When it is too freezing outside to work on your real garden, consider creating a miniature Christmas garden in a container. It will be fun to make and you will end up with a lovely, unique Christmas decoration for your home. You could put in on your Christmas table as a unique centerpiece or on your porch outside as a welcoming decoration. You can make the garden with living plants or fake ones. While a living garden may be more exciting to make, a fake one has the advantage that it won’t die. It can therefore be kept for many Christmases to come.
If you make a living garden, you might want to first decide whether it will be kept indoors or outdoors. This way, you can choose the most suitable plants.
You can really be creative with this project. There are endless styles of garden that you can create, depending on the plants you choose and the accessories you add! For instance, you could make a winter wonderland with a frozen lake and miniature snowmen. Or you could add some snow-covered buildings and a Santa to create a North Pole village!
What you need
- A pot for your “garden”. It is best to have one that is fairly shallow but wide, so that you have a large surface area to work with. If it is going to be a fake garden, you could use a dish or tray.
- Soil or, in the case of a fake garden, another pot-filling material.
- A small trowel or knife for digging holes in the soil.
- Surface covering materials (optional). Possible materials include real or fake moss, wood chippings, glass stones, and pebbles. Snow could be imitated using cotton wool or polystyrene chips, or, if your garden is fake, salt or sugar. Use glitter to make the snow sparkle.
- Plants (real or fake). Here are some plant suggestions: miniature evergreens, poinsettias (these won’t survive below 10°C (50°F)), holly or other berry plants, “dusty miller” plants, and moss. Instead of discarding your garden after Christmas, consider transforming it into a Spring or Easter garden by planting some bulbs and decorating with accessories such as rabbits, chicks, and eggs.
- Christmassy accessories (optional). Here are some accessory ideas: Santa Claus, sleigh, reindeer, snowmen, penguins, model houses and/or church (you could put battery-operated candles inside the buildings, but remove them before watering!), nativity stable, and a mirror (looking like a frozen lake). If you are not sure how to get miniature accessories for your garden, consider using Christmas cake decorations. If your garden is fake, you could even decorate it with miniature led Christmas lights. Using battery-operated led lights will allow you to easily place your garden anywhere.
General instructions
- If it is going to be a living garden, you will need to fill your pot with soil. If it’s going to be a fake garden, you will need to fill your pot with a filler so that the garden is at the right height. Alternatively, use a shallow dish that doesn’t require any filling.
- It is now time to build your garden! It is a good idea to at least roughly design it before you start planting any plants. Remember that your garden does not need to be level; you can make hills or mini mountains using pebbles or rocks. Once you have a plan, start planting plants and placing Christmas accessories. You may want to cover some or the entire surface of the soil (or filling material) or dish. See the list above for suggestions.
- Once made, try not to put your garden next to a radiator. Also, remember to water your garden!
