moss-maniac: Evelyn’s Minature Garden Modular Concept: A Tutorial for Newbies … with updates

First of all you need a container:

Generally you can plant in whatever you want, each pot is possible,
as long as it is not a poisonous material, like f. e. raw copper.

For most of my fairy gardens I did the containers myself: little boxes made of resin coated plywood. In order to get it completely waterproof I used silicon in the corners.

The container should only be waterproof for indoors or on a rain free place outdoors.
Then you don’t have a mess on the floor from watering, but on the other hand you have to water carefully, in order not to drown your plants.

Btw. I did not do it yet, but the raw edges should be painted dark brown, to get them waterproof, too.
Mea culpa!
Moreover it looks much better.

The easiest way to create a miniature garden is to garden
is to fill your container completely narrow with equal common size plant pots -
all square and in the same size.

It is a modular concept.

Of course the box size depends on the pots - that’s why I did it myself.
My box is about 29 x 49 cm - for 15 square pots.

If you have some more boxes, you can put them together to bigger miniature gardens.
In this way they are easier to carry, if necessary.

I used a bird's house and a little wooden bench and sewed some pillows.

You also need plants with very tiny leafs and flowers and potting soil.

Even tiny weeds can be good miniature garden plants.

Moss should already grow on the soil, then you have at least a little chance, to keep it alive permanently.
It needs humid air to grow well.

Little coniferes works only outdoors or in a cold glasshouse/sunroom in the long run.

The benefit of this method of gardening:

In this way you can use your plastic pots like a modular, you can combine in another way again, whenever you like it.

Naturally you can also use wider pots in a fitting size.

Even plane bins can be used – just bring them with Styrofoam, etc. on the right level.

When vovered by plants it looks nice.

You can put your “hardware” on the pots in the right height with your plastic pots or Styrofoam -
for example a little house, a tile used as a terrace for a bank, arch, etc.

Also mosaic designs, gritty pathways, wooden decks, etc. are possible.
Just stick it on a stabile waterproof material and lay it on the upside down pots – or even on a half pot, the other half can still be planted.

Your decoration parts will stay pretty dry and clean and will not rot in the humid soil.

The best is, to plan your garden in a way, that the plastic of the pots is hidden under plants, pathways, stones or other decoration - or hide them with a little bit of moss.

See the difference here in front - and in the back:

A little fence would make this minigarden perfect… 👍

I hope, all of this will help you a little bit to design your first little miniature garden.

Have a lot of fun and a great time, folks!

Kind regards from Bavaria
Evelyn

🌻🌻🌻

😕Holiday-Problem:
When I am in holidays my friends always tends to water my plants too much, in order not to let them die of thirst.
As you all know: Well-intentioned is the opposite of well done!

😊Solution:
My method is to remove one of the plastic pots inside, so that the bottom of the box can be seen easily
and I tell the carers, that not more than 1 cm of water should be left over after wateriing the box ...
On very hot days maybe 2 cm reservoir – it depends on how often somebody will come.

It works well - also for my indoor plants ;-)

14.01.2022 - Update

Wow!!! GREAT MINIATURE GARDEN CONTAINERS FROM IKEA :

the KUGGIS Series….
Made of durable plastic in different sizes and colours and all sizes are dimensioned to each other.
I hope they have it in their programme for a very long time.

I took the medium size. They are exactly the right size for 12 common nursery plant pots (squarish) in Europe.
You can use these containers immediately like they are -
or drill wholes in the bottom and use the lid as a perfect plant saucer.
You need some Styrofoam, plastic pots, or whatever under the pots, ok –
but on the other hand it is deep enough to use a bigger pot between them, too - f. e. for a little tree, etc.
You even can drill the wholes in the sides, to have a little water reservoir at the bottom inside.
The height depends on which level your flower pots will be.
More of them can be used exactly close together to a big garden - no water between them.
Put a good sticky tape over two containers, if you want the chink completely waterproof.
A folded thin aluminium sheet would do the same. But a dark clour would be the best.
The containers are perfect for storing everything and can be cleaned in the dishwasher.
But who would store something in, when you can create a new miniature garden? 😏