First-Generation Desktop Garden

Bring nature to your desk with a bonsai tree, cactus, or other plant in an iPod.

Our desks are cluttered with in-review products, papers, cables, hard drives, empty soda cans, and nothing to remind us of the landscape outside of technology. Add some green with this wry, first-generation iPod planter. If the case is tilted slightly, excess water drains out of the FireWire and headphone ports, but feel free to drill a few drainage holes between steps 3 and 4. We planted a small bonsai tree, but any petite plants will work to keep the air -- and a workspace -- fresh.

Parts: First-generation iPod, small circuit board (optional), soil, plants
Tools: Guitar picks, tiny flathead screwdriver (optional), T6 Torx screwdriver, drill (optional)
Degree of difficulty: MEDIUM

Work the guitar pick all the way around to separate the plastic tabs that hold the iPod shut.

1. Crack open the case.
Activate the Hold switch to keep the iPod from waking up on the operating table. Gently insert a guitar pick or thin, flathead screwdriver into the tight seam between the metal back and plastic front. Use a plastic tool as much as possible, because a metal screwdriver might gouge the plastic part of the iPod’s case. Begin working from the top of the iPod, along the metal backing near the FireWire port and parallel to the screen. Separate the plastic tabs that hold the iPod together on all sides. Lift the halves apart.

When the iPod is open, remove the battery and hard drive from the metal half of the case (shown on the left).

2. Remove the battery and hard drive.
Unplug the battery cable from its socket, being careful to remove it by its plug and not by pulling on its wires. Lift the hard drive (and glued-on battery) from the headphone jack end, pivoting it on its still-attached ribbon cable. Hold the cable end connected to the hard drive, and pull the drive out of the socket. The hard drive and battery can be set aside.

After unscrewing the Torx screws, you can access and remove the circuit board and scrollwheel from the plastic half of the case.

3. Remove the circuit board and screen.
Unscrew the four Torx screws with a T6 Torx driver. Lift the entire circuit board out of the plastic housing. Then remove the scrollwheel, leaving just the white plastic front and empty metal back.

We dig our mini tree, but use any plant you like. Bamboo or cactus could work.

4. Add foliage.
Rinse the case and add dirt to the metal side. Try to keep the dirt close to the edges but with a tiny gap. Plant a garden to rise out of the scrollwheel hole. We seated a bonsai tree, trimming the plant’s original root structure and spreading it out to accommodate the shallow, wide tray of dirt. (We regularly trim the tree to match this base shape, keeping it from growing too tall.) Or try a cactus or another small plant.

Put something in the screen window unless you want to look at the dirt. We used a circuit board.

5. Make a scene.
We set a circuit board from another dead iPod above the dirt. It shows through the screen window, playfully reminding us of this iPod’s previous life. Or, if you try printing something to sit behind the window—we tested a happy iPod icon—be sure to laminate it to protect it from the moist dirt.

Dress up your desk and start conversations. Just don’t forget to water the tree.

6. Close and grow.
Fit the plastic case around the plant and press the two halves together. With a little effort, the tabs should lock the case together. If not, try to make a small trench in the dirt to leave room for the tabs. Keep your secret garden watered and well lit.