Miniature Gardens

[Mick McLoughlin]

In the thread for the Loughborough Autumn Show, I showed a picture of Mandy's entry in the Miniature garden section (reposted here). Some interest was shown and more detailed pics requested, so I decided to put a separate thread on here. Should anyone have any suggestions, of plants, cultivation, ideas etc. please feel free to contribute. I'm sure JohnD could help here as he has given Mandy tips at the shows previously.
First a general shot of the 3 gardens that Mandy has at the moment and the location where they are stored. There is a debate at the moment as to whether to put a removable cover over them for bad weather.
Note that Mandy has them in shallow pots, as she is trying to restrict the plants from growing too freely.

[Mick McLoughlin]

There is not much colour in these mini gardens at the moment, probably one of the reasons for the second at Loughborough.
First an overall shot of the mini garden1.
Next, as John told Mandy, also pay attention to the reverse of the garden as that can be planted as well. A close up shot of the detail on the reverse.
Next some detail shots of the LH side, RH side and top.

[Mick McLoughlin]

The second mini garden now. This one has more plants actually rooted into the Tufa rock.
First the overall view. Then 3 close up views.
Then the reverse view and a close up of a section of the reverse.
2 detailed shots of the top section.
Then a close up of a feature of the rock and the sedum actually rooting into the Tufa.

[Mick McLoughlin]

The third and final one now.
Again a general view first and then the reverse.
3 shots of the left hand side.
Next some more details including Saxifrage longifolia nestling in nicely.

[Paddy Tobin]

Mick,

Mandy has certainly put a great deal of thought and time into the planning and planting of these gardens and she has produced excellent results, very interesting shots indeed.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

What a super trio of gardens. I do like the use of the bonsai type containers for them, these look good and  will restrict root run, as wanted.
I think the little conifers will need careful tending/pruning to keep in scale, but that is always a problem with mini gardens.
Lovely display, Mandy and thanks for showing them, Mick. The varied shots will give lots of ideas to anyone wanting to try this themselves.

[Lesley Cox]

These are an excellent lesson Mick, about designing and planting such tiny landscapes, a real eye opener for me.

It occurs to me that such gardens would make superb Christmas gifts for plant-loving friends and family. Each could have its own little "story" with how it was created, a list of the plants and some notes re care and pruning, watering etc.

The other thing that is very obvious from this series, is how much better such gardens or plants look in "real" light, rather than in a poorly lit hall. I bet Mandy's garden was pleased to be taken home.

[Brian Ellis]

Thanks for showing us them in close up Mick, they look even better than in the hall.  Well done to Mandy.  I think the containers are absolutely right for them and they are an inspiration to us all.

[Carlo]

Anyone care to comment on how these are different than troughs. By all appearances they are more temporary...plantings for particular occasions, shows, etc. They must be less "hardy" as there is little soil available to insulate roots.

What's the show class definition of a "miniature garden" as compared with that of a trough planting?

[ranunculus]

What's the show class definition of a "miniature garden" as compared with that of a trough planting?

Hi Carlo,

The rules of the Alpine Garden Society Show Schedule state :-

The general effect and variety of dwarf shrubs and alpine plants used is of importance but it is undesirable to make any definite allocation of points. Preference should be given to exhibits in which the plants are well established. Pans may not exceed 36 cm outside diameter , or in the case of rectangular pans, 1000 sq cm in total surface.

... and basically, that is that ...

I will be very interested to hear the thoughts of forum member; John Dower who has raised the design, planting and exhibition of mini-gardens to a new level in recent years,

[Maggi Young]

For SRGC shows, rules about "miniature garden" entries vary as to size allowed....
 e.g.
"1 miniature garden, not exceeding 0.37 sq. m (4 sq. ft) planted with living plants, no cut flowers allowed"..... this last instruction is applied to all.

or " 1 Miniature garden, container sides or diameter not exceeding 45cm, planted with rock plants "

or "1 container, various rock garden plants, arranged for effect, maximum diameter  ( or length of side) of container 30 cm "
 or " A container of rock plants, arranged for effect, all plants to be living"
or "1 miniature garden with longest sides or diameter noyt exceeding 45cm."

So, you see there are no hard and fast rules.... 

We know from experience here in Aberdeen that a shallow container need not be any barrier to ensuring a long life to its plants, even in very cold conditions. I suppose the main difference is that a miniature garden tries very hard to replicate a landcape in miniature, whereas a trough can just be a restricted and/or portable home for some plants.... a question of scale and style to some degree.... though, of course, it would be possible to have ( say) a very large stone horse trough which was planted very much as a mini landscape/garden but for practical reasons the miniature gardens  for shows  are restricted by ease of showing and carrying!!

I , too, believe that Johnny Dower's opinion on this would be useful 

[Lesley Cox]

I and my mates used to make miniature gardens of the "Mandy" kind, as hort projects at school, many years ago. Perhaps they still do nowadays. Mandy's and other like them while being homes for tiny plants seem almost to amount to an art form and while many troughs do likewise, those are, essentially, homes for plants which enjoy specific conditions, rather than, say, an end in themselves.

[ranunculus]

To continue this theme I will post twenty images illustrating the construction and initial planting of a mini-garden that I created a good while ago ...
This garden was created to sit outside on a patio all year (without winter cover) and not primarily (but potentially) for future exhibition.
The 'drilled' limestone boulder was purchased from a garden centre and set about 3 ctms down into the gritty compost.  The individual holes were plugged with tiny plants and were backfilled with compost and grit.
I'm afraid my plans to photograph the project from start to finish were dashed by holidays, memory lapses, etc. and I can only recall a number of the sixty or so little plants that I used (though investigation of the finished article might assist the aged brain cells). 

[ranunculus]

Batch two ...

[Lesley Cox]

These are WONDERFUL Cliff. At first I thought the rock WAS the aged brain cells

It looks like one of those amazing mountain cliffs seen in some South American rain forests, with plants of all kinds clinging to impossible inclines and overhangs. I hope it got a good prize somewhere.