Grow a miniature garden

Do you have green fingers but are restricted by space? Don’t worry, grow miniature gardens. They are fun and easy to grow and wonderful to look at. So get hold of some containers and start today!

History

Miniature rock gardens constructed in hand hewn troughs or on rock slabs were first developed over 1000 years ago in Asia particularly in China and Japan and then brought to England in the 1820s and the 1830s. They are also known as sink gardens in England. In China, the art of creating miniature landscapes in a container is called Penjing.

Getting started

You may use a tray, a stone trough, an earthenware bowl or even a glass bottle to grow your garden in.

Put some broken bits of flowerpot and some small rocks at the bottom of your container and then fill it with some soft brown earth. This bottom layer of rocks will ensure that your plants will not become water logged. Now set some small plants in your garden. Be careful that these should be such plant varieties that are either dwarf or slow growing. You could even plant coriander or green pepper and keep it small by regular pruning.

Decorations

Decorate your miniature garden with gravel, small pebbles, elf-sized boulders, driftwood, seashells or other props, which can be objects you find around the house. You could even make a fence around your garden with small twigs or toothpick. And stones could be arranged as a rockery or to give the impression of small caves and hills.

Care and maintenance

Like big gardens and lawns, miniature gardens also need your love, care and attention. They need to be kept in a bright, sunny spot like on a windowsill and must be watered regularly. But don’t give them too much water, as this will damage them.

It is also essential to pluck the upstart weeds and to prune the plants so that they don’t outgrow their container. And, any plant that outgrows its environment must be replaced.

Advantages

Miniature gardens are intriguing as well as cute. They capture the atmosphere and magnificence inherent in a natural landscape and create a place where it is almost possible to imagine anything. So they fire one’s imagination and give one a chance to be creative.

Moreover, in a miniature garden, plants are closer to eye level and so easier to appreciate. This hobby is a perfect stress relieving aid but the best thing is this that it costs you nothing. So anyone can become an expert gardener in no time!

(Saadia Daud)