by Isadora Pandora

Created on: November 18, 2008   Last Updated: January 08, 2009

Creating a Miniature Fairy Garden is as easy as pie!

Have you ever heard the saying "Make a ten dollar hole for a one dollar tree"? This statement holds especially true when making a miniature garden, everything the plants need to survive, is something you have to provide... -

After finding your container, start by using a good soil mixture; you can either make your own or buy some ready made. Mix about 4 tsp. of dry silica crystals per cubic foot of soil, this helps retain water making it easier to actually enjoy the garden. Or, you can use an extra and clean baby diaper, simply remove all that powder from the center strip and soak it in a bowl of water. You'll be surprised at how much you actually get from one diaper!

Tip; I always wet my crystals before planting in them. This shows me how they will look (if you use too much it will look nasty) when I water. I've also had a lot of success with adding a few extra crystals directly in the planting holes (just like you would in a regular garden.) -

-Creating the soil-

This is my own recipe, feel free to amend it as you see fit, as, what works for one person/plant may not work for another.

1 gallon of good yard clay 2 gallons of aged natural compost Silica Crystals (follow manufacturers' directions)

Simply mix all the ingredients together, adding enough water to make it workable.

Tip; Use an old blender to chop the compost into "mini-garden sized bits" before mixing in your clay and silica. Try not to make it too fine- you want the soil to be able to drain.

After mixing and wetting your soil, go ahead and fill the container you plan to use. I fill it all the way up because later when I pack the soil, the overall level will drop. Add your plants, paying close attention to the scale. If you're using some mint trained to look like a tree, or even if you're using a real tree, make sure it seems like it is a tree when compared to the other plants you use. I love to take the very top growth of various sedums and make small bedding plants out of them. Try using Two-row Stonecrop 'Dragon's Blood' Sedum spurium as tiny decorative cabbages mingling with some Jenny's Stonecrop Sedum rupestre. These can make a great mass planting!

When you're done planting you may then decide to top dress your soil. This is a very simple procedure; all you're basically doing is adding a layer of nice looking finished soil to the top of the planting.

Tip; Try using a natural sand with tiny pebbles to make dry stream beds. Even lacking water, these pretty

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