Miniature gardens (often referred to as fairy gardens) are a very popular method of introducing gardening to those who do not have the space or time for large scale landscape, as well as helping to spark the imaginations of a generation of children who do not have the resources available elsewhere. Miniature gardens need small leaved plants that can mimic trees or shrubs around the small scale landscapes they are designed with.
There is a wide variety of plants available solely for use in miniature gardening. Many nurseries are beginning to offer “fairy” plants that have been specially designed for such use. These include grasses, annuals, perennials, tree seedlings, shrub seedlings, and water plants. Plants that are used for miniature gardens should be used correctly to provide color, balance, height, structure, texture, and form as if to mimic a full sized landscape.
Plants that mimic groundcovers such as turf or ivy in the mini-garden are sedums, grasses, thymes, and lamium. These ground hugging plants help define the spaces of the mini-garden as well as limit the amount of mulch or rock covering the ground in the garden. For shrub mimics in the mini-garden, try annuals with compact size, small perennials, and some shrub seedlings. Tree mimics can be annuals with minimal branching habit, tall herbs such as lavender or rosemary, or tree & shrub seedlings.
The following is a list of plants that Grimm’s Gardens offers through the growing season for use in miniature gardens.
Annuals
Angelonia – use for flowering trees in the background
Coleus – use as backdrop or tree mimic
Firecracker plant ‘Vermillionaire’ – use as a flowering tree
Helenium ‘Dakota old’ – use as a flowering shrub
Strawflower – use as a flowering shrub
Vinca – use as a flowering shrub
Grasses
Sedge ‘Blue Zinger’ – use as a large grass
Liriope – use as a bunching groundcover
Perennials
Lamium – use as a blooming groundcover
Hosta ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ – use as a foliage shrub
Allium ‘ Millenium’ – use as a flowering shrub
Dianthus – use as a groundcover
Sedums – use as a groundcover
Hens & Chicks – use as a groundcover
Coral Bells – Us
Herbs
Thyme – use as a groundcover
Lavender ‘Phenomenon’ – use as an evergreen tree/shrub
Rosemary – use as an evergreen tree
Basil – use as a large shrub/tree
Sage – use as an evergreen shrub
