish on top of the sandy cactus potting mix complete the illusion.

Acacia and glass salad bowl (glass bowl shown), crateandbarrel.com. Wallpaper, in Ursa colorway 004, troveline.com. Assorted small succulents, mountaincrestgardens.com.

Why isolate each of these prima donnas in separate pots? Instead, combine several orchids in a low pottery planter with ferns and other blooming houseplants. They will love the added moisture they gain being grouped together. Use a well-draining soilless orchid mix, and leave the plants’ aerial roots exposed and not smothered by the top-dressing of moss. (Never overwater orchids since they hate wet feet.)

French glazed green bowl, from L. Becker Flowers, 212-439-6001. Peekaboo clear console, cb2.com. Orchids Wallpaper, Bamboo, in Ivory/Yellow (#20205-03), cowtan.com (to the trade only). Assorted orchids and houseplants, logees.com.