How to Insert Charm into Your Miniature Garden Part II, Patios and Paths

30/06/2011 at 11:15 pm · Filed under Because it's fun, D.I.Y. Ideas, Fairy Gardening, For the New Gardener, Indoor Mini Gardens, Resources ·Tagged container gardening, craft, DIY, gardening, How to's, Humour, inspiration, Janit Calvo, miniature, miniature garden, new

Stone sheets make for a no-brainer solution for the miniature garden patio. Lock them in permanently with the Mini Patio Mix.

How to Insert Charm into Your Miniature Garden Part II

We’re bringing charming back.

In a recent Miniature Garden Intensive Class, student Sandra started to ask about a certain plant and had to pause to say, “I’m about to use that word again, ‘charming!’”

She was right, the miniature conifer was simply charming and at that moment ‘charming’ was the perfect word for it.

Charm, noun
1. the power to delight or attract people
2. a feature or quality that delights or attracts (often used in the plural)

Charm, verb
1. to delight or attract people
2. To influence somebody by using powers of attraction
3. to affect somebody or something by, or as if by, the use of a supposed magic spell

Aha! Magic! That must be it! You’re probably thinking to yourself, FAIRY MAGIC….

But no. It’s simple math really.

Proportion and scale.

(Stay with me on this one! ;o)

One of the key ingredients that you can easily bring to your miniature gardens are proportion and scale.

We’ve talked about the plants and the accessories before, but let’s talk about something that is not so obvious but is a very valuable element for a true garden in miniature: the miniature patio.

The addition of a patio or pathway increases the appeal of a true garden in miniature because it helps the viewer to identify the fact that it is a real miniature garden instead of a container full of small plants.

It cinches the scale immediately in the eye of the viewer because we know how big it is supposed to be. After all, we stand on them all the time, right? But it tends to be the last thing we think of when we put a garden together and we end up dumping a bunch of marbles in for a path or include an odd collection of rocks for the patio.

Take a look at the following examples of the different sizes of miniature gardens to get an idea of what I mean by paying attention to the detail and cinching the scale to add the charm:

Simple bluestones are laid right in the potting soil. Every stone should have at least one flat side, bury them in the soil for an even surface.

Miniature brick sheets are high-fired meaning they are tough enough to stand up to the overhead watering and the rain. They can take a little freezing too.

Mixing and matching broken marble tile with stone sheets for a cool, “in the round,” miniature garden with a Loowit Hemlock in the center.

The square terrracotta patio bricks were “weathered and worn” purposefully before laying them into this award winning miniature garden.

The new, tiny miniature pebbles come in the wonderful colors. A great solution for the smallest of mini gardens or for the terrarium too.

Broken pieces of flagstone pick up the colors of the pot.

The square terracotta patio brick sheet are fun to play with. After time, you’ll get the moss growing in the cracks just like a full-sized patio.

Stone sheets make for a no-brainer solution for the miniature garden patio. Lock them in permanently with the Mini Patio Mix.

Broken tile pieces mixed with tumbled pebbles and locked in the our Mini Patio Mix.

A garden for ever-changing moods. Broken marble, miniature brick and stone sheets were used for three very different effects.

Our stone sheets were used for this mini patio. A single strip of ivory pebbles marks a pathway through the center.

Dollhouse miniature bricks are misleading. The bricks are ‘low-fired’ and are very soft. They don’t hold up well to the watering and moisture in the living miniature garden.

Miniature pebbles can cinch the right theme perfectly. Use landscape cloth underneath to keep them neat and tidy.

Checkout the Miniature Garden Patio and Pathway Department in our store for easy solutions to add charm to your miniature or fairy garden scene.

Be sure to lock in your design with our Mini Patio Mix Kit. The only solution design specifically for miniature gardeners by a miniature gardener! ;o)

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