Miniature Plants For Miniature Gardens
Miniature gardens look more convincing if they have realistic-looking miniature trees and flowers.
Alpines
As mentioned earlier, one source is Alpine plants which naturally never grow larger than miniature versions of ordinary trees and flowers. To use these, you need a sunny position and good drainage. You can Google-search on the internet for ‘Alpines’ to find Alpine suppliers or Alpine interest groups who might help you. Plenty of people are interested in these plants.
Anne Ashberry’s book, ‘Miniature Gardens’, lists many such plants. Here are some which specially suit an Islamic garden.
- Miniature coniferous trees which stay small
- Juniper communis ‘compressa’ is the nearest thing to a tiny Italian cypress. It’s easy to obtain.
- Chamaecyparis thyoides ‘Andelyensis Nana’
- Picaea abies ‘Pygmaea’
- Miniature roses
- Rosa Rouletti ‘Maid Marion’ (or ‘Red Imp’)
- Rosa Rouletti ‘Red Elf’ (or ‘Elf’)
- Rosa Rouletti ‘Yellow Bantam’
- Miniature jasmine
- Jasminum parkeri
- Miniature substitutes for grass
- Raoulia lutescens
- Arenaria Balearica
The best time to plant such Alpines is early Autumn. The next best is early Spring.
Bonsai trees
Leaving Alpines aside, there’s another, completely different source for miniature trees – Bonsai gardening. This comes from Japan but there are many Bonsai societies throughout the UK – as a quick internet search will show.
Bonsai trees are ordinary trees genetically but are grown into perfect miniatures through skilled and laborious trimming and training of branches and roots and restriction of roots in tiny pots. They can be bought – sometimes at high prices. Or you can make them yourself, either from a book - using wild saplings - or from a kit for growing Bonsai trees.
For a complete novice, Bonsai trees could be a challenging, time-consuming and expensive route to a miniature garden.
But if you can get advice and actual trees from experienced Bonsai gardeners, Bonsai trees might be worth considering, especially Bonsai conifers.
Unlike Alpine mini-trees, you can’t just plant a Bonsai with its roots free in the trough. You need to bury it in its pot or a very tight space to keep the roots restricted and thus prevent growth. Unlike Alpines, Bonsai trees need careful watering. It must be very regular (because there’s so little space in the tiny pot) but never very heavy. If you were to use Bonsais, who would keep watering them?
Your own ideas for planting a miniature garden
You may have good ideas of your own for plants which would suit a miniature Islamic garden. There’s no reason why they should only be Alpines or Bonsais.