If you're planning to remodel your existing miniature garden, create a new one or just want to give it a quick facelift, you'll want to explore some miniature gardening themes and accessories needed. To help you out, I thought I'd share some ideas.
Classical themeGoing for a classical style miniature garden allows you to gather some initial experience, especially if you are new to this type of gardening. A classical miniature garden assortment includes a country house or a classical folly, classic square planters, a path and well-known plants to serve as trees and shrubs.
A country house, anything from a large castle-like dwelling to a small cottage, will be the main attraction of the classical miniature garden. Place it at one end of the container. Alternatively, use a classical folly, a decorative building, as the main attraction.
Place the classic square planters at the entrance of the cottage or the classical folly. These classic square planters suit well with succulents like Hen and Chicks.
Let a path lead the visitor to the building from the other end of the container. Frame the path with plants like Gold Cushion Mums, Solidago, Red Daisies and Salal. A Lemon Cypress cone or a Variegated Boxleaf Euonymus may serve as trees that hide the building partly from the view of the visitor as they enter the garden, and reveal its beauty as they proceed on the path.
An alternative classical design consists of ancient Greek miniatures like (corner step) columns, pots, walls, steps/stairways, etc. A Greek urn (a classic garland pot) in the middle of the garden can be a great attraction. Place walls, columns and steps around the urn to create your own little Acropolis. A Holly Ilex, Mini Olive or Rosemary trees and succulents like Hardy Ice Plant will provide the right type of greens for this design.
Farm themeCreate a peaceful country setting with a house, barn, a dog house, some tiny livestock and other farm accessories.
Put a small cottage at one corner of the container. Place a wagon wheel leaning to it. A little further, put a dog house with a dog. Create a lawn using Mood Moss. Decorate your miniature farm with a chicken coop or a dog house, vegetable plants, farm bench/chair and some tiny livestock. Livestock can include cows, goats, sheep, pigs/piglets, dogs, anything you can arrange. Add a water tower to a back corner of the farm near the house and barn.
A set of miniature farm tools including a spade, a rake and hoe near the barn gives the farm a more natural look.
Halloween themeTrick or treat ghosts, a spooky house, Jack 'O Lanterns, and a scarecrow are all the main characters in our Halloween miniature garden.
One trick or treat ghost stands outside a fairy cottage holding a Jack 'O Lantern waiting to be filled with treats. There is one ghost with arms stretched knocking the door, some ghosts hiding in the bushes and a skull behind a tree.
On the other side, place a spooky house, it can be a cave formed with rocks or an old tree house with a witch standing at the entrance. Not to forget its broom. Put a cat looking at the witch and a black crow perched on the tree house. Plant Spice Cactus or Dancing Bones Cactus all around this house. Put Jack-O-Lanterns at multiple places. If you still have space, put a spooky scarecrow and a dog howling at it.
Winter themeWinter usually means snow, sleds, shovels, skates, ice pond, etc. These all are going to be part of our next theme - miniature winter garden.
You can use either an existing miniature garden or create a new one. It's easy, you just have to place some accessories and add some snow. One of the best fake snow options available in the market is SnoWonder. It's affordable, safe and easy to clean up.
Cover the entire miniature garden with a layer of snow. Put a snow shovel rested on one side of the cottage. You can put a sledge on the other side of the cottage or you can simply place in the lawn covered with snow. Just a few inches away, place the snowman with black hat and red scarf draped around his neck. If you have space, include a frozen pond with a pair of ice skates placed next to it.
Miniature garden themes are endless. You can create as many as you want. You just need to be creative and more importantly, passionate about miniature gardening.
