Tag Archives: succulents in miniature gardens

Our Miniature Garden Wonderland – A Year Later…Look How It’s Grown!

Sedum 'Ogon', and Hen and Chicks in the "landscape"

Sedum ‘Ogon’, and Hen and Chicks in the “landscape”

Last March, during the doldrums of spring break (Does anyone not leave town that week??!), we decided to have a little fun of our own, creating our miniature garden table.  Well, it’s been almost a full year later, and it’s still growing strong, having been tended to faithfully… like any garden should be, right?

A miniature landscape

A miniature landscape

 

Rhypsalis, sedums and hen and chicks...with a peperomia at the very top...

Rhypsalis, sedums and hen and chicks…with a peperomia at the very top…

 

 

Some features didn’t last through repeated watering and little children playing however. Many of the Skulp-It figures either disintegrated, disappeared, or, in the case of the gardener who looked suspiciously like owner, Billy Angell, somehow lost his head (Literally!) and was banished from the garden…

The peperomia and holly fern have needed some judicious clipping...

The peperomia and holly fern have needed some judicious clipping…

 

The house at the top of the hill...

The house at the top of the hill…

 

 

 

The cute treehouse at the very top  was finally replaced with another little cottage, the yoga class on their mats are taking a break, and the oversized people have been replaced with tiny gnomes, a garden table and various and assorted accessories, including a tire swing over the waterfall.

Variegated strawberry begonia, ajuga 'Chocolate Chip', ferns and pilea have been growing quite happily together...

Variegated strawberry begonia, ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’, ferns and pilea have been growing quite happily together…

 

Lemon Button Fern, Pilea 'Aquamarine', and Kalanchoe 'Copper Spoon'

Lemon Button Fern, Pilea ‘Aquamarine’, and Kalanchoe ‘Copper Spoon’

 

 

 

And the plants!! Some, like the tiny pepperomia,  have grown to enormous proportions, requiring judicious clipping to keep in bounds. The ferns have also loved their space, spreading up and out in every direction.

Air plants have done well on the succulent side of our planting...

Air plants have done well on the succulent side of our planting…

 

 

 

 

On the other side, the succulents have settled in nicely, filling every available nook and cranny, spilling over the beach “caves” and onto the “beach” before being clipped back.

A miniature violet flower garden...

A miniature violet flower garden…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our fun project  will certainly continue to evolve. Just  the other day Molly painted a backdrop of a blue sky with puffy clouds, so it will always be nothing but blue skies in our garden…

More Miniature Gardens

A succulent miniature garden...

A succulent miniature garden…

The miniature gardening trend continues, and we’re sure having fun with it. From tiny gardens in glass terrariums to a saucer planted with driftwood and a place to sit along the “water”, these little gardens spark the imagination of gardeners of all ages.

Tiny temptations...

Tiny temptations…

 

 

 

 

 

Two 20-something women walked in the other day, and one of them immediately spotted the miniature garden display. “Oh, look!”, she said excitedly. “Aren’t these cute?”  Her friend was skeptical. “Uh, sure…”, she answered. “Whatever you say.”

Tending a tiny garden...

Tending a tiny garden…

 

 

 

Not swayed by her friend’s decided lack of enthusiasm, the first started looking through the miniature accessories, oohing and aahing at each tiny piece.

 

 

A cozy spot to sit...

A cozy spot to sit…

“I want to make one of these gardens!”,  she declared. Her friend walked closer and looked at the pieces she had in her hand. “You should have a bench.”, she stated. “And look at this tub with wine bottles in it. That would be really cute, wouldn’t it?”

As I listened to them, it became quite clear that the skeptical one (I was beginning to call her this in my head.) was being completely drawn into the fun of creating a tiny world with her friend.

 

A pumpkin patch under a windmill...

A pumpkin patch under a windmill…

I walked up and started talking with them, asking if they had any questions about the miniature gardens.

The first one again said she wanted to make one and asked if I would help her because she thought it would be so much fun.  “Of course.”, I said. “It’s summer and pretty slow, I think we could put something together for you today.”

On the other side of the bridge...

On the other side of the bridge…

Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of the garden she made with a lot of helpful suggestions from her friend, but I can tell you it turned out really well. A red Adirondack chair, the tiny tub with iced drinks, a beach along the water, some succulents planted  in strategic places, and – Voila! – a miniature garden completed.

 

 

A broken pot is home to morel mushrooms...

Little chickens…

Soon new miniature garden accessories will be arriving, including tiny gourds and white pumpkins for fall gardens…and scarecrows too.

Meanwhile, the pictures here show some we’ve planted this summer using a windmill, tiny chickens (Everyone loves chickens!), little wooden chairs, driftwood benches, morel mushrooms, and more.

Maybe it’s time to let your inner child out…or create a miniature garden with your children. You just might get caught up in the magic like my friend, the skeptical one at the start of this post!

As with any container garden, these are designed to last as a true garden. Be mindful of the amount of light your garden will receive when you choose your plants. There are many  houseplants that work well together, including fittonia, Neanthe bella palms, and many ferns. Succulents work well in higher light and will need less water. Haworthias, aloes, crassulas and sedums are just a few of the many succulents you can use. Have fun!

Miniature Gardens As Centerpieces…

tiny cloche...

tiny cloche…

In a few short weeks Mountain Brook’s  Little Garden Club, a charter member of the Garden Club of America, will host a regional zone meeting and flower show. It will take place April, 2014, and a lot of folks are involved in planning this important event. Members of GCA clubs will be attending from the surrounding states, so there will be a lot of visitors!

Miniature Garden

 

 

 

 

Miniature Garden

I’ll be assisting with a number of others in the “passing” of the horticultural exhibits – clearing them for entry into the flower show to be judged. I was very flattered to be asked and happy to help with this event, which has been two years in the planning.

Miniature GardenWhat does all this have to do with miniature gardens, you ask? Well, these tiny gardens have been very  popular the past number of years, and the garden club organizers decided it would be a fun thing to have on some of the tables for one of their meetings. And they turned to Oak Street Garden Shop for help.

The containers we chose are metal, and they will be wrapped with aspidistra leaves to make a “Ribbon of Green”, the theme of this year’s meeting.

These pictures show how some turned out. The miniature gardens are designed to continue living as a true garden, so plant material is chosen accordingly, with only minor exceptions.

imageBecause these take a great deal of time to make, I finally gave up on waiting for new miniature garden accessories I’d ordered since my deadline to have them completed was looming…but I still had plenty of fun things to play with. If you’ve ever made one of these gardens in miniature, you’re well aware how detailed and time consuming they are.

For some of the centerpieces I chose succulents, including haworthias and sedums, which work well for tiny plantings. Pilea ‘Aquamarine’ is a low grower with a great color; it just needs clipping regularly to keep it from overrunning its neighbors.

Miniature GardenTiny pots of ordinary houseplants also work in these gardens. Little parlor palms, ferns, polka dot plants and baby podocarpus make good companions, and selaginella is a pretty groundcover.

It’s nice to have different sizes of pebbles to create paths and larger stones to create “boulders”. Can you see the turtle sitting on one?

There’s still more tweaking to do (Just like a real garden that is never “done”!), and one more not even started yet…but that story is for another post. If you’re in the Birmingham area, stop in and take a look. They’re even more fun in person!

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone