True miniature plants keep their diminutive size for many years without the need for pruning.
While the accessories in miniature gardening are fun, we are, after all, gardening, so before thinking about patio furniture and miniature fountains, we have to think about the garden.
Once you start creating miniature gardens, you’ll look at every plant with a new set of eyes. “Would this make a good ‘tree’ in my miniature garden?” you’ll ask yourself. “Would this little vine climb up the pergola I bought or will it take over everything?” You’ll read plant tags more critically and try to determine whether something that’s in a small pot will actually stay small or grow slowly enough that it can stay in place for a year or two.
All of the projects in this book include a photo of the plants selected for the project. Notice that I said “selected” rather than “used.” Often you’ll have leftover plants, unless you carefully assembled all of the plants and the accessories you plan to use while you are still at the garden center. Sometimes you’ll realize that one or two additional plants that you didn’t purchase would complete the look, and you’ll end up having to go back to the nursery.
The projects in this book are meant to be inspiration to guide you to create your own versions; don’t worry about matching the plant lists exactly. The plants used will work for each project theme, but they aren’t the only plants you can use for each type of theme. You might have different choices available for succulents or tiny houseplants. Not to worry. As long as you pay attention to the following items when selecting the plants for your miniature garden, you’ll be in good shape:
• Plants’ growth rate
• Garden type the plants will go in (indoor or outdoor)
• Landscape function of the plants
• Plant needs (light and water)
When shopping for small perennials or groundcovers, look for plants that can be split once removed from the container. This will allow you to use the plants in smaller clumps and will get you more bang for the buck. (Hint: if a plant has only one stem meeting the soil line, it can’t be split.)
To avoid ending up with extra plants or a big hole in the miniature garden design, assemble your mini-garden at the garden center (you can leave the plants in the pots).
Walk into a garden center and you’re likely to find branded plants. Proven Winners is a popular brand of full-sized plants that most gardeners have seen at their local garden centers. They stand out, particularly, because of their white pots.
Stepables is a branded plant line of groundcovers and small plants in purple pots with tags shaped like feet. These are low-growing plants, mostly with small leaves, that can be suitable for miniature gardens.
A new line of branded plants, Fairy Flowers, has been selected as a collection of plants with small leaves, slow growth habits, or that respond well to trimming to maintain size. An important note about these plants is some require more maintenance than others. Just because a plant is branded as a fairy garden plant or has small leaves does not mean it won’t take over the garden.
Stepables are groundcovers and can grow fast. While their small leaves make them suitable, in terms of scale, for miniature gardens, their quick growth rate can make them monsters in small pots before the end of the season.
A fairy garden planted with groundcovers will become overgrown without proper maintenance. There are accessories in this garden, such as an arbor and a watering can, but they’ve been overtaken by plants.
Each Fairy Flowers plant has a story that goes along with the fairy associated with the plant.
Table ferns are popular plants for indoor miniature gardens and terrariums. Look for plants in 1-inch pots.
Groundcovers can be annuals (such as maidenhair fern or wirevine) or perennials (such as Corsican mint or blue star creeper).
There are many ways to classify the plants used for miniature gardens. Before we get to the characteristics that will affect how you combine plants in a miniature garden, here’s a crash course on types of plants you’ll find while shopping.
Annual flowers and foliage such as calibrachoa (million bells) and coleus are tropical in origin and only live for one season outside. You can use annual plants for color in the garden, but be aware that you’ll have to replace them from season to season. For the most part, annuals do best when growing in outdoor miniature gardens, but you can experiment with them for indoor gardens.
Abutilon, or flowering maple, is an annual that looks like a little tree. Its flowers look like little fairy hats. Even though it will only last for one season, it’s too cute to pass up.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Hardiness Zone map indicates average annual minimum temperatures in areas of the United States. Plant tags for perennials, trees, and shrubs usually list hardiness zones, which are an indication of the plant’s ability to withstand cold, not to tolerate heat. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2012. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Accessed from http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov.
Perennials are the largest group of plants to select from for miniature gardens. They grow best in outdoor gardens, but you have to select varieties that are hardy in your area (will survive the coldest temperatures of winter) for them to come back from year to year. Perennials planted in containers usually give up one hardiness zone. If a perennial is marked as hardy to zone 5, if it’s planted in a container, it will most likely only be hardy to zone 6 temperatures.
Miniature hostas, dwarf mondo grass, Sedum, and blue star creeper are popular perennials for miniature gardens. Look for perennials with small leaves and a low-growth habit for use as groundcovers or “shrubs.” Perennials with larger leaves and growth habits can serve as “trees” in the miniature garden.
True large-garden groundcovers are perennials, but watch out for them. They grow fast (hence the name groundcovers) and can take over a miniature garden quickly. If you like to tinker with your garden, however, groundcovers are great because their fast growth gives you something to trim.
Dwarf mondo grass is a perennial groundcover in a large garden but can function as an ornamental grass or shrub in a miniature garden.
Succulents are plants with fleshy leaves that hold water. Most succulents thrive in partial to full sun. You’ll find some succulents in the perennials area of your garden center. Use those for outdoor gardens. There are many succulents hardy only in zones 8 to 10 that can be used in indoor mini-gardens. When choosing succulents for indoor gardens, select those that can deal with lower light levels. Also, when possible, move your indoor succulent garden outdoors for the summer.
Sempervivum spp., also known as “hens and chicks,” is a commonly available cold-hardy succulent. Within that plant group cold tolerance varies, so check the plant tags if you plan to leave them outdoors.
Air plants are bromeliads in the Tillandsia group. Spanish moss is also part of this group. While Spanish moss can be dried and will retain its shape and general silvery color, other air plants don’t dry well, and they do need to be watered. You can mist them a few times a week. (They can also be soaked in water, but that isn’t always practical if they’re glued or wired to something.)
Air plants will color up when they get ready to bloom. This air plant has just finished blooming.
After air plants bloom, the main plant dies and “pups” or babies will start growing from around the base of the big plant. Once the big plant is fully dead, you can clip it off and leave the baby.
Air plants come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.
Many garden centers now have a section of the store labeled “Teeny Tiny Plants” in which the plants can be found in 1-inch pots. Most of these are indoor plants from tropical or extremely temperate regions (without hard freezes during the year). Some garden centers will mix succulents and houseplants together in displays, but you can’t mix them together in a container. (More about that later in this chapter.) Houseplants are best suited for indoor miniature gardens and terrariums. Not all houseplants like the humid conditions provided by a terrarium, though, so do your research before enclosing plants in a sealed environment.
“Tiny plants” in 1-inch pots.
Juniperus horizontalis ‘Pancake’ is a low-spreading variety of the common creeping juniper. Its mature height is 1 inch tall by 2 feet wide at ten years.
Dwarf and miniature conifers are slow-growing, small-statured varieties of full-sized plants. They are not the same as bonsai starts. These small trees and shrubs are true minis that will stay small (though they do grow) without root pruning.
While adorable, they can be difficult to grow. They don’t thrive in either very hot or very cold conditions. They will, however, when happy, grow in the same container for up to ten years. If you want a true miniature garden that can stay in the same container without repotting for years and years, dwarf conifers are worth a try. Unlike perennials that die back in the winter, these (mostly) evergreen plants provide interest year-round.
Bonsai starts are seedlings of full-sized plants (mostly trees). While these plants are small, they don’t necessarily grow slowly or stay small as dwarf and miniature plants do. Bonsai are kept small by pruning the roots and the top of the plant. Using a bonsai in a miniature garden means you’ll occasionally have to dig up the plant to prune the roots in order to keep it small—unlike true dwarf or mini-plants.
Even if a garden center has an area marked fairy gardening or miniature gardening, make sure that you spend time outside of this special section looking for plants. There is no rule that you have to use only tiny plants in your gardens, or that you can’t plant a cool coleus as a “tree.”
These are the factors that you need to consider when selecting plants to grow together in a miniature garden.
Just because a plant is in a small pot doesn’t mean it will stay small. Many perennials and most annuals grow too fast or too big to stay long in a miniature garden or fairy garden. That doesn’t mean you can’t use them; you just need to be aware that you’ll have to spend more time tending to your miniature garden (trimming the plants) and you’ll have to replace the faster-growing plants with another plant sooner rather than later.
Dwarf vs. Miniature
Dwarf plants grow slowly, but can still reach a fairly large size, while true miniature plants stay small. The distinction is more in the eye of the beholder, but you’ll have to count on switching out a plant marked as “dwarf” sooner than a miniature. For example, Hosta ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ never gets taller than 6 inches or so, but a dwarf Alberta spruce will eventually grow from a 12-inch plant to a 6-foot plant. It might take twenty years to get that big, but it will get bigger.
This dwarf conifer, Chamecyparis obtusa ‘Golden Sprite’, is growing in a 4-inch pot. It will reach a mature size of 4 inches tall by 12 inches wide in ten years. Is it a dwarf or a miniature? A dwarf conifer is any conifer that grows 1 to 6 inches in a single year. A miniature conifer is any conifer that grows less than 1 inch in a single year. This one’s a miniature.
Are you planting an outdoor container garden, an outdoor in situ garden, a terrarium, or an indoor miniature garden? Where you will use the plants makes a difference. Use outdoor plants that are hardy in your area for the bones of an outdoor in situ garden. (You can pop annuals in and out for color if you want.) If you’re planting a terrarium, you need a plant that can tolerate high humidity. Right plant, right place still applies for miniature gardening.
When possible, take your container when you shop for plants. Some tiny plants are too big for some containers. This picture shows a variegated ficus that, while small, is still too tall for the container selected for this terrarium project.
You’ll be using these plants to create a miniature landscape. That means variety is key. You need plants that can be groundcovers, plants that can be shrubs, plants that can be trees, and, sometimes, vining plants. While shopping, think about how you’re going to use the plants. You might even position them and arrange them as you would in your planned miniature garden so that you know you’re getting the right variety and the right scale for your intended project.
This miniature gardener is holding a potential “tree” next to the chicken coop she’ll use in her miniature garden to check the size of the plant in relation to the accessory.
Remember to plant “like with like.” That means to plant sun-loving, water-loving plants with others that like the same conditions. Ditto for low-water succulents or shade plants. Just because plants aesthetically match each other doesn’t mean they’ll love growing together.
More about individual plants for miniature gardening, including photos, can be found in Part 3.
Humidity-loving houseplants grow well in enclosed terrariums.
Succulents should be planted together, as they are all low-water plants (in comparison to other plants).
