Miniature Garden Wonderlands

As we keep walking through the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, lets get down to the kid's level and see what they see. Miniature gardens! Kids and adults alike love these diminutive gardens and though its harder for us to bend down and see them, it doesn't stop us.

How about this farm? You Bachelor fans should love this! A barn, chickens and a potager all make this an adorable homestead. The plants include basil, baby's tears, and in the potager, they used succulents such as Echeveria and Crassula to represent the veggies. So cute!

Using cloches to extend the growing season.

A braided azalea tree makes the shade for this adorable garden

 This exotic garden above has a beautiful rock garden with succulents including Crassula, Echeveria, and Kalanchoe. One of the houses sports a green roof. And how imaginative to use Muelenbeckia or wire vine to represent grape vines. The orange Kalanchoe flanking the front door really grabbed my attention.

This green roof is covered with succulents

Wire vine or Muehlenbeckia used to represent grape vines.

This little camp site is cool in the shade of a Norfolk Island Pine and a lemon cypress.

 Even though most fairy gardens are outside, many houseplants can be and are used, especially if the garden is in a shady spot. As we saw above, little trees like Norfolk Island Pine, topiaries, and cypress trees are perfect to represent large shade trees in your mini gardens. Of course they will have to be brought in for the winter though,  unless you live in the south. Many small plants like baby's tears and Selaginella make great ground covers. Fittonia or Hypoestes add a splash of color in your fairy garden. Succulents are used for all kinds of accents, such as veggies, roofs, and in tiny containers as they can live without soil for quite some time.
When you start your fairy or gnome garden or just a mini garden, look in the houseplant section for some inspiration!

 This miniature garden can be kept inside year round as it completely made with houseplants. This little bench is completely surrounded by Tillandsias or air plants.