You can build your own miniature desert garden, bring it indoors in the winter, and enjoy it all year long.
Miniature gardens have been around for a while. The first one is reported to have been displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show in London in 1923. Although it wasn’t a desert garden, it did spur a great deal of interest at the show.
You can make your miniature desert garden as intricate or as simple as you want, using just about any type of container to put it in. The one at the London show was created in an old sink.
The container should be at least six inches deep (eight cm), and big enough to include several miniature plants.
Container ideas
- Old aquarium or terrarium
- Dish or bowl
- Terra cotta planting trays
- Large jars
- Vases
- Urns
- Fishbowl
Use your imagination, and come up with your own ideas. Even a stone with a hollowed-out basin can work for a miniature desert garden.
Materials you will need
- The container.
- Soil. Mix equal parts of potting soil and perlite (or builders sand). There are even special cactus mixes sold at online garden outlets.
- Miniature desert plants.
Plants
- Miniature hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus papillosus v. angusticeps). It’s a tiny clumping species and originates from the southern tip of Texas (near Brownsville). Long spines cover the small stems. The large, yellow-orange flowers bloom in late spring outdoors.
- Bunny Ears (Opuntia microdasys). This is a miniature prickly pear. They don’t have spines, as such, but do have glochids, which can cause serious skin irritation if they are allowed to puncture the skin. Little pad-like stems 6 – 15 cm long and 4 -12 cms wide. The larger pads can be removed to keep the plant small.
- Jelly Beans (Sedum pachyphyllum).
- Pretty Stoneface (Lithops bella)
- Golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii)
- Bishop’s Cap (Astrophytum myriostigma), also known as “living stones.
Planting your Miniature Desert Garden
Fill the container with the soil mix. Insert the plants in any arrangement you like. If you do use a terrarium, do not place it in direct sunlight. Otherwise, place your miniature garden wherever you’d like.
Water it daily (with a spritzer) and add fertilizer once a month.
If you care for it properly, it will give you hours of gardening pleasure.
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