Let's start with what most of us want in our gardens. We want flowers...lots and lots of flowers. Here is a list of my absolute favorite long blooming and compact plants for the sunny indoor or outdoor miniature garden.
Ageratum, 'Hawaii Blue', Floss Flower If you like the color blue this one is for you. Planted in the flower border or beside a small fairy house it looks like a lush blue Hydrangea bush. Place any fairies, fences or benches in front of this flower and the accessories immediately look great. The soft blue flower color seems to complement anything you place in front of it - and the Hawaii Blue truly blooms its little blue heart out from spring till frost, non-stop.
Care: Fertilize weekly with a liquid fertilizer and occasionally remove the spent flowers. Ageratum is an annual, so it cannot be brought inside, as a houseplant, over the winter.
Bellium-minutum, Miniature Daisy What is not to like about daisies? Everyone likes the simple white daisy type plant with the bright and cheery yellow center. The bees love this one as well. It blooms constantly and grows quite fast. If allowed much space, the Belium-minutum will spread and grow an occasional division. Plant it close to a red barn in the farm theme garden or by a fairy house or in front of the schoolhouse. This little daisy can be planted in a miniature wildflower fairy garden or in a border surrounding a lawn area. It looks great planted anywhere. I often use the Bellium-minutum by a rock garden retaining wall when I am working with several levels in the miniature landscape.
Care: Fertilize weekly with a liquid fertilizer and deadhead or simply cut it back to the mounding green foliage. It will quickly shoot up white flower buds. This plant can be kept growing in a sunny window during the winter, where it will continue to bloom.
Cuphea hyssopifolia, 'Tiny Elfin Herb', Mexican Heather If you are familiar with the regular, old-fashioned Mexican Heather that easily grows to 8-10 inches tall, this 3-4 inch Tiny Elfin Herb might surprise you. The flower color is much richer with a darker magenta everlasting bloom. Color is what we are looking for in the miniature garden design and that is why this plant is so useful.
Care: Fertilize weekly with a liquid fertilizer. It does not need dead heading. The flowers seem to just drop and disappear on their own. This is also a great plant for growing in the house over the winter, providing it gets enough sun.
Erodium x variabile, 'Flora Plena', Heron Bill Erodium or Heron's Bill is really a miniature perennial geranium. It is another long blooming variety that will delight you with its single and double flowers on the same plant. This Erodium stays small and compact during its first season, but it can grow up to 8-10 inches wide over several years.
Care: Fertilize weekly with a liquid fertilizer. Occasional dead heading is needed.
I hope you find these tips useful. Bring this list with you when you visit your favorite greenhouse, garden center or online shopping site. Happy planting!
