What tireless summer residents do not go to, trying to bring new and original elements to the landscape of the site, which will become an unusual addition that can transform the territory. A picturesque landscape in miniature or a potted garden can become a spectacular decoration not only of a balcony or terrace, but of any corner in the garden.
We form the idea of the future composition
The creation of any composition, whether the design of a flower garden, elements of vertical gardening or a mini-garden in a pot begins with an idea. It can be a miniature rock garden created from small stones and tiny plants, a magic garden with dwarf trees or an oasis in the desert.
The thematic composition may even resemble a sweet corner in the garden, complemented by a small pond
The basis can be taken as plants of small sizes that are already growing on the site or container, and harmoniously combined with existing buildings and small architectural forms.
You can use decorative miniature gardens in different ways. They can be the central decoration of landscape design, taking pride of place in the front area of the site, or an unobtrusive addition to green compositions in the garden. Due to the small size, such an element of decor can be located almost anywhere in the garden: on the porch of the house, along the walkway and near a small pond.
Thinking over the design of the decorative composition, it is advisable to decide in advance where the mini-garden will be placed, which side is viewed, and whether it will be open for general viewing at all. When choosing a place to place the composition, one should take into account the conditions for growing the main elements of landscaping, with which you plan to fill your miniature garden.
The best accommodation option is a place protected from drafts and winds, but open to sunlight. Better if it is the east or west side of the site
The main advantage of such a mini-garden in a pot is its mobility: if it becomes habitual in one place, it can always be moved to a new one without much hassle. In winter, a pot with planted plants is enough to move to a calm place and cover with a layer of snow or non-woven material.
Choose a container for a mini-garden
Any wide container with a height of about 15 cm can serve as the basis for creating the composition. A large horizontal space makes it possible to develop a more interesting "landscape".
The basis can be an enameled basin, tray, flowerpot or any other container. Even an old sink is suitable for arranging - the choice is limited only by the author’s imagination
Pots for a mini-garden can have both traditional round or square shapes, and original options, thanks to which you can get very unusual multi-level compositions. The only condition is that the pots must have drainage holes (several small holes in the bottom of the container) needed to drain excess water. To prevent the holes from clogging over time, the bottom of the container is covered with a layer of rubble or pebbles, which will also provide additional drainage.
Wanting to make the container more attractive, its outer walls can be lined. To do this, you first need to coat its walls with a mixture of crushed peat, sifted sand and cement, taken in equal proportions and diluted with water to a paste-like consistency. Without waiting until the solution hardens, the outer surface of the container must be decorated with decorative elements: small pebbles, colored tiles, shells and glass.
Flowers and decorative elements
The option of placing plants directly in the stone is possible. A stone with a porous structure that can absorb enough moisture, such as tuff, shell rock or limestone, is perfect for this. The soft rock of these stones is convenient for processing: if necessary, you can always drill holes in them and make small "pockets" for plants. To retain moisture in the composition, you can add several "islands" of sphagnum moss.
The choice of plants for the composition depends on the theme of the mini-garden. For example: to create a rocky corner or an alpine hill, a composition of cacti is perfect
When creating a miniature stone garden, it is better to use cacti and other succulents: stone rose, diamond-cutter, sedum, haworthia
When choosing gardening elements, it should be borne in mind that plants tend to grow. Therefore, for the design of miniature compositions, it is better to give preference to slowly growing varieties.
Among stones, gelksina, saxifrage, pachyphytum and gasteria also feel comfortable. The roots of these plants, in search of moisture, can penetrate into any cracked stones
When planning to design a mini-garden in the style of a park landscape, it is better to use a money tree, dwarf ficus and myrtle as gardening elements. These plants are attractive with a decorative crown shape, to maintain which you need to regularly pinch and prune. In mini-gardens equipped on open areas, dwarf varieties of conifers look amazing: junipers, spruce, cypresses.
Among small-leaved slow-growing plants, Fittonia, peperomia, and stonecrops can also be distinguished. A wonderful addition to the garden can be ivy, the flexible elegant stems of which will frame the composition and braid the pot.
Beautifully flowering plants are able to bring bright colors to the composition: sinpolia, cyclamen, miniature roses and streptocarpus. As they bloom, they can always be replaced with new varieties that are just beginning to bloom.
As decorative elements, animal figures, sea shells and ceramic vessels are perfect. Decorative elements of a mini-garden in the style of a park landscape can be pieces of furniture or utensils from children's toy sets: lanterns, deck chairs and garden benches, miniature park sculptures.
The main stages of arranging such a garden
Creating a fertile foundation
At the bottom of the pot, pour drainage with a layer of about 3-4 cm, in the role of which expanded clay or pebbles can act.
The pot is filled with fertile soil, consisting of coarse sand, turf land and peat, taken in a ratio of 2: 1: 1
To make the soil more loose, vermiculite can be added to its composition. When planning to combine several types of plants, it is advisable to provide for the presence of "pockets" that fill with soil that is most suitable for a particular sample. You can distinguish between "pockets" using "paths" made of stones or other decorative elements.
Tip. Some gardeners between the drainage layer and the soil make a layer of dry leaves and branches, which, as they rot, provide additional nutrition to the plants.
Filling the container with soil, without adding 1.5-2 cm to the edge, a little tamp the earth and watered.
Planting plants
According to a previously thought-out plan, we begin the "development of the territory." There are two possible planting options: when they are planted in one container, or placed in separate pots dug in the ground. With the first arrangement method, the composition looks more holistically. The second option is good because it allows you to solve the problem of compatibility of plants in one soil, and also makes it possible at any time to easily replace or remove the plant.
When planting plants without pots, they should be taken out of the "native" containers as carefully as possible so as not to damage the root system
When planting plants, it is necessary to maintain the distance between the shoots, taking into account the growth prospects. The foreground of the composition is filled with low-growing varieties, the background is filled with higher plants
When composing a composition and selecting a good neighborhood, one should also take into account the agrotechnical characteristics of plants: some of them are sun-loving, others are shade-tolerant, the former adore plenty of moisture, and the latter prefer watering as the earth dries.
Decoration elements
After the plants have been planted, the empty places of the composition remain to be covered with fine gravel or laid out with pebbles. In addition to the decorative function, this coating will retain moisture after watering and will prevent the appearance of weeds.
Glass pebbles with blue shimmer help to create the illusion of water, which are placed in a small depression between the garden plants
An original addition to the composition will be miniature swings and stairs, which will not be difficult to make from wooden blocks and skewers
To supplement the garden with a miniature pond, it is enough to choose a correspondingly low vessel. It must be buried in the soil, and then cover the bottom of the "reservoir" with small pebbles. The shores of the pond can be decorated with decorative tiles, planted with dwarf trees or ground cover plants, such as: saline or nerter.
One of the latest fashion trends in the design of plant compositions is the arrangement of miniature gardens in chopped and broken pots, with the help of which craftsmen make original multi-level compositions
Caring for the mini-garden consists only in maintaining the necessary humidity regime and removing obsolete shoots and weeds.
