Create your own teeny tiny Eden
If our homes are our castles, then our gardens are our oases. We Brits love our green spaces, our own little Edens, offering respite from the hubbub of everyday life. And if you don’t have one of your own, an inspiring new book reveals how you can create one – even if you’ve no more space than a spare shelf or an old suitcase. For Teeny Tiny Gardening reveals how to get green-fingered on a microscale, from hanging baskets and eggshells planted with violas, forget-menots and moss, to dazzling floral cake stands and, yes, even flowerfilled suitcases.
From left: freshen up an old chair with zinnias and cosmos; shopping baskets packed with plants, make a colourful border; plant up a miniature garden in some old metal dishes, to brighten up an old table
Indeed, whether you want to turn a slither of outdoor space into a dazzling hideaway or just add some colour to a gloomy-looking room, there is a tiny garden for you. You could even use yours to grow your own herbs and vegetables.
And it’s easier than you think. In fact, creating your own miniature garden is the perfect (inexpensive) way to hone your skills.
Left: fresh herbs are easy to grow. Fasten decorative hooks near your back door and plant up some galvanised buckets and lanterns with a selection of your favourite herbs. Don’t forget to water them regularly. Right: create an eggshell garden with pastelcoloured eggs filled with miniature violas, forget-me-nots and moss
‘I recommend using soil-less potting mix for most of the projects – you are probably unlikely to want to invest in a range of different media if you are gardening on a small scale,’ explains miniature-gardening expert, Emma Hardy. ‘As you gain experience (and possibly more space), you might want to experiment with in-depth soil mixtures, but a goodquality potting mix should be fine for small, often temporary, gardens.
From left: this vintage tin is home to a mini-garden, with a real feel of a wildflower meadow in summer; an auricula theatre is a charming way to display these flowering plants; a vintage suitcase is ideal for a miniature garden, planted with hellebores and pulsatillas
‘A few gardening tools will also come in handy… a decent garden trowel, a good pair of secateurs and a watering can with a fine rose.’
In fact, all you need is a handful of tools, a bag of potting mix – and a little imagination.
READER OFFER
Teeny Tiny Gardening, by Emma Hardy; photography by Debbie Patterson, is published by CICO Books, priced £14.99. Readers of The Lady can buy a copy at the special price of £12.99, including p&p. Call 01256- 302699, quoting GLR 8BN. For more details: www.cicobooks.co.uk
From left: freshen up an old chair with zinnias and cosmos; shopping baskets packed with plants, make a colourful border; plant up a miniature garden in some old metal dishes, to brighten up an old tableIndeed, whether you want to turn a slither of outdoor space into a dazzling hideaway or just add some colour to a gloomy-looking room, there is a tiny garden for you. You could even use yours to grow your own herbs and vegetables.
And it’s easier than you think. In fact, creating your own miniature garden is the perfect (inexpensive) way to hone your skills.
Left: fresh herbs are easy to grow. Fasten decorative hooks near your back door and plant up some galvanised buckets and lanterns with a selection of your favourite herbs. Don’t forget to water them regularly. Right: create an eggshell garden with pastelcoloured eggs filled with miniature violas, forget-me-nots and moss‘I recommend using soil-less potting mix for most of the projects – you are probably unlikely to want to invest in a range of different media if you are gardening on a small scale,’ explains miniature-gardening expert, Emma Hardy. ‘As you gain experience (and possibly more space), you might want to experiment with in-depth soil mixtures, but a goodquality potting mix should be fine for small, often temporary, gardens.
From left: this vintage tin is home to a mini-garden, with a real feel of a wildflower meadow in summer; an auricula theatre is a charming way to display these flowering plants; a vintage suitcase is ideal for a miniature garden, planted with hellebores and pulsatillas‘A few gardening tools will also come in handy… a decent garden trowel, a good pair of secateurs and a watering can with a fine rose.’
In fact, all you need is a handful of tools, a bag of potting mix – and a little imagination.
READER OFFER
Teeny Tiny Gardening, by Emma Hardy; photography by Debbie Patterson, is published by CICO Books, priced £14.99. Readers of The Lady can buy a copy at the special price of £12.99, including p&p. Call 01256- 302699, quoting GLR 8BN. For more details: www.cicobooks.co.uk