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Mini Garden

From "DIY Kids"
episode DIK-106

You can create a miniature garden that fits on a tabletop.

Figure A

Figure B

Figure C

Figure D

Figure E

Figure F

Figure G

Figure H

Figure I

Figure J

You don't need a big back yard to have your own garden. Diana Murphy, editor-in-chief of Country Living Gardener magazine, shows DIY Kids host Kent Lindsey and the DIY Kids how easy it is to make your own miniature garden.

Materials:

Old wooden crate or tray

Plastic trash bag

Scissors

Gravel

Sterile potting soil

Pencil or stick

Gravel, pebbles or aquarium sand

Plants with tiny leaves

Optional: small decorations

Find an old wooden crate or tray that has sides about 4" high. Line the crate or tray with a plastic liner (figure A) -- for example, a clean plastic trash bag. Cut the bag or liner to within 1" of the top of the crate so it won't show. The liner will keep water from spilling onto the table when you water your garden.
Spread a layer of gravel on the bottom (figure B).
Pour sterile potting soil over the gravel (figure C), filling the tray with soil until it reaches about 1" from the top. The soil should be about even with the top of the plastic liner (figure D).
Sketch a design in the soil with a stick or pencil (figure E) to mark where your paths will go. Use gravel, pebbles or even aquarium sand to build neat little paths through your garden where you've marked them with the stick (figure F).
Now it's time to plant your miniature garden. Choose plants with tiny leaves such as ivy, myrtle, thyme or miniature succulents. Look for plants in 1" to 3" pots (figure G). You might even select tiny cactus plants to create a cactus garden (figure H).
Plant in the spaces between the paths. Make a hole in the potting soil that's deep enough to hold all the soil of your potted plant. Remove the plant from the pot, place the plant in the hole, and gently press potting soil all around it (figure I). The soil level in the tray should be even with the soil around your plant.
After planting your garden, decorate it as you wish. You can use tiny saucers from tiny pots to make a birdbath (figure J) or dollhouse decorations, such as tiny watering cans, to create your own secret garden.