,.\ The Making of Miniature Gardens 



By S. Leonard Bastin 



AN INDOOR SUGGESTION FOR THE CHILDREN IN THE WIN- 

 TER MONTHS— THEIR POSSIBILITIES AS TABLE DECORATIONS 



Small pebbles are put in the 

 bottom of the pan, with earth 

 filled in over them 



A MINIATURE garden may well 

 be made an excellent object lesson 

 to the younger members of the 

 family especially in the winter time when 

 there is little doing out of doors. I have 

 constructed a numbers of these gardens and 

 it may be of interest briefly to outline the 

 method of procedure. In the first place it 

 is necessary to secure one or more flat dishes, 

 made of some glazed ware. These should 

 be quite shallow, about a couple of inches in 

 depth perhaps, and may be square or round 

 or indeed any shape that suits the fancy. 

 As a matter of fact ordinary photographic 

 dishes have been found to answer all the 

 requirements, and as these are cheap and 

 may be readily secured in all sizes they are 

 to be strongly recommended. 



The first step in the formation of the gar- 

 den is to cover the bottom of the dish with a 

 layer of pebbles. These should be small 

 clean stones such as are obtained from the 

 bed of a stream, or indeed may be purchased 

 from a florist's store where they are offered 

 for use in the culture of narcissus bulbs. 

 Next secure a quantity of fine mold; this 

 should be quite free from lumps and it is 

 well to pass it through a sieve before use. 

 It is perhaps most easily handled if it is in a 

 dry condition. The layer of pebbles being 

 in position, the mold is placed in the dish 

 and with the fingers is firmly pressed down, 

 so that the dish is about half full. It is 

 now just as well to form some idea of the 

 exact design which the garden is to follow, 

 a glance at the accompanying pictures will 

 perhaps give more hints in this direction 

 than could be con- 

 veyed in lengthy 

 descriptions. A few 

 general remarks, 

 however, may be 

 useful. 



One important 

 point which should 

 be mentioned is that, 

 in the case of the 

 "rockwork" it is in- 

 advisable to use real 

 stone. In all the 

 gardens shown in the 

 photographs thispar- 

 ticularpart is formed 



save where a few 

 small pebbles have 

 been added to give 

 an effect. Chunks 

 of wood, such as are 

 often used for burn- 

 ing purposes, are of 

 great service espec- 

 ially if these are in a 

 somewhat rotten 

 condition. The com- 

 paratively soft ma- 

 terial is readily cut 

 with a knife into a 

 shape resembling a piece of ' ' rock. ' ' In this 

 state wood is an admirable medium for hold- 

 ing the moisture and, in a wonderfully short 

 time it will be found that all sorts of mosses 

 and little plants may be established. It is 

 well to put the rocks into position when the 

 dish is half full and, as this is accomplished, 

 the soil is pressed tightly round the pieces of 

 wood until the receptacle is full to the brim. 

 If liked, little model wooden houses may be 

 added as shown, and paths of small pebbles 

 could be put down to enhance the effect. 

 Where there is room a pool may be introduced 

 and this will form a very attractive feature. 

 The pool might be formed with a tiny dish 

 or a tin lid, or a little piece of mirror could 

 be used to give the impression of water. 



The planting of the garden is a matter in 

 which indivudial taste must of course oper- 

 ate. The plants most suitable for these 

 miniature gardens are those of a moisture 

 loving habit, such as mosses, tiny ferns and 

 any small creeping species which would not 

 be likely to be rank in its growth. 



Before planting the whole of the soil 

 should be quite saturated with water, and 

 until the specimens have taken ahold plenty 



of pieces of wood, 



The little gardens can be made up in an endless variety of styles and are appropriate for tabic centre pieces 



157 



of moisture must he supplied. Little niches 

 should be cut in the wood "rockwork" and 

 in these small portions of mosses, etc., are 

 inserted and if the wood is kept in a damp 

 condition the plants soon grow. Low grow- 

 ing forms of mosses if placed in tiny tufts on 

 the surface of the soil soon spread over the 

 entire area and will form the "grass lawns" 

 of the little garden. Now and again the 

 seeds of the smaller grasses may be sown as 

 seed to give a little fresh greenness. 



The general upkeep of the miniature gar- 

 dens consists in placing the dishes in a 

 fairly light position, though it is well to avoid 

 direct sunshine. A good supply of moisture 

 is necessary, though if the growth of the 

 tiny plants threatens to become rank a cer- 

 tain withholding of water is desirable. On 

 occasion, too, a little gentle pruning of the 

 more vigorous growth will help to keep the 

 garden in an orderly state. Duties of this 

 description will of course add to the pleas- 

 ures of looking after a miniature garden. One 

 of the most useful purposes to which the 

 little gardens maybe turned is in schemes 

 of table decoration. Of course for this the 

 somewhat large sized gardens are the best 

 seeing that they will occupy a greater space. 

 The borders of the dish may be readily 

 hidden with layers of moss. If it is desired 

 to keep this material from coming into con- 

 tact with the linen cloth the whole affair 

 may be arranged upon a large tin tray, 



AVAILABLE MATERIAL 



As soon as you begin to make these mini- 

 ature gardens, you will be surprised at the 

 rich variety of material that is ready to 

 your hand. For instance, go into the woods 

 and gather up some of the seedlings of the 

 evergreens ; in their variety they lend them- 

 selves charmingly to this kind of decoration. 

 Here and there, too, in the dryer, less fertile 

 soils, you will come upon older plants that 

 have made a stunted and distorted growth 

 and which look quite Japanese in effect. 

 Nothing could be better adapted for the 

 purpose in mind. While you are in the 

 woods, also you will probably be able to 

 gather up whole sheets of mossy growth. 

 There is a rich variety in the mosses, alone, 

 which used on a 

 miniature scale will 

 easily lend a variety 

 of color and struc- 

 ture that is very in- 

 teresting. 



An entirely differ- 

 ent character of gar- 

 den will be con- 

 structed by the use of 

 small cactus, which 

 again offer an'endless 

 variety. The smaller 

 bulbs can be used in 

 this connection to 

 give brilliant color 

 effects. 



