Where Can You Grow A Miniature Garden?
A miniature garden can fit almost anywhere. Here is a quick overview of just how versatile this hobby can be.
Miniature Gardening in Containers
Miniature gardening in pots and containers isn’t just growing plants in a pot – you’re really growing a garden complete with trees, shrubs, patios and furniture! It’s complete with everything that a full-sized garden is, yet shrunken down to miniature.
It’s extremely adaptable, let us count the ways:
Size Doesn’t Matter: You can build a miniature garden in a wee pot that is 2″ wide, or a big planter box that is 2 feet wide or more.
Suits ANY Occasion: Or holiday! Make themed miniature gardens throughout the year for welcome pot or centerpiece. Or, make one and decorate it each month with seasonal decorations that you can have fun hunting for or making them yourself.
It’s a Great Gift Idea: Made to order! A miniature garden gift can be really personal and heartfelt. It doesn’t have to be big either, a sweet 4″ mini garden can be a very endearing hostess or teacher gift! (And you get to make another minature garden. :o)
You Can Take It With You: How many gardens have you had to leave behind when you move? Or, have you always wanted a garden but haven’t the space for one? Need I say more?
How to Decide Where?
The first thing to think about what your miniature garden will need, whether it’s indoors, in planter on your porch, or in-ground, is the right light. Very few plants can live without it.
Use the chart below to help you find a good spot for your mini garden. Monitor the area for a day or two to observe how the sun moves through the area.
Once you figure out what kind of light, you can start to look at the right plants that will suit – and it will also help you decide how big or how small your future garden will be.
The second thing is water – think ahead about how you will water it. Will your container need a saucer to collect the excess water? Can you put your in-ground mini garden on your irrigation system?
Enchant with In-Ground Miniature Gardening
Designing, planting, growing and maintaining a mini garden in a garden bed is very different than miniature gardening in pots and containers. Prepping the soil, choosing the plants, designing a function garden in miniature – and then maintaining it, year after year, can be a fun and rewarding way to garden where everyone can enjoy your imagination and creativity.
Tuck a miniature scene into the corner of your garden bed, in-between full-sized plants or in a raised bed outside your front door. Build it where you can see it and appreciate it every day. If you don’t walk by it often, choose a spot where you can see it from a window inside your home. Add miniature outdoor light strings into your design so you can see it at night.
In-Ground Mini Garden TIP:
Work with the “eco-system” in your full-sized garden. By growing your regular garden and your mini garden together, the bigger plants can help mini plantings by offering shade and humidity. This will slow down water evaporation and roots will stay evenly damp, making it easier to keep it watered in the dry months too.
“Tuck-in” your miniature world into your full-sized world – the simple juxtapostion of the size-difference improves the WOW factor too.
Outdoor Light Chart
- Part shade – is 2 to 4 hours of cool sun.
- Full shade – is less than 2 hours of sun.
- Dappled shade – is called light shade or part shade.
- Part sun – is 4 to 6 hours of sun.
- Full sun – is 6 or more hours of sun.
- “Cool sun” – is morning sun before 11am or after 3pm, or in the winter.
- “Hot sun” – is from about 2pm to 7pm in the summertime.
The Golden Rule:
“Right Plant in the Right Place”
… and the very first step to take – even before you start thinking about plants.
Indoor Light Chart
Hold your hand over the spot where you want to grow a miniature garden.
Strong shadow =bright light.
Fuzzy shadow = medium light.
Little to no shadow = low light**
**ADD LIGHT anywhere indoors with a grow-bulb that can fit any kind of lamp, or there are many options available nowadays for growing plants in your home.
Note that the Golden Garden Rule applies to indoor plants as well. If you put a medium-light-plant on your brightly-lit plant shelf, it will scorch the leaves or the leaf-color may fade and eventually give up and die.
Outdoor Container Ideas
- Front door welcome pot
- Corner of a path or bed
- A centerpiece on a patio table
- On a plant stand, so you can see it from inside
- Fill-in a gap in the garden bed
*Containers in full, summer sun will dry out faster and is tough on the plants but containers are moveable!
Mini Garden Placement Ideas
Outdoor In-Ground Ideas
- A raised bed by the front walk
- Along a well-used pathway
- Beside the back deck or pool
- Outside a basement window
- Where you can see it from the kitchen or living room window
*Plant it where you can see it often to maximize the enjoyment.
Indoor Ideas
- A welcome pot by the front door
- Beside your favorite chair
- A centerpiece (use a turntable!)
- In-among your houseplants
- A side-counter in the kitchen, away from any heat sources
*Important: Add light with a grow bulb or lamp to keep your mini garden plants happy.
PLAN to spend quality time with your miniature world and choose a spot where you can see your miniature garden often, or enjoy it from your favorite chair.
– For smaller, table-top gardens, choose medium size / half-inch scale.
– For larger containers, or in-ground, choose large size / large-inch scale.
ADD a miniature garden scene to an existing pot or in the garden bed, sometimes the base of a full-size plant can look like a tree trunk, or use the tiny foliage of a conifer shrub for a backdrop.
