If You Haven’t Tried Making a Miniature Garden, Give It A Try With These Tips
If you're looking for a simple way to add interest to your succulent arrangement, try making a miniature succulent garden. All you need is a few fun decorations intentionally placed.
Last fall I planted some cold hardy succulents in a container on my parents porch (which originally just had the tree in it). It did amazingly well over the winter, even after being covered with a sheet of ice at one point.
This spring as I was cleaning out the leaves and a few plants that didn't survive, my mom thought it would be fun to turn it into a miniature garden and I agreed! It was so easy to do but really makes the arrangement more fun. I've since become hooked on the idea of miniature and fairy gardens and have another fun project planned.
It was close to Mother's day when this miniature garden idea hit, so I thought it would be fun to add a few things to the succulent arrangement that were reminiscent of things in my mom's childhood.
I did some searching on Amazon and found an adorable miniature croquet set and knew it was perfect. My mom's family loves playing croquet and we frequently play at my grandparents house.
Of course the miniature garden also needed a seating area (so someone could watch the croquet game) so I decided to go with a twig love seat. My grandma is very talented with wood working and it reminded me of her.
I wanted to keep the miniature succulent garden pretty simple so I decided to start with those two items and see how it looked. Here is what the planter looked like last fall:
I planted the succulents spaced apart because I wanted to give them space to fill in. The rock was added to contrast with the plants and add variety to the arrangement. Adding a rock can really change the way your succulent garden looks, but I highly recommend it! At the time I wasn't using top dressings on very many projects so the soil was bare.
To complete the fairy garden, I added the top dressing and then placed the bench and croquet set on top of the rocks. The croquet set wasn't very stable and kept falling over so I wrapped a piece of floral wire around the bottom and stuck that down into the soil.
It worked out perfectly that the top dressing made it look like a path through the succulents. So, if you're planting succulents specifically for a fairy garden, try creating a curve that can be a path between the figures in the garden.
Both my mom and I were really happy with how this turned out. It wasn't anything difficult or complex, but we felt like it made the arrangement a lot more fun. This pot is on their front porch so everyone who comes to the door can see it. Plus, isn't the miniature croquet set so cute?!
Last year we also planted a succulent garden around this fairy cottage and bridge that my parents have beneath one of their pine trees. It wasn't hard to do but really enhanced the little vignette. Again, there were only two pieces in this miniature garden but it looks great!
If you've been wanting to try a miniature garden a try, you should! It really doesn't take much (although you can get quite elaborate) and it's so much fun!
Are You in One of These 18 States Where Succulents Can Grow Outside Year Round?
Many people think of succulents as beautiful house plants but don't realize they can be grown outside year round in many parts of the United States. Not every succulent is suited for outdoor growing in every state so here's a list of states and some of the succulents you can expect to grow outside year round there.
More Projects and Planting Ideas
There are endless ways to use succulents, whether it's in unique planters or fun arrangements. Be sure to check out these other fun projects you can make with succulents.
This article originally appeared on Succulents and Sunshine.