What To Do
HOME GARDENING MINIATURE GARDENS
by Michelle Rauch, Gardening Enthusiast
If the idea of gardening is appealing to you, but visions of lugging bags of soil around, getting dirty, and spending hours in the yard in the hot summer sun have kept you at bay…then miniature gardening may be just what you’re looking for. Miniature Gardens, sometimes called fairy gardens, can have all the allure of full-scale gardening on a much, much smaller scale. No mess, or at least it’s minimal, no fuss, no heavy lifting required. Find a spot to showcase in your yard, or start with a container. The container must hold soil and allow for good drainage. Take the minimalist approach and use a simple four sided shallow box. Or get creative. The hunt for the perfect container that adds a new design element can be a lot of fun. Some ideas: a tattered old suitcase, wheel barrow, whiskey barrel, bird bath, or an unusual flea market find! Picture your container as the canvas for your creation.
Kate Milward enjoys her Fairy Garden
gadget. There are themes to choose from too. Whimsical fairies, relaxing Japanese Zen, rugged railroad, tropical paradise or beach getaway complete with colorful Adirondack chairs. Allison Nessler is the garden shop manager at King’s Gardens and a miniature gardener. “I saw the potential for how big it got. I took off with it and now a fourth of our sales are miniature gardening.” It’s attracting moms, grandparents, and kids. “It really gets kids interested in gardening because it is such a miniature doll house experience. They are playing and they get creative too,” Nessler says.
Fairy Letter
Eight year old Kate Milward was surprised this Spring to find the Easter Bunny left her a Fairy Garden underneath the Japanese Maple in her backyard. “I thought it was awesome!” Kate says. She and her mom are having a great time adding to it. Kate is developing a real eye for shopping. “It’s just fun how we can go out and get stuff and randomly put them in places,” she says.
There is another element to fairy gardening that Kate’s mom, Lee, loves. It’s the letter writing. Shopping for your ”Kate will tell the miniature garden is fairies about her just like shopping for a Allison Nessler has created many miniature gardens on display at King’s Gardens wishes, her dreams, backyard garden. Your her worries. She puts local garden shop will have what you need. Annuals, perennials, all that in a letter to the fairies,” Lee says. Kate leaves the letters in succulents, and more. Also look for a variety of slow growing plants the garden before bed and in a day or two the fairies write her back. called dwarf or miniatures. Many dwarf plants can offer twelve Her mom believes sometimes it’s easier for Kate to open up about months of color inside or out. They can also last years with minimal her feelings to the fairies in her letters than it is to talk with mom care. You’ll also find tiny evergreens that can be pruned. Herbs are and dad! also great for the mini/fairy garden. It’s been such a hit at the Milward home and among their friends Gardening goes beyond the plants, flowers, and landscaping. From who visit that they are adding one to the family business. Visitors to garden furniture to what I affectionately call yard art, these additions Milward at Man ‘O War funeral home will soon find a fairy garden add character. There are so many mini accessories, from furniture to there. “It’s something that will be very unexpected, but it’s honest, tools of the trade. You can find tiny replicas of just about any garden sincere, 100% happy,” Lee Milward says.
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